“Let him come and look the families of victims in the eyes one by one and tell them that there is no reason to be alarmed! », indignant Rafael Sosa in front of a semi-circle of around forty people, mainly relatives of victims of the “Nile virus”. This Monday, September 16, they gathered in front of the town hall of Dos Hermanas, in the suburbs of Seville, in the south of Spain.
Since the beginning of summer, along with twelve other municipalities located within the perimeter of the wetlands of the mouth of the Guadalquivir, the city has been hard hit by this evil, which is spreading in Europe with climate change, starting with the south. Eight deaths have already been recorded in Spain. Seven were infected in the province of Seville, mostly in one of these thirteen municipalities. “He” is the president of the Andalusian government. The organizers of the rally believe that the institution has not done what is necessary to avoid these tragedies and have difficulty digesting its calls to “not alarm the population”.
Scientists have been warning for almost 20 years
In 2020, Rafael Sosa lost his father-in-law, Victoriano Gómez, 77, the first death officially linked to the virus. That year, “West Nile fever” caused eight deaths in Spain. All in Andalusia. Seven in the province of Seville, mostly infected in the same area as today. The country then discovered that this evil could hit it hard.
However, scientists have been warning for almost 20 years. With climate change, many mosquitoes, which transmit the virus, survive milder winters, which significantly increases the circulation of the disease. Particularly in humid areas, where the insect proliferates. In recent months, the mouth of the Guadalquivir has experienced a historic mosquito invasion.
“I saw the series “The Walking Dead”, it’s the same! »
“Nothing has been done since 2020. And, today, the virus has returned stronger and more aggressive,” regrets Rafael Sosa. Result ? “My aunt has been in the hospital since August 20. She is 80 years old and has comorbidities. She’s a fighter but, here, I think… she can’t do it,” confesses Jessica, 42, who came to the rally with her son, Gabriel, 11 years old. “We stay locked at home to avoid bites,” says the latter. “I’m not letting him out. I’m scared,” confirms his mother.
With the announcement of the first serious cases and the peak of the invasion at the end of July, a psychosis took hold of the most affected municipalities. “La Puebla del Río transforms into a ghost village at dusk. I saw the series “The Walking Dead”, it’s the same! », said a resident during the first demonstration organized by the citizen platform “Fight against the Nile virus”, on August 5. Founded two months ago by Juan José Sánchez, a resident of La Puebla del Río, the platform is doing everything to challenge public authorities and alert people to the situation. “Because the virus kills. It kills and it leaves after-effects,” insists its founder.
Lola, 18 years old and a “wasted” youth
Maribel Díaz knows this all too well. In 2020, her 14-year-old niece, Lola, was left seriously disabled: “She returned from a birthday with a very high fever. The second time she went to the doctor, they told her: “Come back tomorrow at 7 a.m., it might be covid”… She collapsed on the ground when she got home and an ambulance came look for her. Today my poor niece is in a wheelchair on a ventilator. She can’t move her legs or arms. She struggles to express herself. Impossible to go out, eat or wash alone. She is 18 years old and has her whole life ahead of her. Her youth is wasted and we don’t know if she will ever recover. »
Nayada Jímenez, 43, who has suffered from fibromyalgia due to the virus since 2021, can no longer work and struggles to take her nine-year-old daughter to school. Julio García, 78, cannot get out of his wheelchair and remains confused, a month after his release from the hospital. Francisco Parrado, 59, has had half of his face paralyzed since the end of his hospitalization in August.
79 cases this year
What will be the outcome this year? So far, 79 cases have been announced in Andalusia, the region with the highest concentration. Including at least 70 in the province of Seville. “It’s probably a lot more.” They only count you when you arrive at the hospital with severe meningitis (a consequence of the virus, Editor’s note),” insists Juan José Sánchez, convinced that the regional government is trying to minimize.
