Light pollution could make West Nile virus in birds more infectious, study suggests
CHICAGO - Light pollution can extend by 41% how long sparrows are infectious with West Nile virus, which could make it more likely that they transmit the lethal disease to mosquitoes and on to people, a new study from researchers in Florida has found.
Meredith Kernbach, a University of South Florida doctoral candidate and lead researcher, recently published her findings in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
"This is really the first study that's kind of investigating the effects of light pollution on infectious disease," Kernbach said in an interview. "We have to admit this is a captive (laboratory) study, but if we see something similar in urban areas near people, it may increase the opportunity for spillover to humans."
Kernbach chose house sparrows because they often live in
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