Laurence Dollimore
A FOURTH person has died from the West Nile virus outbreak in Sevilla.
F.V.V, a 78-year-old farmer from the capital who worked in Pinzon, died on September 5, reports ABC.
The Sevillano first became ill on August 14, suffering fevers and a body temperature of 39C.
He was admitted for observation to the Virgen del Rocio hospital on August 17 but was discharged the next day after testing negative for coronavirus.
The very next day, his family took him to the Virgen Macarena Hospital as his fever continued and he had trouble staying awake, his son-in-law told ABC.
Several tests and a CT scan were performed before a blood analysis sent to a specialist hospital in Granada revealed he had the West Nile virus.
He remained at the hospital, without ever entering intensive care, before being discharged on August 25.
“If you talked a little with him he would answer you, but if you were silent for 10 seconds he would immediately fall asleep again. He was sleeping all day,” the son-in-law told ABC.
“When they saw his record at the Macarena hospital, they saw that he had only gone once for an analysis; He was a person who was healthy, like men in the fields, always eager to work.”
His death is the fourth within a month, following that of a 77-year-old, 85-year-old and 70-year-old.
The farmer is believed to have been bitten by an infected mosquito while working in his cotton field in Pinzon.
The area is considered a risk zone and authorities are already carrying out fumigation in the town.
There have been a total of 52 people infected by the virus in Sevilla province, while nine people remain in hospital (four in intensive care).
The virus proves asymptomatic in 80% of carriers, but can prove fatal for those with weakened immune systems or the elderly.
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