Mosquitoes are vectors of a hundred viruses that can be transmitted to humans and about 700 that infect animals. This week, a common species in Spain, called Culex pipiens, has caused an outbreak of meningoencephalitis that has put Seville on alert. The Andalusian Minister of Health and Families, Jesús Aguirre, confirmed this Thursday that 11 of the 19 confirmed cases have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). Its main vector is this insect distributed throughout the world and which grows in places with shallow and warm waters. during confinement because of the new coronavirus, the usual prior pest controls were not carried out and it is very possible that this has encouraged the proliferation of mosquitoes. “The necessary treatments were not carried out at that time, even though it was allowed,” says Óscar Soriano, an expert on these insects and researcher in the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC).
