Residents of Seville have held a protest demanding action to tackle the West Nile virus, which has caused five deaths in the southern Spanish province this summer.
The virus spreads to humans when mosquitoes bite infected birds and then subsequently bite humans.
All the deaths and 61 cases registered near the city of Seville occurred in the Lower Guadalquivir Valley area.
This is the worst year on record with the exception of 2020, which saw 76 registered cases and eight deaths.
The protest took place on Monday evening in the town of Isla Mayor in Seville province.
It was organised by the platform Fight against the Nile Virus, which demands more action by local and national authorities to control the spread of the disease.
The regional government of Andalusia has called for calm and said it will increase cooperation between provinces and town halls to battle the virus.
The family of Granada Romero Ruiz, an 86-year-old woman who died of the virus this summer, wrote a letter to the local authorities shortly before her death, expressing “anger and desperation”.
“This tragedy could have been avoided if you, in your comfortable offices, had acted with the responsibility and humanity that we expect from your position,” they said.
The family blamed the spread of the virus on a failure to fumigate rice fields near them.
Modesto González, mayor of Coría del Río, from where three of this summer’s fatalities were from, has called for the central government to coordinate with local authorities in order to take more drastic action against the virus.
“This goes way beyond the local area and no more time can be wasted because the lives of people are at risk,” he said, warning that Andalusian families now feel “enormous worry during the summer months”.
Mosquitoes pass the virus to humans and other mammals from birds. With a large area of marshes and rice fields, the Guadalquivir Valley has an eco-system that encourages the propagation of mosquitoes.
Jordi Figuerola, of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in the Doñana biological station, said that a mild winter and a wet spring had brought the circulation of the virus forward this year.
“It is likely that the circulation of the West Nile virus will keep increasing,” he said.
He said improved coordination between local and national governments and farmers was needed, to ensure adequate fumigation of rice fields.
The western Spanish region of Extremadura, which also has substantial marshlands, has seen 17 cases.
In most cases, the West Nile virus causes either very minor or no symptoms. In around 20% of cases its effects are more serious, including headache, high fever and skin eruptions.
In less than 5% of cases symptoms are extremely serious and can cause death. The elderly are a particularly high-risk group.
Experts recommend eliminating standing water sources where mosquitoes breed and using eco-friendly larvicides, alongside increasing awareness of the personal measures people can take to protect themselves.
These include:
- using insecticide-treated bed nets
- sleeping in air-conditioned rooms
- using window screens
- wearing clothes that cover most of the body
- using mosquito repellent
