To a lesser extent compared to Spain and, in particular, Andalusia, France is experiencing a wave of Nile virus infections this year. Ten indigenous cases were detected in mainland France. Four required hospitalization. No deaths so far but, with the rise in temperatures, it is likely that, in certain years, the conditions will be met for situations similar to that currently experienced by the province of Seville to be possible on our soil.
The only way to avoid tragedies is to control mosquito populations. For example, at the mouth of the Ebro, in Catalonia, an environment conducive to this disease, a bacteria which only attacks mosquito larvae is dumped four times a year in the rice fields, where the insect could proliferate. . It is the administration which finances these preventive campaigns and, so far, no deaths from Nile fever have been recorded.
In Andalusia, the region and the province pass the buck
In Seville, the authorities do not seem to have prepared properly. The regional government, which has jurisdiction over public health, accuses the provincial government of not having done what was necessary. The provincial government returns the criticism to him. And rice farmers don’t see why they would pay for a treatment that adds nothing to their production… “We need a program that clearly establishes how we monitor, who should carry out what actions and, above all, who pays, so that the moment the virus is detected in mosquitoes, everything starts,” said Jordi Figuerola, who directs surveillance work for the Higher Center for Scientific Investigation (CSIC) in the Seville area.
