The Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute confirmed the first indigenous cases of West Nile in Lazio. The two patients, both seventy -year -olds residing in the province of Latina, are currently hospitalized at the Santa Maria Goretti hospital. Their conditions are stable.
Following the confirmation, the Lazio Region convened a control room with the participation of the Spallanzani Institute, the Territorial ASL and the Zooprophylactic Institute, with the aim of coordinating prevention initiatives. The president of the region, Francesco Rocca, said: “No alarm, but the guard must be kept high. These are the first two endemic cases here, the virus has already been endemic for years in the north and central Italy”.
According to Rocca, the contagion took place through insect puncture. He also specified that all the procedures provided for by the guidelines will be activated, with the alert to basic doctors and emergency room to encourage ready identification of cases.
West Nile virus, media alarm
West Nile fever is caused by a Flaviviridae family virus, identified for the first time in 1937 in Uganda. It is widespread in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and America. Wild birds and mosquitoes of the Culex genre represent the main tanks and carriers. The transmission to man almost always takes place through infected mosquito puncture.
Other means of infection, less common, include transfusions, organ transplants and vertical mother-fetus transmission. The virus is not transmitted from person to person by direct contact.
THE symptoms They are often mild or absent. When present, they manifest themselves with fever, nausea, headache, skin rates or enlarged lymph nodes. Only in less than 1% of cases are serious neurological complications develop, such as encephalitis, paralysis or coma. Human infection is in over 80% of cases asymptomatic; In the remaining 20% of cases the symptoms are those of a pseudo-flu syndrome.
There diagnosis It is carried out via Elisa test, immunofluorescence, or via PCR and viral crop. Tests must be performed in accurate times, since the presence of antibodies can also indicate previous infections.
Prevention in Italy: active measures and surveillance
There is currently no vaccine against West Nile. Prevention consists in limiting exposure to mosquitoes and monitoring the spread of the virus. The Ministry of Health, through the National Blood Center (CNS), also confirmed the application of the “National Plan of preventionSurveillance and Arbovirosis Response (PNA) 2020-2025 ″.
The measures Main include:
- entomological surveillance with collection of mosquitoes and analysis of the pool;
- Activation of WNV NAT tests for blood donors in the areas concerned;
- Temporary suspension from donation in case of living in the risk areas;
- monitoring of human cases through the national platform for Arbovirosi.
Starting from 23 June, prevention measures have been adopted in different provinces including Latina, Reggio Emilia, Mantua, Padua, Cremona, Lodi, Pavia, Rovigo, Piacenza, Parma, Turin, Modena, Venice and Oristano, following positivity found in mosquitoes, animals or human cases.
The health authorities They recommend the population to adopt individual precautions, such as the use of repellents, protective clothing and the removal of stagnation of water near homes. The goal is to contain the risk of spreading the virus and guarantee a timely health response.
