A 76 year old woman, that resides in The Prat of Llobregat, It has become the first case of Nile fever (or Nile virus) in Barcelona. The Nile fever is a infectious disease which is transmitted by mosquito bite. People who contract the virus They do not usually have symptoms or have symptoms mild. Symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, rash or swollen lymph nodes.
The 76-year-old woman has already left the ICU and is in the process of recovery in a social and health center.
The woman entered the Bellvitge Hospital (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat) and, later, he went to the ICU. As ‘El País’ has reported and EL PERIÓDICO has confirmed, this patient is currently in a socio-health center in recovery process, given that, beyond the infection, His health is delicate.
Disinfection and alert
As a precautionary measure, given the possibility that it is really a case of West Nile virus, the Blood and Teixits Bank has started the universal West Nile virus screening in all donations from Catalonia.
In addition, Salut has alerted all healthcare centers, both primary and hospital to detect new cases. Today’s date No more family cases have been detected or in the area.
In addition, the health authorities carried out the “entomological research” of the area where this person resided. According to Salut, the population of larvae and adult mosquitoes of ‘culex pipiens’ and ‘aedes albopictus’ (the tiger mosquito), which can transmit the disease, is low in this area. In 24 hours only one female ‘aedes albopictus’ was captured and in one of the aspirations carried out they were caught seven specimens of the same species, that were concentrated in a sinkhole near the case’s home.
They were also carried out control measures already at the beginning of May treating sinks and areas that require special surveillance, due to the large influx of citizens that they have, and specifically this area was treated with larvicides on two occasions, one before and one after the declaration of suspicion to guarantee disinfection, always according to the department. Not only was the area where the procedure was carried out disinfected entomological study, but in all areas of the municipality.
Health sources explain that, currently, The Bellvitge case is declared “probable” of Nile virus given the difficulty of making the definitive diagnosis. The ‘department’ has not yet received the results of the Carlos III Health Institute of the samples sent, which is what will finally confirm or rule out the diagnosis.
Related news
Last year, Catalonia confirmed its first case of West Nile virus in humans in Reus (Tarragona) in a 90 year old man. It was considered a case indigenous because they had not traveled or been in contact with travelers. Since then, cases have been detected in birds.
Three weeks ago, the Reus Hospital (Tarragona) diagnosed, in a child, the first case of indigenous dengue in Catalonia in the last four years, that is, also caused by a mosquito bite, which demonstrates how diseases until not long ago limited only to tropical countries are every time most common in the northern hemisphere. The presence of tiger mosquitoes in Catalonia, which increases with heat, facilitates dissemination.