MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) Multiple cases of West Nile fever, a disease spread by mosquitoes that can damage the nervous system and cause death, have been identified in the Spanish region of Andalusia, a leading regional health official confirmed on Thursday.
According to Jesus Aguirre, the regional minister for health, 19 people have contracted viral meningoencephalitis and at least 11 people have tested positive for West Nile fever.
The outbreak is concentrated in the settlements of Coria del Rio and La Puebla del Rio, which are located in marshland near to the city of Seville.
In total, 17 people have been hospitalized and seven of those are in critical condition, Aguirre confirmed.
The outbreak has been blamed on an influx of mosquitoes that carry the disease. Health officials have urged people to attach mosquito nets within their homes and to use insect repellent.
The West Nile virus produces flu-like symptoms, although the majority of people who become infected are asymptomatic. West Nile fever develops in roughly 25 percent of those who are infected, and less than one percent of people experience serious symptoms, such as inflammation of the brain.
