Los Angeles Logs 180 West Nile Cases as Heat and El Niño Fuel 2026 Mosquito Surge
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 11
Los Angeles Logs 180 West Nile Cases as Heat and El Niño Fuel 2026 Mosquito Surge
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 11
Summary
Los Angeles County has recorded more than 180 West Nile virus cases in 2026 — its highest total in nearly a decade — as mosquito season continues.
Warm winter heatwaves, an unusually humid summer and an extra-powerful El Niño kept mosquitoes active and breeding, with forecast moisture and overnight lows above 50F likely to prolong the outbreak.
Orange County has found West Nile-positive mosquitoes in about 850 traps, while officials say invasive Aedes “ankle biters” are thriving in tiny pools of water and raising concern about diseases such as dengue.
Vector-control agencies are spraying adulticide and using sterile-male releases that cut targeted populations by more than 80% at some sites, but access problems and high costs — about $30,000 for 25 acres — limit the response.
Officials say Southern Californians may need to treat repellent and standing-water removal as routine as mosquitoes become a more permanent part of local life.