West Nile virus in an unlikely place: Why my loss is a wake-up call for all Americans

This year will be like no other for me: I’ll be without my dad.

His recent death in Yolo County, California, intersected with my work to manage the impacts of climate change – in a very real and personal way.  While West Nile is usually associated with damp summer conditions in the East rather than the arid West, I know now that drought can also lead to more cases.

Rising global temperatures have allowed the West Nile virus to reach virtually every corner of America, including regions where nobody used to worry about the mosquito-borne disease.

The symptoms looked familiar, doctor said

This past Labor Day, my father came down with a very high fever that landed him in a hospital where, despite their best efforts, medical staff struggled to bring his fever down and to identify its cause.

What followed were five excruciating days of experimenting with different treatments, all while my dad’s condition worsened. On Sept. 8, he died with me and other family by his side.

In the middle of the ordeal, Yolo County’s only infectious disease doctor came into my dad’s hospital room and remarked that his conditions looked a lot like other West Nile cases he’d seen, which I found hard to believe. I mean, what were the odds?

Two days after my father died, we received the results from his spinal tap test, which indicated that the doctor’s hunch was right.

West Nile cases doubled during drought

Researchers at University of California Santa Cruz, Stanford University and the New York State Department of Health were surprised to find a correlation between drought and West Nile in a 2017 study. Their research supported a disconcerting trend during the recent drought in California, where the number of West Nile cases had doubled to exceed 500 in 2014 and 2015.

Last year, 2,544 people in the United States contracted West Nile virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control, a 21-percent increase from 2017. It’s no coincidence; 2018 ranked as the fourth hottest year on record, and the single hottest for the world’s oceans.

Among states, Nebraska topped the list with 241 cases and 11 deaths in 2018, followed by North Dakota and California.There were no fewer than 203 West Nile cases reported in California last year as drought continued in much of the state. Eight people died.

After my dad’s death, I learned that West Nile is more prevalent in the West than I had realized. I discovered, for instance, that the founder and longtime publisher of High Country News, Ed Marston, also died this past summer from complications of the virus.

No treatment available for people who get sick

Mosquitos contract West Nile virus when they feed on infected birds, and then spread it to the birds and people they bite next. Drought and the resulting shortage of water in a landscape can accelerate the cycle.

“When we have less water, birds and mosquitoes are seeking out the same water sources, and therefore are more likely to come in to closer proximity to one another, thus amplifying the virus,” Vicki Kramer, chief of vector-borne diseases at the California Department of Public Health, told NPR in 2014, when cases first spiked.

Although four out of five people infected with West Nile virus don’t develop any symptoms, people 60 years of age and older, and individuals with diabetes or hypertension, run a higher risk of getting sick and developing complications. There is no treatment for the virus today.

My dad’s death underscores how climate change won’t just hurt future generations, but is affecting us here and now.

My work took on a new meaning

Years ago, I was inspired to dedicate my career to the environment in part because of my dad. A retired UC Davis professor, dad was an avid nature lover, especially the nature surrounding the Yolo County house he built and where I grew up.

After he died, I initially questioned the meaning of many things, including my work. The pain of losing him overshadowed everything. But after much contemplation, I came to realize that my personal experience and grief should instead propel me to double down on my professional efforts.

It now feels more important than ever to seek solutions that result in more resilient water and land management, given that the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly real and are having such immediate consequences for human health.

I’m sure it’s what dad would have wanted.

EDF Action: Urge Congress to take action on the serious and growing threat of climate change. krives January 24, 2019 - 09:00

See comments

Thanks for sharing this, Ann.

Spreck Rosekrans January 24, 2019 at 6:43 pm

Good job Ann, your dad would be very proud.

Janet Rocha Wheaton January 25, 2019 at 7:34 pm

Am so very sorry, you lost your father!! I intensely understand the feelings you have, losing you father to relatable factors within your field of study! I lost my father due to medical negligence. I am a nurse. ? Yet, our parents would want us to press forward ! ?

Kimmi January 25, 2019 at 10:19 pm

My deepest condolences, Ann. With gratitude for all you do.

Ellen January 27, 2019 at 9:33 pm

Ann, I am so sorry to hear this story about your dad. It really does bring climate change home. Thank you for sharing such a personal story of loss and for finding a way for this tragedy to drive your already excellent work forward.

