Tourists visiting popular holiday resorts warned of virus

Holidaymakers planning trips to Spain and Italy have been alerted after instances of a potentially fatal virus were reported in both nations. One individual was diagnosed with West Nile Virus in Seville, Spain, while another contracted the mosquito-transmitted disease in Modena, Italy.

Around one in five people infected with the virus suffer from a fever that can lead to body aches, rashes, and vomiting. In severe cases, symptoms can escalate to seizures, muscle weakness, and paralysis.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has issued an alert confirming these cases were locally acquired rather than imported from tropical regions.

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Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been detected in Italy's Chieti province, reports Bristol Live.. Moreover, the Zika virus has now been identified in mosquitoes across 26 European countries, including Majorca and Menorca, where holidaymakers are being cautioned about the striped Tiger Mosquitoes known to transmit the disease.

The ECDC has raised concerns that Europe is experiencing increasingly severe outbreaks of diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue and chikungunya. Andrea Ammon, Director of the ECDC, commented: "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. Increased international travel from dengue-endemic countries will also increase the risk of imported cases, and inevitably also the risk of local outbreaks."

Last year, the ECDC reported a total of 713 locally acquired cases of West Nile virus across nine European countries, with 67 fatalities and the virus spreading to 22 new regions where it had not previously been detected. The main hotspots for the virus last year were Italy, Greece, Romania, Hungary, and Spain.

The West Nile virus poses a particular threat to individuals over the age of 50 and those who are vulnerable or have conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. It can result in hospitalisation due to complications including meningitis and encephalitis.