Why has the Marche region been so affected by Dengue this year? Is there a reason why the indigenous outbreaks of the infection were concentrated mainly in the area of Central-Northern Italy (also considering the smaller outbreaks in Emilia-Romagna and followed by Lombardy)? On paper “there is no particular reason”analyze the virologist Massimo Clementi.
While the latest bulletin certifies a September with record peaks of cases and updates the indigenous infections in the Marche region to 124 (of which 121 in Fano), the premise, highlights the expert at Adnkronos Salute, is that “The presence of the tiger mosquito for at least 30 years has favored the spread of Denguewhich is the vector of Dengue. And if the tiger mosquito is present it means that there are conditions whereby when the presence of one or more infected subjects occurs, they can be bitten and allow the insect to carry the virus and transmit it to others”.
What happened in Fano
The first defendant therefore always remains: the tiger mosquito. “What happened in Fano, however – specifies Clementi, who for years directed the microbiology and virology laboratory at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan – no one knows. We assume so. An infected person probably arrived from abroad, from one of the countries where Dengue is present, and then by virtue of the fact that the conditions are there”, i.e. the vector is present, “the outbreak started. But it can happen there as elsewhere” in Italy. “It must also be said that Dengue at the first infection is generally not serious. It is very annoying, there is general malaise, high fever and muscle and joint pain. It becomes more dangerous in the second infection, when a person who has already been infected is reinfected with a virus similar, but not identical to that of the first time.”
“The real news this year – continues the expert – from the point of view of the spread of the virus in Europe is that we had only seen imported cases”, with exceptions. “From a diffusion point of view, this is mainly linked to the fact that the vector exists in a certain area.” Clementi observes one last aspect: given that disinfestation, in the presence of cases, is carried out according to protocols, in general “there is a certain reticence, which has emerged in recent times, to carry out routine disinfestation operations, “for various reasons. E without adequate interventions the mosquito remains, and the larvae remain. Fears of this type have been expressed, for example, by people active in animal rights associations who fear that pets – dogs, cats – may in some way be contaminated by the presence of disinfectants or by those who fear that there may also be contamination of fruit , vegetables, vegetables”.
“I think that this reticence must be overcome – continues Clementi – because if these operations are not carried out” to stem the vector of Dengue “it becomes a problem. It would be enough to act preventively, informing people in the most effective way possible, reassuring them and inviting them to protect the gardens or to keep your pets at home for a couple of days must be understood disinfestations are essential if we want to somehow control these infections. And then there are the epidemiological monitoring, the always present ones, which are carried out by specialized laboratories and by the Higher Institute of Health, which in some way help to control the presence of the virus in mosquitoes, the number of cases in the various areas of Italy “.
Even the climate alone is not enough to explain why cases are concentrated in a particular area, concludes Clementi. “I don’t think it affects that much. Indeed, perhaps other areas would ideally be more exposed” than those affected this year, “areas where for example there are rice fields – he hypothesizes – There may be” a predisposing factor to the “importation” of the virus “by people arriving from abroad”. Behind an outbreak, “what is certain is that there was the right trigger”.
#Dengue #cases #Marche #region