Environmental Health Center

EnvironMinute Health Scripts

The weather patterns of El Niņo are gone, but some trouble remains. El Niņo caused a population boom for a dangerous mosquito species. Some high-tech help on today's EnvironMinute. [:11]

The Aedes aegypti is an African mosquito that carries a viral disease called dengue. It's a disease that can be fatal. Half of the world's population is already at risk and the mosquito is flourishing. El Niņo's brought warm, wet weather to many areas. That provided fertile breeding grounds for the insect. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin are using a computer model to look at the patterns. Researchers analyze climate information to predict the mosquito's next move. Results show that more warm years could help the African mosquito move as far north as the American Midwest and southern Europe. [:37]

The EnvironMinute is produced in cooperation with the National Safety Council and made possible by the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Foundation. [:10]

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