Infektionskrankheit: Mehr als 1.000 Fälle von West-Nil-Virus in Europa
In Europa steigen die Infektionen mit dem West-Nil-Virus: Inzwischen sind 15 Länder betroffen – auch Deutschland gehört dazu.
Since the start of the season, over 1,000 cases of West Nile virus infection have been reported in Europe. By last Thursday, 1,086 cases had been recorded across seven European countries, with no instances of people being infected while traveling. The spread rapidly increased over the past weeks, with only 241 cases reported in seven European countries at the beginning of August.
Now, 15 countries are affected, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Italy and Greece are the most severely impacted. Most cases are in Italy (516), Greece (284, including 11 with unknown infection origin) and Spain (88). Germany has two confirmed cases, with neighboring countries France, the Netherlands, and Austria also recording cases.
Altogether, 144 areas in Europe are affected, with 62 of them in Italy. However, the agency emphasized that this is not a comprehensive representation of transmission. About 20 percent of infected individuals develop a fever-like flu-like illness, while only one in 100 severely ill people face complications. The virus is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes between wild birds, but humans can also be infected.
Most patients recover from West Nile fever without complications, but severe patients may experience late effects relatively frequently.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
