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A clbadic time of year when, on our territory (or in neighboring provinces), there are reports of infection with West Nile virus, also known as "Nile Fever". ". Reports that are inevitably picked up by the press with sensationalist headlines "… is a West Nile alarm" … "… another case of West-Nile …" "… comes the killer mosquito … ", often accompanied by strong images, like those of health professionals mobilized by a thousand masks by intervening in a situation of high-risk contagion
To better manage the concerns of the case, he We must therefore deepen the epidemiology and clinical consequences of this relatively "new" disease in our country.
West Nile fever is caused by a family virus Flaviviridae isolated for the first time in 1937 in Uganda, specifically in the West Nile district (hence its name).
In the beginning, the virus was not of particular interest: the effects on humans seemed rare and non-dangerous. However, in 1994, in Algeria, an epidemic occurred, which caused the first cases of encephalitis. These incidents were followed by similar incidents, a few years later, in Romania, in 1996.
In 1999, the virus appeared in New York and, from that moment, it spread widely. in all the Americas. from north to south and in Europe
The first cases, in Italy, took place in 2008 and 2012 in the areas of the Po Valley.
The reservoirs of the virus are wild birds and mosquitoes (more frequently than type Culex ), whose punctures are the means of transmission to humans. Another possible source of contagion is blood transfusions (very rare). It is therefore important to highlight how the virus does not pbad from person to person, so no danger of respiratory transmission (sneezing, coughing, etc.). The virus also infects other mammals, especially horses.
The incubation period of the infected mosquito bite varies between 2 and 14 days
It is important to emphasize that the vast majority of infected persons do not develop any symptoms. The symptomatic cases (10-20%) show slight images resembling the flu: fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, enlarged lymph nodes, rashes. These symptoms can last for a few days, in rare cases a few weeks, and can vary considerably depending on the age of the person. In the elderly and the debilitated, however, the disease may be more serious, especially in less than 1% of those infected (1 in 150 people): high fever, severe headache, muscle weakness, disorientation, tremors, visual disturbances, numbness, convulsions, even paralysis and coma. Some neurological effects may be permanent. In the most serious cases (about 1 in 1,000) the virus can cause lethal encephalitis
For the virus there are neither vaccines nor specific therapies
In short, respecting the few cases that develop serious complications (which can be avoided by the competent organisms by the disinfestation of the insect vectors) it is necessary to look at this pathology without overloading the head, protecting as much as possible against mosquito bites and especially with a critical eye towards the newspapers that sell some more copies are screaming at the impending epidemic.
Dott. Michele Franchi, medical specialist in hygiene and preventive medicine
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