A travel warning has been issued for Spain and Italy holidaymakers over a deadly virus outbreak. Brit tourists and holidaymakers heading to the European Union holiday hotspots have been warned over an outbreak of a deadly virus amid the summer getaway.
Cases of West Nile virus have been registered in both countries. The Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, warned: “Europe is already seeing how climate change is creating more favourable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread into previously unaffected areas and infect more people with diseases such as dengue.”
West Nile virus is most commonly spread through the bite of an infected mosquito and symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. There are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat West Nile virus disease (West Nile) in people. You can reduce your risk by taking steps to prevent mosquito bites
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Ms Ammon went on to say: “Increased international travel from dengue-endemic countries will also increase the risk of imported cases, and inevitably also the risk of local outbreaks.” Most people (8 out of 10) infected with West Nile virus do not develop any symptoms.
But 1 in 5 people who are infected develop a fever with other symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Most people with febrile illness due to West Nile virus recover completely, but fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months.
About 1 in 150 people who are infected develop a severe illness affecting the central nervous system such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord). About 1 out of 10 people who develop severe illness affecting the central nervous system die.
The ECDC has reported 713 locally acquired cases of West Nile virus across nine different European countries and it resulted in the tragic loss of 67 lives.