West Nile virus is a growing threat this summer in California. Here’s why
West Nile virus infections are on the rise this year in California after a particularly wet winter led to more mosquito reproduction, according to health experts. The state had 55 human cases of the virus as of Aug. 25. Five of them were fatal, according to the California Mosquito-Borne Virus Surveillance and Response Program. That’s more than double the 24 cases that had occurred in 2022 by late August of that year. In total in 2022, there were 207 cases and 15 deaths. Among California’s latest infections, a woman in Orange tested positive for the West Nile virus this week, becoming the first human case in Orange County this year, according to the county Health Care Agency. The Orange resident wasn’t experiencing any symptoms.