An 83-year-old man died yesterday from severe West Nile encephalitis: The man was hospitalized in Piove di Sacco, Veneto.
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And since yesterday the alarm bells have started ringing again. This week theIstituto Superiore di Sanita had reported the first cases of contagion, a 73-year-old in the Padua area, and a 75-year-old in Modena. In 2020, there were already 5 victims.
West Nile fever is a real danger especially for the elderly or patients debilitated by other pathologies; almost never for young or healthy subjects, in whom the virus often presents itself as asymptomatic. The ISS arbovirosis alert system had reported the first absolute case of West Nile of 2022 in the Padua area, not only in Italy, but in Europe.
West Nile or Nile fever dangerous for the elderly
Then the cases increased: patient number 1 is a 73-year-old hospitalized since July 6th in the hospital of Schiavonia (Padua) with a rare form of encephalitis, neuro-invasive and aggressive, from West Nile.
Another patient is also hospitalized in Piove di Sacco, on whom the results of clinical tests are awaited to confirm West Nile. The patient from Modena is instead being treated in the Neurology department of the civil hospital of Baggiovara (Modena).
In Veneto, surveillance plans for vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile, had been active since spring. The first bulletin, defined yesterday, had identified two confirmed cases of West Nile, plus a third suspected; it therefore did not contain the death of the patient formalized yesterday.
West Nile spread by outbreaks of infected mosquitoes
Outbreaks of infected mosquitoes have been identified so far in the provinces of Vicenza, Venice, Verona, Rovigo and Padua. West Nile fever is caused by a virus whose reservoirs are birds and mosquitoes, whose bites are the main means of transmission to humans.
The West Nile Virus is part of the Flaviviridae family and was isolated for the first time in 1937 in Uganda, precisely in the West Nile district. The first death was recorded today in Veneto, an 83-year-old affected by a serious encephalitis due to West Nile, who was hospitalized in the Piove di Sacco hospital.
It is widespread in Africa, Western Asia, Europe, Australia and America. But in recent years it has also been circulating in Italy, especially in the North. Most infected people – explains the website of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) – do not show any symptoms.
Among the symptomatic cases, About 20% have mild symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes. The most serious symptoms occur on average in less than 1% of infected people, usually the elderly or debilitated subjects, and include high fever, severe headache, muscle weakness, disorientation, tremors, vision disturbances, numbness, convulsions, up to paralysis and coma.
West Nile Fever It is not transmitted from person to person through contact with infected people. The virus also infects other mammals, especially horses, but in some cases also dogs, cats, rabbits. The incubation period from the moment of the bite of the infected mosquito varies between 2 and 14 days, but can be up to 21 days in subjects with immune deficiencies. There is no vaccine for West Nile fever. Some are being studied, but for the moment - explains the ISS - prevention consists above all in reducing exposure to mosquito bites.
Article published on 17 July 2022 - 13:07
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