Malaga province records first West Nile virus case: 69-year-old man in Clínico hospital ICU

The patient is currently in the ICU at the Clínico hospital in Malaga city. Doctors are closely monitoring his condition.

The man was admitted after visiting the A&E over a week ago. He presented with a fever and a headache.

Subsequently, a series of tests established he was suffering from encephalopathy: a disorder affecting brain function that can manifest as confusion, drowsiness or changes in the level of consciousness.

Doctors initially thought it might be another condition, as encephalopathy is a syndrome that can be associated with various diseases. The Virgen de las Nieves hospital in Granada, however, confirmed the virus infection after studying his samples.

All patients suspected of having West Nile virus are subject to a specific protocol, which includes the analysis of bodily fluids (cerebrospinal fluid, urine, blood), with samples sent to Granada or Seville for testing.

Once the Clínico was aware of the positive result, it notified the regional ministry of health.

West Nile virus (WNV) is transmitted primarily through the bites of mosquitoes of the genus Culex. These mosquitoes acquire the virus by biting infected birds and can subsequently transmit it to other birds, horses or humans.

One person cannot infect another. The epidemiological problem therefore lies in the circulation of the virus among mosquitoes and birds.

In 80 per cent of cases, the person does not develop any symptoms, but in 20 per cent of cases they may develop West Nile fever, accompanied by a headache, tiredness, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting or a rash.

A small proportion of cases develop the severe form, namely neuroinvasive disease, which can cause meningitis, encephalitis, altered consciousness, seizures, muscle weakness or paralysis.

The risk of developing a serious illness increases if a person is elderly or immunocompromised.

There are currently 62 cases in Andalucía. Seville has 56, Huelva has five and Malaga has one. The region has carried out laboratory tests on a total of 636 people this summer.

Of the 62 confirmed cases, 38 have presented as mild cases and 24 as neuroinvasive cases, with two deaths recorded. Ten out of 27 patients remain hospitalised.

Pizarra remains under alert until 1 October and Cártama until 22 september. Malaga's Campanillas district was under alert until 3 September.

In Malaga, there were only four cases in 2024 and none throughout 2025.

President of the Spanish society of infectious diseases and clinical microbiology (SEIMC) Dr Francisco Javier Membrillo told SUR last year that there are more cases of this tropical virus in Andalucía every year.

"We have to bear in mind that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, as most of the cases are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, which means that probably only serious cases end up at hospitals, especially in Western Andalucía, although also increasingly in the north. Climate change, the increase in temperatures in recent years and spring rains this year mean that all the conditions are in place for it to be a summer with lots of mosquitoes, which is what will favour the transmission of the virus," he stated.

When asked whether Malaga provided conditions for the transmission of the virus, he said a firm "yes".

Regional minister of health Antonio Sanz stated in March that his department would extend the monitoring plan to "three further diseases, alongside West Nile virus (WNV), transmitted by other types of mosquitoes: dengue, chikungunya and Zika".

All are tropical diseases. Sanz explained that, in 2025, the regional ministry had detected 17 cases of dengue, 14 of chikungunya and seven suspected, unconfirmed cases of Zika in Andalucía.

"All were imported cases, that is, people who had travelled to countries in Central and South America. But these cases introduce the virus into our region, so we must remain vigilant to prevent the virus from spreading," the regional minister said.

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