A popular Spanish resort town has been placed on alert after officials found mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus there.
What’s happening?
The mosquitoes in question, the Daily Express reported, were discovered only a few feet from homes in Malaga, a popular tourist town in southern Spain’s Andalusia region that is known for its breathtaking beaches.
The Andalusia Health and Consumer Department verified that the mosquitoes carried West Nile virus, which can, in rare cases, be fatal to humans. With that announcement came a four-week alert period, stretching through early November, that included higher levels of monitoring by local health teams.
Similar findings and warnings have also occurred in the Spanish towns of Tahivilla and La Luisiana.
Why is West Nile virus concerning?
In most cases, West Nile virus doesn’t show any symptoms in humans. But in rare cases, people can develop symptoms that last for months.
“The symptoms presented like a stroke. It was really worrying,” Jim Skinner, who decided to retire after contracting West Nile virus, told the BBC. “I had weakness down the left-hand side, palsy on the left-hand side, and I got tremors. … The weakness and tremors are still there a year on.”
Even more concerning, however, is that West Nile virus cases appear to be increasing.
Health officials say 13 European countries saw a total of 989 cases of West Nile — including 63 deaths — between June and September, higher than the 10-year average of 687. And in the United States, reported cases were about 40% higher than normal through early September.
Human-caused pollution likely plays a role in that increase. That heat-trapping pollution has caused global temperatures to rise, which has led to more of the warm, wet conditions in which mosquitoes thrive. Mosquito season is now longer in many parts of the world, and the insects have reached places that were once too cold for them.
What can I do to avoid West Nile virus?
As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note, there is no vaccine or medicine available to prevent West Nile. Instead, the only way to prevent getting the virus is to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes.
Officials offer several tips on how to avoid those potentially dangerous bites. They advise people to wear long, loose-fitting shirts and pants when outside, to use screens on windows and doors, to avoid outdoor exposure between dusk and dawn, and to use approved insect repellent.
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