Fine-scale heterogeneity and local amplification of West Nile virus in urban environments in Berlin - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #West Nile virus
- #urban ecology
- #climate resilience
- Climate change increases mosquito-borne disease risks, and cities are using nature-based solutions like urban greening, but their effects on diseases like West Nile virus (WNV) are not well understood.
- A study in Berlin, Germany, sampled mosquitoes in a one-square-kilometer area over 2023 and 2024, finding seasonal WNV infection rates up to 4.8%, with fine-scale variation in risk.
- Infection rates were highest in residential areas and cemeteries (up to 15 and 21 minimum infection rates per month, respectively), while natural conservation and sponge city sites had lower rates (up to 4 and 13).
- These differences were linked to habitat characteristics and bird community structure, not mosquito abundance or species composition.
- The findings suggest that integrating biodiversity restoration into nature-based solutions can help mitigate WNV risk in climate-resilient urban planning.