West Nile Virus in Europe (Update 2)
28 Aug 2018
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
reports that between 17 and 23 August 2018, European Union (EU) countries saw 136 human cases of West Nile fever: Italy (59), Greece (31), Romania (25), Hungary (19) and France (2).
EU neighbouring countries reported 82 cases: Israel (49) and Serbia (33).
This week, 19 deaths were reported by Greece (7), Romania (5), Serbia (4) and Italy (3).
In the 2018 transmission season up to 23 August, there have been 410 cases in EU countries: Italy (183), Greece (106), Hungary (58), Romania (56), France (5) and Croatia (2).
EU neighbouring countries reported 210 human cases: Serbia (159), Israel (49) and Kosovo* (2). 39 deaths from West Nile fever have been reported by Serbia (15), Greece (11), Italy (6), Romania (6) and Kosovo (1).
Advice for Travellers
There is no vaccine against WNV.
Travellers should practice Mosquito Bite Avoidance when visiting areas experiencing an outbreak of WNV. These outbreaks will be listed on the destination pages of fitfortravel. Medical advice can be sought if symptoms develop following travel to a risk area.
Note for blood donors: If you have travelled to an area with WNV in the past 4 months you may need to be tested for WNV before donating blood. All travel must be mentioned to the Blood Transfusion Service so that they can determine whether you need to be tested. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service have produced a leaflet which details information about blood donation after travel:
For further information see West Nile Fever.