Daniel Mountjoy January 28, 2019 at 6:38 pm

Ann,
Thank you for sharing your Dad’s story during this difficult time for you and your family.
Your courage, dedication and passion to bring the West Nile/Drought story to light after this tragedy would no doubt make your father proud. Brava!

Ann Spaulding January 29, 2019 at 7:51 pm

Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts. WNV and the long term sequelae of the disease it causes are still largely misunderstood in this country. I am sorry for the loss of your father, Ann.

Kim Yeakel February 6, 2019 at 8:22 pm

I’m so sorry for your loss, Ann. Thank you for sharing your experience in a very well-written article that can raise awareness and help other people. My brother is in Yolo county and I will share this with him. My heartfelt condolences for your loss.

Karen February 27, 2019 at 11:25 pm

Whew, what a great post, and so sorry for your Pop. I live in Paonia, Colorado, and Ed Marston was a friend of mine. His wife, Betsy, and I have formed a group of survivors or family (A week after Ed died, I contracted severe West Nile, almost died myself, and spent months in a nursing home and am in a year + of recovery) to advocate for public and personal mosquito control, and to let people know that West Nile is a killer. It is harder to ignore those "who been there done that" and we are now under the slogan "Don't be in denial, Prevent West Nile" . We developed a campaign for awareness and behavior change.

John VanDenBerg May 29, 2019 at 6:42 am

Thank you so much for sharing your story. So sorry for your loss. By sharing, you’re alerting us to something I had no idea was happening. Thanks

Arax June 26, 2019 at 3:40 pm

Ann, I’m so very sorry. You have my sincere condolences for the loss of your father. I lost my father as well in 2014. He contracted West Nile Virus Neuro during that epidemic of cases in Texas. Thank you your commitment..

Karan Callaway July 8, 2019 at 11:24 pm

Don't blame the almonds. The California drought needs real solutions.

This post was first published on EDF’s Growing Returns blog.

Finger-pointing tends to sharpen during times of crisis.

Exhibit A: California, now entering its fourth year of drought.

If you’ve followed media coverage of the drought lately – which has spiraled to new heights since Gov. Jerry Brown ordered the state’s first mandatory cuts in urban water use last week – you’ve probably heard that agriculture was “spared” the knife.

An interview with Gov. Brown on PBS Newshour perfectly encapsulates the debate of the past week:

“Well, Governor, encouraging people to decrease watering their lawns seems like literally a drop in the bucket, when 80 percent of the water…is from the agriculture sector,” the reporter starts out. “We know that it costs an enormous amount of water to have a single almond to eat…Is it time for us to start zeroing in on the largest customers or users of water?”

While it’s true that agriculture is California’s biggest water user, and that some crops require more water than others, it’s unfair and inaccurate to suggest, first, that agriculture was passed over, and second, that a small nut is primarily to blame for sucking the state dry. It’s more complicated than that.

Farmers on the front line

Until now, agriculture has borne the brunt of California’s drought.

Most farmers – along with two-thirds of California’s population – receive water allocations from the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project, a complex, interconnected system of reservoirs, aqueducts, and pumping plants that deliver water, including melted snow from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, to all points south.

In 2014, those allocations dipped to near record lows – zero in some cases – due to paltry rainfall and snowpack. The diminished supplies cost farmers about $2.2 billion and eliminated more than 17,000 jobs. More than 500,000 acres of cropland were fallowed.

Look beyond the nut

Then there’s the nut. If anything has come to symbolize the drought in the past week, it’s the almond, which, as you may have heard, requires a gallon of water to grow.

But here’s the rub: People really like almonds, and California grows two-thirds of the world’s supply. Further, the state grows about half of the country’s fruits and vegetables, and almonds aren’t even the most water-intensive.

As Grist’s Nathanael Johnson aptly observed:

“Pointing the blame at any single crop is just too reductive. When dealing with a complex system like California’s water cycle, you have to think holistically if you hope to make positive change. While the system is complex, there’s something very simple driving California’s water system off the rails: stupid laws.”

Improve the market

He’s absolutely correct. We need to tease out the provisions that are clogging California’s water system and establish incentives that will allow the market to respond to scarcity – well before aquifers are drained and our life-sustaining ecosystems begin to gasp.

In the case of groundwater, for the water market to function optimally, communities will also need to get a better handle on the sustainable yield of their basins. This needs to begin now.

