HEALTH authorities have issued a fresh West Nile Virus alert after the virus was detected in a dead wild bird in the Campo de Gibraltar.
The Junta confirmed the case this week, traced to a rural finca in the El Zabal area in La Linea, a zone that sits between Sotogrande, San Roque and the Gibraltar border.
Officials have now activated enhanced mosquito-control measures across the surrounding municipalities, warning that conditions this autumn – heavy rainfall, warm temperatures and persistent standing water – are ideal for mosquito activity.
READ MORE: Virus in Malaga: Deadly West Nile found in mosquitoes
The detection means the entire area has been placed in an official ‘alert zone’ for West Nile Virus, a classification previously used during outbreaks in Sevilla province, where human cases have occurred in recent years.
Local authorities are urging residents across inland and coastal communities to take immediate precautions, warning that cooperation from the public is essential to stop the virus gaining a foothold.
They advise people to use mosquito repellent at dawn and dusk, install screens where possible and remove any stagnant water from gardens, patios, terraces, plant pots, buckets or outdoor containers, which are the most common breeding sites.
READ MORE: Health alert as new types of coronavirus are found in bats in Spain
Extra treatments are being carried out in risk areas, with larval-control teams targeting wetlands, drainage channels, scrublands and agricultural zones.
Health staff are also increasing surveillance across Cadiz and Malaga provinces, two of the most vulnerable areas for mosquito-borne diseases due to a combination of wetland habitats and dense population centres.
Experts say that while the discovery does not mean there is an immediate danger to humans, it confirms that the virus is present in wildlife and circulating closer to the Costa del Sol than in previous seasons.
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