West Nile virus symptoms: Spain travel warning as woman dies from killer virus despite being 'in perfect health'

The virus is transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. The woman is the second person to die in Spain's Seville province this year after contracting the virus following a mosquito bite.

Granada Romero Ruiz was hospitalised on July 11 after falling ill and died on Friday night (19 July) aged 86 at Seville’s Virgen del Rio Hospital. The son of the woman, Antonio Pineda, said she was in perfect health before the mosquito bite.

According to The Express, he said: "She had no underlying health problems, she was healthy as could be, active and with a normal life." He added that he believes her death could have been avoided had areas near his mother's home been properly fumigated.

The first Spanish victim of the West Nile virus was a 71-year-old woman who lived in the town of Dos Hermanas, a 30 minute drive from La Puebla del Rio where the late 86-year-old was from. Elderly people and those with underlying conditions including diabetes and cancer are most at risk of falling victim to this virus, which can cause meningitis in children.

Earlier this month, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) director Andrea Ammon warned climate change is "creating more favourable conditions for invasive mosquitoes to spread" in European areas previously unaffected and "infect more people with diseases such as dengue". He added: "Increased international travel from dengue-endemic countries will also increase the risk of imported cases, and inevitably also the risk of local outbreaks."

The mosquito-borne virus can cause severe symptoms in one out of every five infected individuals, leading to fever, body aches, rashes, and vomiting. In extreme cases, patients may suffer from seizures, muscle weakness, and even paralysis. Recovery from the severe illness might take several weeks or months, and some effects could be permanent.

There are currently no specific medicines available to treat West Nile. Rest, fluids, and over-the-counter pain medications is advised to relieve some symptoms. In severe cases, patients often need to be hospitalised to receive supportive treatment, such as intravenous fluids, pain medication, and nursing care.