Inevitably, agriculture will need to do more to increase California’s resiliency to drought. Everyone will.

It’s time we put those pointing fingers to work on a more worthwhile task – rolling up our sleeves and getting to work on real solutions.

Anonymous April 14, 2015 - 01:59

See comments

I do not think the solution is to reduce water consumption to consumers, that could aggravate the situation.

Edwin April 14, 2015 at 4:37 pm

I agree....Let's at least look at dairy factory farms in California! Almonds take water to grow, but cows need at least 40 gallons of water each day. There are monster dairies in California sucking up water, not just to water bovine friends, but to grow GMO crops to feed them. Why is no one mentioning the real water drain?

Connie Mather April 20, 2015 at 8:03 am

In reply to I do not think the solution by Edwin

Agreed - the 2014 "landmark" groundwater legislation does not require regional groundwater sustainability until 2040.

We need it now!

Spreck April 14, 2015 at 7:40 pm

This article could stand to be completed. If it were it would include some good research on the amount of water used to grow alfalfa in this parched state, something that is grown in many other parts of the country.

Lorin Crandall April 14, 2015 at 8:23 pm

Agriculture needs to provide its own water. Frackers need to provide their own water.

Residents, citizens, resident aliens need water for their health and welfare.

Your statements about almonds and agriculture are misleading. Almonds can be grown elsewhere.

"Two-thirds of the country's fruits and vegetables"... We import as much as is grown in California! We can import more. We can grow more elsewhere. It sounds as if you are lobbying the public to help the problem continue? 80% of the water used is used by industry and agriculture.

The climate is semi-arid. When droughts strike they are severe in semi-arid climates. San Diego is bringing a desalination plant online at tremendous cost to the citizens that live there and other places in California. The customers of corporations making all of the products and using all of the water pay little or nothing for it, but demand service for their business interests.

Nonsense! Shift production, import more, plant a victory garden and eat real organic food grown locally! No trucking, no pesticides or herbicides and no ripening on the truck! Your choices abound when you do it yourself or pay someone to custom raise your food!

Michael T Stewart April 15, 2015 at 2:22 am

How a California rice farmer uses the market to protect wildlife - and boost profits

Meet John Brennan, a farm manager for the Knaggs Ranch in California’s Central Valley who is exploring the latest market incentives to boost farm profits while protecting his land.

“Farmers are environmentalists, too,” Brennan says. “Programs like this will help us fulfill our responsibility to nature and to coming generations.”

It’s all coming together on sprawling, water-soaked rice fields that are part of the 1,700-acre farm he has overseen for the past 10-plus years and co-owned since 2011.

Exchange compensates farmers

A project on Knaggs Ranch is helping to keep water on the fields during a time and at a volume critical to support salmon nurseries while providing beneficial habitat for water fowl and shore birds.

By adjusting land management to benefit such species, Brennan is generating conservation outcomes that he hopes can be sold as a commodity to private and public investors through the Central Valley Habitat Exchange. Potential investors include state agencies seeking credits to meet mitigation requirements or restoration mandates.

The region southwest of Sacramento was once dominated by marshes that flanked the Sacramento River and its tributaries and created vital seasonal floodplain habitat for waterfowl and fish such as the Chinook salmon. Only 5 percent of these floodplain habitats remain after a century of agricultural expansion and reservoir construction.

Brennan has committed to the Exchange because he believes that compensating landowners for good management practices and helping them diversify their income beyond just farming can be one of the best ways for agriculture to accommodate native species. He also believes that once other land managers learn of the program and its rewards, they’ll get onboard, too.

Adding carbon credits to the mix

There may soon be yet another opportunity to levy market forces for the benefit of Knaggs Ranch.

This spring, the California Air Resources Board is expected to approve the first crop-based standards for rice farmers to generate carbon credits in the state’s cap-and-trade market. Brennan hopes the program will help his farm earn new revenue as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions from its rice fields.

With proven success in the field for habitat exchanges as well as carbon markets, such programs are now ready to be scaled up to boost food production while maintaining profitable farms, a safe environment and healthy people.

Agriculture accounts for about 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions released in the United States today, and forward-looking farmers such as Brennan see an opportunity to help cut such pollution without hurting their bottom line.

Incentive-based programs “help us diversify our income beyond just farming,” he says. 

krives March 10, 2015 - 02:59