By Le Figaro with AFP
Two people have died and 23 have been hospitalized in southern Spain after contracting West Nile fever virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, regional health authorities said on Friday (August 21st).
An 85-year-old woman died of illness in a Seville hospital on Friday, the day after the death of a 77-year-old man, said a spokeswoman for the regional government of Andalusia (south). Of the 23 people hospitalized, seven are in intensive care, she added.
Flu-like symptoms
West Nile virus causes flu-like symptoms, but in rare cases neurological complications can develop.
Discovered in Uganda in 1937, this virus is carried by birds and transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. It is present in Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. The current focus of contagion in Spain is in the towns of Coria del Rio and La Puebla del Rio, near the marshes of the Guadalquivir River.
The Andalusian authorities have carried out fumigations in swampy areas to kill mosquitoes and encourage the population to install mosquito nets in homes. This contagion appears as Spain is also one of the countries in Europe most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly 29,000 deaths and 378,000 officially confirmed cases.
— .
