Carme Soler is the president of AMASC, the Mallorcan association that brings together a group of neuropathic pathologies often misunderstood by families and even doctors, including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, illnesses that Soler herself suffers from.

The Balearic Islands Blood Bank (BSTIB) has participated in a study confirming the detection of the first case of Usutu virus infection in Spain, in a donor from Mallorca. The case was identified in June 2024 in a donor residing in Mallorca. The sample tested reactive in routine tests for West Nile virus. After being sent to the national reference laboratory for arboviruses at the Carlos III Health Institute, specific tests confirmed that it was an infection with the Usutu virus, an emerging arbovirus in Europe transmitted by mosquitoes of the Culex genus. In addition to the Mallorca case, the study detected two additional infections in Catalonia, confirmed using molecular biology techniques and genomic sequencing. All three cases appeared in donors who had not traveled outside their autonomous community, demonstrating local circulation of the virus. The work was published in Transfusion It has been developed by a multidisciplinary team that includes the Balearic Islands Blood Bank, the Blood and Tissue Bank of Catalonia, the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (CReSA), the National Center for Microbiology of the Carlos III Health Institute, and the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Germany. The authors have highlighted that the techniques commonly used for West Nile virus screening also allow for the detection of Usutu infections, thanks to the cross-reactivity between the two viruses. This facilitates the early identification of infected donors and strengthens transfusion safety. The Usutu virus was first detected in Africa in 1959, and in recent years it has shown progressive expansion into several European countries. Most infections are asymptomatic, but they can affect immunocompromised individuals.

The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Environment has declared Mallorca an area affected by the bluetongue virus serotype three. The government has declared a health emergency after confirming a positive outbreak on a sheep farm in Bunyola, which has 156 animals. Although only one outbreak has been detected, the government is monitoring two cases in the same health zone that were reported this weekend, and samples from them will be sent to the state reference laboratory in Algete.

It's a humid summer day, and the air is thick with mosquitoes. A three-year-old boy is bitten on the cheek and begins to scratch vigorously, causing the skin to itch. The wound is treated and a bandage is applied, and in principle, everything is resolved. But the next day, redness begins to appear and a honey-colored scab gradually forms. For pediatricians, the diagnosis is clear. He has impetigo, a common summer skin condition caused by bacteria in the dermis. Normally, they reside within the skin barrier, but if there is a wound or bite, they can penetrate and cause an infection. It can be localized or spread throughout the skin, either because the child has scratched other areas with dirty, infected hands, or because the germs have entered the bloodstream and spread throughout the body.