These individuals are two residents of Barcelona and one from Badalona. All three are currently in good health, show no symptoms, and are undergoing preventive home isolation. PCR tests, as well as blood and urine samples analyzed by the National Microbiology Center, have come back negative.
In addition to the Catalan contacts, four more individuals are being monitored in other parts of Spain, specifically in Galicia, Madrid, and Castilla y León. These individuals are also asymptomatic, and their initial analyses have been negative.
“"The risk of contagion for the general population in Catalonia is extremely low."
The original positive case originates from Buenos Aires. The patient, a young man, traveled from the Argentine capital with layovers in Santiago de Chile and Madrid before arriving in France, where he began to show symptoms. He later traveled to Galicia. Currently, the patient is asymptomatic, and analytical tests confirm he is not capable of transmitting the virus.
The Department of Health emphasizes that human-to-human transmission of the virus is an exceptional phenomenon. Experts point out that the virus does not circulate endemically in Catalonia due to the absence of the rodents that act as natural reservoirs for the disease. Person-to-person transmission requires very close and prolonged contact over time.
