West Nile virus cases surge in L.A. as humid conditions fuel mosquito outbreak

Each summer, the ancient negotiation between human settlement and the natural world reasserts itself — and this year, Los Angeles County finds itself on the losing side of that bargain. One hundred confirmed cases of West Nile virus, the highest count in nearly a decade, have emerged from an unusually humid season that transformed the region's landscape into a breeding ground for the mosquitoes that carry the illness. Health officials are responding with urgency, deploying mosquito control treatments and public warnings, knowing that the true scale of infection almost certainly exceeds what th