West Nile

“Just because certain terms have been used in the past doesn’t make it appropriate now. We know that language evolves,” an expert said.

Delaware health officials are warning residents to take precautions against a potentially fatal mosquito-borne illness that has been detected in the state.

Health officials are reporting a jump in cases of a rare paralyzing illness in children, and say it seems to be following an every-other-year pattern. At least 62 confirmed cases have been reported in 22 states this year, and an additional 65 illnesses in those states are being investigated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the latest numbers...

All of the recent rain has lead to an increase in mosquitoes and concern about West Nile virus. News4’s Chris Gordon has more on how Fairfax County is trying to control the mosquito population.

Texas health officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency will use military planes to spray chemicals near Houston to help control disease-carrying mosquitoes following Hurricane Harvey. Texas Health and Human Services spokesman Chris Van Deusen says spraying begins Saturday evening east of Houston, in Jefferson, Orange and Chambers counties.

A surprising new study finds that mosquito populations have exploded in parts of the United States, but not because of a warming climate. Instead, the study finds, growing cities and the ban on the insecticide DDT may be responsible, NBC News reported. The trend doesn’t bode well for the spread of illness — not just Zika virus, but West Nile...

An experimental vaccine for the Zika virus is due to begin human testing in the coming weeks, after getting the green light from U.S. health officials. Inovio Pharmaceuticals said Monday it received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to begin early-stage safety tests of its DNA-based vaccine against the mosquito-borne virus. That puts the company ahead of researchers at...

Health officials in the District of Columbia say they’re starting mosquito surveillance earlier this year and expanding the number of viruses they’ll test for in trapped mosquitoes.

The spreading of the Zika virus has caused worldwide concern. Health officials think Zika might be connected to the rise in a birth defects in the Americas, though it has not yet been proven, and have labeled the crisis a global emergency.

Drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur said Tuesday it is launching an effort to research and develop a vaccine to prevent the Zika virus, after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency over its explosive spread across the Americas. There is no treatment or vaccine for the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to birth defects and is in the same family...

Washington, D.C., confirmed its first human case of West Nile Virus this year.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is expanding its efforts to protect you from mosquito bites.

Health officials are on alert for a debilitating virus that could spread around Southern California and potentially infect thousands of people.