The Western Nile Virus is far from new. It has long circulated in Africa, but in recent years it has started to appear in North America and Europe. Wim Thiery, climatologist at VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), confirms this change to our colleagues from HLN: “In recent years, the situation has changed. We have received several reports in North America and across Europe. Some cases have even been detected near Belgium. ”
This year, nine people lost their lives in Italy after being infected with this Western Nile virus. This comes at the origin of birds, but it is the mosquitoes that transmit it to the human. With the increasingly hot summers, these insects now find ideal conditions in Europe, including in our regions.
“The rise in temperatures suddenly transforms our regions into favorable shelters for these insects,” explains Wim Thiery. “It is actually a direct consequence of our dependence on oil, coal and gas.”
Belgium soon concerned?
So far, no case has been officially detected in Belgium. But that could change very soon. “It is inevitable that it will happen one day,” says Wim Thiery. Mosquitoes carrying the virus, formerly confined to southern Europe, gradually go up north. And Belgium is no longer safe.
Worse still: according to the analyzes carried out by its laboratory, the mosquitoes already present on our territory are capable of transmitting the virus. “It is therefore theoretically possible that some Belgians have already been infected,” he warned.
The good news is that the majority of infected people do not fall ill. Only one in five people are developing light symptoms: fever, pain, swelling of the lymph nodes. The serious forms are rare. “Brain or meninge inflammation can occur in only 1 % of cases,” says Wim Thiery, “and it is only fatal for a tiny minority of people.” As for the transmission between humans, it remains exceptional: only by blood transfusion, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
For the moment, no vaccine to counter this virus exist.
