It may be time to take action against the spread of the West Nile virus (WNV) in southern Spain, where the number of diseased residents is increasing. As one example, Antonio Pineda here cites his 86-year-old mother, who was healthy before a mosquito bite this summer. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, progressing from general malaise to severe symptoms, including headache, vomiting, confusion, and gait impairment. She was then admitted to the hospital Virgen del Rocio in Seville, where she died a few days later. West Nile virus infection was believed to be the cause of death.
Since its discovery in Uganda in 1937, the West Nile virus has journeyed around the world. Of all those infected 80 percent suffer mild or no symptoms at all. A miniscule percentage will cause a serious disease, 1% fatal. Sadly, people as young and fit as themselves have even been killed.
Spain is now third behind Greece and Romania in Europe as 71 cases have been confirmed and seven have proved fatal. Italy is the worst-hit continent, with 331 cases, 13 deaths. Greece has the highest fatality rate: 25 deaths from 162 registered cases. In Spain, it is the province of Seville that is hit most sharply; the highest concentration of cases was recorded there. Towns like La Puebla del Río, where streets at dusk turn eerily deserted, are turning out to be the mirrors reflecting growing fear among residents.
Until recently, mosquitoes were merely an occasional nuisance for Spanish people on a warm summer evening. WNV, however, turned the little creatures into a critical and serious public health threat that has compelled citizens to alter their everyday lives. “It has conditioned our lives-it has forced us to have closed houses with screens in front of the windows,” said Juan José Sánchez Silva, spokesperson for the anti-West Nile virus platform of Spain.
In response, neighborhoods across Seville have organized protests to have the virus isolated sooner for patients and a vaccine developed. But the researchers in Barcelona continue working on the cure and a vaccine is years off. This immunology study of West Nile at the research foundation IrsiCaixa, led by biologist Jorge Carrillo, is just starting its journey. Results can get complicated between three and eight years.
The residents keep their hopes even as they get cautious due to the spreading of the virus, expecting that scientific breakthroughs will be able to help them in the long run.
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