After the first case of infection in humans in the Veneto region, attention is growing towards the spread of the West Nile virus in the province of Verona. Since 13 July, the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of the Venezie has recorded 6 cases of positivity in mosquitoes in the provinces of Verona, Rovigo, Padua and Venice. “We are facing the classic textbook case since the infection in humans generally occurs 2 weeks after the first positives in the mosquitoes,” says Gioia Capelli, health director of the Zooprophylactic. The episode happened in fact in an area not far from the town of Ronco all’Adige (Verona), where the first positivity of West Nile virus in mosquitoes was recorded on 17 July.
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«Fortunately – underlines Capelli – this year the situation seems more favourable. The few cases found in mosquitoes and animals decrease the likelihood that the virus will also spread to humans. We are following the evolution of the epidemiological situation with the utmost attention, in close collaboration with the regional and national health authorities”.
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For entomological surveillance, IzsVe researchers positioned 85 mosquito traps distributed between Veneto (65) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (20). Monitoring is carried out in a capillary way from May to October with one-night catches every two weeks for each site. Based on these data, “the circulation of the virus in Triveneto appears today less intense than in 2022 when 500 cases of West Nile in humans occurred in Veneto alone (723 in Italy), with 166 neuro-invasive forms and 22 deaths” , remember the institute. The genetic analyzes carried out on human and animal samples – continues the note – confirm that in Veneto this year too, in addition to the WNV-2 viral strain, the WNV-1 strain is also circulating, which emerged in 2021 after 8 years of absence and has now stabilized in this area. «The report of the human case – concludes Capelli – confirms that the surveillance network works very well. The moment we found the first positive mosquito, the screening system for blood transfusion activities in humans was immediately activated, to prevent the transmission of the virus. Integrated surveillance of insects, animals and humans is a good example of a One Health approach, which is essential at a time when climate change increases the health risks associated with the spread of emerging pathogens and vector-borne diseases”.