After ten days admitted to a hospital due to the bite of the Nile mosquito, the 5-year-old boy, a resident of the Sevillian municipality of Lebrija, has managed to recover from the illness and is now in perfect health. His case, confirmed by the Department of Health and Consumer Affairs of the Government of Andalusia, would be the second detected in the region after another minor under 17 years of age from Dos Hermanas, also in Seville, presented symptoms at the beginning of March and also required of hospital care for 18 days.
At the moment, the population of this type of mosquito is being controlled and precautions are being taken, as well as the Junta de Andalucía notifying the municipal authorities of the need to increase the management of urban solid waste and activate control and prophylaxis measures. of mosquito bites to the general population.
In Huelva, on the other hand, a plague of mosquitoes has been detected near the marshes and in the capital of Huelva. Although it is not the species that transmits this type of disease, it is causing a real problem for neighbors. To such an extent that it has been the president of the Provincial Council, David Toscano, who insisted that all measures within his power are being adopted to alleviate this problem. The institution's Pest Control Service is working tirelessly to stop this "annoying situation", caused by exceptional circumstances, Toscano indicated, but he assured that "there are areas where you cannot enter, such as Doñana." "There are highly sensitive areas, such as Doñana, where we cannot enter. Approximately 120,000 hectares have been flooded in Doñana and there is nothing we can do about that," he explained.
In Seville, the two infected with the Nile virus began to show symptoms at the beginning of March, although there is no evidence of when they could have been infected. Both victims are in good health and have already been discharged from the hospital.
The Board has initiated environmental actions together with the municipal authorities to search for mosquitoes by trapping in areas close to the home. The Doñana-CSIC Biological Station has also installed eight traps to evaluate the state of mosquito populations in areas near the home of the minor from Lebrija and all the tests, for the moment, have been negative. In addition, municipal authorities have been urged to increase control measures.
In both municipalities, Dos Hermanas and Lebrija, the Public Health Surveillance Service of Andalusia will evaluate the level of risk for the next West Nile Virus detection season.
As of December 31, 2023, 113 indigenous cases have been notified to the National Surveillance System, and the month of onset of symptoms ranged between June (one probable case) and November (four confirmed cases and one probable case), with maximums in August (62 cases, between confirmed and probable).
Entomological investigations are carried out, whose preliminary results show higher densities of Culex pipiens compared to the same month in previous years, without WNV being detected in female mosquitoes.
