Health officials have sounded the alarm after a murderer, the disease of ‘paralyzed’ spread by mosquitoes has been found in the United Kingdom insects for the first time.
The western Nile virus, which is generally limited to Africa, the Middle East and southern Asia, has been found in mosquitoes that circulate in Nottinghamshire, which caused fears of human infection.
Until now, there have been no cases of the disease in the United Kingdom, but there have been seven cases associated with trips in Great Britain since 2000.
The western Nile virus is usually found in birds and typically circulates through bird bitten mosquitoes.
However, in rare cases, it is known that mosquitoes transmit the virus to humans.
In reaction to findings, virus experts have asked for ‘surveillance and investment in long -term preparation’ for possible outbreaks.
«This is a time to recognize that the United Kingdom is no longer immune to some diseases that are once considered tropical,» said Professor James Logan, a specialist in diseases transmitted by mosquitoes in the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
The heads of the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) emphasized that the general risk to the public is «very low» and the «is not easily spread among people.»
Health officials said they had detected the western Nile virus in mosquitoes for the first time in Britain
However, they added mosquito surveillance and control activities are ‘improving’ following the findings.
The officials detected viruses in samples taken from the mosquitoes of Aedes Vexans, a native British species, of wetlands in the inactive river near the Gamston village in Nottinghamshire.
The positive result, found in two individual mosquitoes tested in 2023, is the first time that the disease is detected in an insect in Britain and raises the possibility of spreading to the public.
Around one in five people infected with the western Nile virus develop symptoms, such as fever, headache and an irregular eruption that covers the trunk, head, neck, feet fingers.
These can last a few days to several weeks, with patients treated with liquids, bed rest and free sales analgesics.
Of those with symptoms, less than one percent will develop a serious form of the disease, called neuroinvasive disease of the western Nile (WNND), which can be deadly.
In this, the virus infects the brain and causes encephalitis, or inflammation of the organ, which leads to seizures, disorientation, paralysis and coma.
About three to 15 percent of patients with WNND die from the disease, since the infectious virus and closes the cells that carry instructions for the body to breathe.
People catch Bites mosquito disease, shown by their black and white stripes, which collect the bird virus. Photo, Flavivirus, responsible for the western Nile virus
Young children, adults over 50 and those who have weaker immune systems have the greatest risk of a fatal disease.
Dr. Meera Chand, deputy director of the UKHSA for the health of travel and emerging infections, said it was not too surprising that the virus had arrived in Britain given its known presence in other European nations.
However, officials added that the risk to the public was low.
Dr. Arran Folly, arbovirologist at the Government’s animal and plant health agency, said the western Nile virus that reaches the United Kingdom was a demonstration of how climate change was helping pathogens to reach Great Britain.
«The detection of the western Nile virus in the United Kingdom is part of a broader changing landscape, where, following climate change, mosquito -transmitted diseases are expanding to new areas,» he said.
‘Only through continuous surveillance we can evaluate the risk to animal and public health.
While the disease is new in the United Kingdom, it has been present in the United States for decades, detected first in 1999.
With the virus that is now propagated among native mosquitoes, around 2,000 Americans get sick with the western Nile virus every year, of which about 120 are killed.
Fabio Caruso, 40, better known as Sicilian Slammer in the ring, contracted the western Nile virus, which left him paralyzed from his neck down
While he was recovering from a kidney transplant, his immune system was suppressed and the virus quickly became a severe infection.
A patient who knows very well the dangers raised by the western Nile virus is Fabio Caruso.
The former Wrestling Professional Champion, known as Slammer Sicilian in the ring, was bitten by a mosquito that transported the pathogen in 2023.
At that time, the fighter was recovering from a kidney transplant, so his immune system was suppressed, which allowed the virus to spread out of control in his body and became a severe infection.
As his condition deteriorated, Mr. Caruso had to be admitted to the ICU after respiratory failure and paralysis of the lower part of the body prevented him from breathing on his own and had to be put in a fan to stay alive.
And due to the seriousness of its symptoms, the athlete experienced a high loss of fever and memory for more than two months.
It was only in July of last year that he was finally discharged and was allowed to return to his wife and daughter.
For protection against the western Nile virus, officials advise people who use insect repellent, as well as long -sleeved tops and sleeves in the afternoon and early morning, when mosquitoes are more active.
People have also been advised to eliminate any stagnant water near their home, since this can be a place where mosquitoes can reproduce.
The western Nile virus was discovered in 1937 in Uganda.
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