West Nile, prevention is strengthened after death

No alarmism, but attention and alert, and above all the strengthening of preventive measures to prevent the proliferation of mosquitoes, a vehicle for the spread of the West Nile virus.

The news of his death, which occurred on August 4 but made known Thursday, of a 74-year-old from Cigole hospitalized in Manerbio hospital with neurological symptoms (the most severe form of the disease), and the presence in the province of two other cases (a woman from Ghedi hospitalized with minor symptoms and in the discharge phase e a third asymptomatic person tested positive after a check provided for blood donation) has created alarm especially in the Lower area.

A Cigole

The mayor of Cigole, Marco Scartapacchio, tries to reassure his small community and launches an appeal to collaborate for prevention. “I invite citizens to do their part – wrote the mayor in a note released to the population -: the fight against the spread of mosquitoes must be done (for years) and is useful and effective only if there is full cooperation between the entire population, especially in our countries which see the presence of many gardens. It is important that every citizen has responsible and collaborative behaviors, those that have been trying to become systematic for the past couple of decades to combat the tiger mosquito ».

Hence a series of recommendations and useful practice suggestions, and the reassurance that the Municipality will also implement the procedures provided for by the Ats guidelines, intervening on road drains through a specific larvicidal product. A nebulization will be carried out on limited public areas, in the immediate precedence of events or in any case gatherings of people (for example in the municipal park). Specifying «that generalized nebulization interventions of poisons will not be made as they are not indicated by the guidelines.

They would be more spectacular than useful and would only create discomfort for the population ». Other mayors in the area have also issued ordinances in which they recall the measures to be implemented to counter the spread of mosquitoes, possible vehicles for the transmission of the virus. Thus the municipalities of Ghedi, Calvisano, Montichiari, among others. An extraordinary disinfestation was carried out in Quinzano on 11 August.

The diffusion

According to the bulletin issued by the Higher Institute of Health on August 10, from June, the starting date of the surveillance, 144 confirmed cases of West Nile have been reported in Italy, of which 87 with neuro-invasive symptoms: the most affected province is Padua, with 39 cases, only one in Bresciano (the patient later died). The bulletin also reports the recorded outbreaks among equines and birds (no cases in Bresciano) and the results of entomological surveillance, or mosquitoes: in our province two “pools” of insects tested positive for the West Nile Virus, and one for the Usutu Virus , similar to West Nile.

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