The Lazio region has confirmed two additional fatalities due to the West Nile virus. The victims are an 84-year-old man from Latina, who died on August 10 at the Santa Maria Goretti hospital, and an 87-year-old woman from Cassino with multiple pre-existing conditions, who passed away yesterday evening after arriving at the emergency room on August 17. The man had been diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia, and post-mortem testing confirmed his infection. These latest deaths bring the total number of fatalities from the virus in the region to twelve.
According to analyses performed by the Virology laboratory of the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases, eight new human cases have been certified since the last update on August 18. These include two cases with neurological symptoms, five cases of West Nile fever, and one asymptomatic blood donor identified through screening by the Regional Blood Center—a finding that underscores the safety of the regional transfusion system. The new cases were detected in the areas of Cassino (Frosinone), Latina, Gaeta, and Norma.
Alessio D’Amato, regional councilor and welfare manager for the Azione party, criticized the public health response, stating, “Unfortunately, any prevention plan for phenomena that will become increasingly common has completely failed. Specifically, in Lazio, the response was late and inadequate, and the data on the number of deaths demonstrates this.”