Experts issue warning after observing concerning trend near US border: 'I really see this as a national security matter'

Infectious diseases are being spread by mosquitoes in South Texas, and the climate is playing a big role, according to Vox.

What's happening?

Higher temperatures and increased rainfall, exacerbated by growing atmospheric pollution, are leading to an increase in the number of mosquitoes in Brownsville. 

Combined with new residential construction that has wiped out populations of mosquitoes' natural predators, the insects have spread unchecked around humans in the border community. 

While irritating, the proliferation of mosquitoes also brings with it serious health risks. 

Dengue fever, Zika virus, malaria, West Nile virus, chikungunya, and yellow fever are all serious threats linked to the proliferation of mosquitoes. 

Instances of such vector-borne illnesses have doubled in the last 20 years. 

High-income neighborhoods aren't immune to the dangers, as mosquitoes can breed in storm sewers filled with runoff from overwatered lawns, according to Brownsville officials. 

Why are more mosquitoes such a big concern?

The problem extends well beyond a single town in the Lone Star State. 

"I really see this as a national security matter," Christopher Romero, a health researcher in Brownsville, told Vox. 

"When you're dealing with combating pathogens whose evolutionary clock works at a faster pace than humanity, we always will be dealing with an evolving landscape of threats," Romero explained.

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What's being done about dangerous mosquito populations?

Brownsville was the site of some of the earliest cases of locally transmitted Zika in the United States in 2016, and it employs a mosquito management team. 

With the help of expensive, labor-intensive testing, mapping, and targeted spraying, this team has been working to control threatening mosquito species while minimizing the collateral environmental damage that can result. 

Unfortunately, resources are limited for dealing with vector-borne threats, and Brownsville has dedicated more to the problem than many communities.

"We have one state entomologist, and everyone thinks because she's available that she's going to be able to respond to an outbreak, and it's not the case," Brownsville entomologist Yaziri Gonzalez said. "She's going to be spread super thin."

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