Overview

• The victim, a 77-year-old man with multiple chronic ailments, died at Santa Maria Goretti hospital in Latina after being hospitalized since July 17.
• His death is Lazio’s fifth recorded West Nile virus fatality, following the loss of a 93-year-old woman from Cisterna di Latina and elders in Latina, Isola del Liri and Nerola.
• Regione Lazio activated enhanced vector surveillance on July 17 and has since expanded mosquito trapping and larval disinfestation in high-risk zones.
• Centro nazionale sangue has imposed mandatory West Nile screening for all blood donations in affected provinces to prevent possible transfusion transmissions.
• Past summer outbreaks and current entomological data indicate case numbers are likely to peak around mid-August before subsiding.