2023-09-21 00:17:40
The latest report from the General Directorate of Public Health and Pharmaceutical Regulation, of the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs of Spain, carried out between September 4 and 8, reveals the circulation of the West Nile virus (WNV) in the tests carried out in the municipalities of Vejer de la Frontera, Jerez de la Frontera and Tarifa, and issues a warning to the population to maintain preventive measures to avoid mosquito bites in the hours between dusk and dawn so as not to contract the disease.
(Keep reading: Nipah virus spreads in India: public events are banned in Kerala).
WNV is the leading cause of mosquito-borne diseases in the United States, and is maintained in the environment by spread among birds and mosquitoes, infecting humans, horses, and other species.
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According to data from the World Health Organization, the largest WNV epidemics have occurred in the United States, Israel, Greece, Romania, and Russia.
West Nile virus, which was prevalent throughout Africa, parts of Europe, the Middle East, Western Asia and Australia, spread through most countries until it was established from Canada to Venezuela.
(Be sure to read: They report a case of a man with symptoms of the Nipah virus outside Kerala, in India).
The first WNV case was reported in 1937 in a woman from the western district of Uganda. Later, in 1953 it was discovered in birds (crows and doves) of lower Egypt. In the 1990s, it was not considered a threat to birds, but a more invasive strain in 1997 caused the death of birds of different species suffering from signs of encephalitis and paralysis. The WHO records that over 50 years, cases of human infection have been reported in different countries around the world.
Likewise, in 1999 the West Nile virus circulating in Tunisia and Israel spread to North America and resulted in a major epidemic outbreak that lasted more than 11 years.
According to the WHO, “the problem in US territory made it clear that the importation and establishment of pathogenic microbes transmitted by vectors in habitats other than their own represent a serious danger to the world.”
(Read also: Young man died in the middle of cosmetic surgery in Bogotá: ‘Sofi did not deserve this’).
Caution with mosquito bites
The World Health Organization states that “human infection is usually the result of the bites of mosquitoes that carry the virus when they bite infected birds, in whose blood the virus circulates for a few days.” It is also transmitted by other infected animals, by handling their blood or other tissues.
The WHO has also received cases of infections in humans due to organ transplants, blood transfusions and breast milk.
Furthermore, to date, no case of transmission between individuals through common social contact has been confirmed in the records of the World Health Organization, nor has there been transmission of the virus to health bodies that follow the protocol of infectious disease precaution.
(You may be interested: Can the Nipah virus seriously affect children and older adults?).
Symptoms of the infected patient
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 80 percent of people infected with West Nile virus do not have symptoms. Approximately 20 percent of infected people experience fever along with other symptoms such as headache, body discomfort, joint difficulties, vomiting, diarrhea or rash.
Likewise, the CDC emphasizes that “most people with this type of illness recover completely”; however, fatigue and weakness may remain for several weeks or months.
Less than 1 percent of infected people present serious symptoms, related to neurological diseases, which include:
(Be sure to read: Bats and a ‘custom’: what’s behind the Nipah virus outbreak in India).
Complications from WNV can happen to people of any age, but people over 60 are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill. Also, the CDC says that “people with certain conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and people who have received organ transplants, are also at greater risk of getting seriously ill.”
Prevention
To mitigate the virus epidemic, the United States Public Health Agency makes the following recommendations:
(We recommend you read: The latest: the Nipah virus would be circulating in at least 10 states in India).
Treatment
According to the WHO, the treatment of patients with neuroinvasive disease resulting from WNV consists of supportive measures, such as hospitalization, intravenous fluid administration, respiratory support, and prevention of secondary infections. At this time, there is no West Nile virus vaccine for humans.
Dylan Escobar Ruiz
School of Multimedia Journalism EL TIEMPO
1695290899
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