The result of the analysis on two crows killed in Sardara on 4 August as part of a controlled activity to protect agricultural crops is worrying. The two birds tested positive , such as the kestrel found at the end of June in Lotzorai, at the v irus West Nile .
And therefore the alert is triggered in the Campidano , because having found two infected in the pile, the experts explain, means that in this area there is a strong presence of the virus .
While in Northern Italy there is red alert since the cases of patients with Nile fever are growing day by day, in Sardinia, an endemic area, the alert was raised after the case of the 72-year-old from Massama hospitalized in serious condition in Oristano.
Only one episode in humans, while - confirmed by the epidemiological observatory of the Zooprophylactic Institute - there are three cases of positivity of birds (pathogen reservoirs) that emerged from veterinary surveillance and from the analyzes of the Zooprophylactic Institute.
The seventy traps for mosquitoes (vector insects that become infected by biting birds and eating their blood) scattered throughout the region, however, have not given any signals so far. However, thanks to one of these traps, the presence of the Usutu virus (another pathogen under surveillance; pathology and contagion similar to Nile fever) in the territory of Dorgali was ascertained.
The regional crisis unit has defined further checks and provided more information to the population (the municipalities have to think about it). The shield to focus on is prevention since there is no vaccine (it exists only for horses).
