As If Foreclosure Weren’t Bad Enough
In the summer of 2007, the incidence of West Nile virus cases in Bakersfield, CA shot up 276%. Simultaneously, the rate of home foreclosures in the area went up 300%. The two numbers are very similar, but obviously that’s just a coincidence – viruses don’t track real estate trends. Or do they?
Reporting in the November issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a team of researchers reveals a surprising consequence of the mushrooming foreclosure crisis:
Adjustable rate mortgages and the downturn in the California housing market caused a 300% increase in notices of delinquency in Bakersfield, Kern County. This led to large numbers of neglected swimming pools, which were associated with a 276% increase in the number of human West Nile virus cases during the summer of 2007.
The abandoned pools, which are clearly identifiable in aerial photos because they’re green with algae instead of light blue, become ideal mosquito breeding ponds. Pools are extremely popular backyard accessories in that part of the country, so the widespread foreclosures boosted the local mosquito population dramatically, with a corresponding increase in WNV infections. I’d predict that other pool-friendly areas with foreclosure epidemics, such as South Florida, will see similar vector increases.
By the way, I learned about this fascinating finding on This Week in Virology, a podcast my former thesis advisor just launched. Check it out.
Tags: epidemiology, foreclosure, mosquitoes, vectors, west nile virus