Record number of West Nile virus cases recorded in Europe

The European Union recorded the largest number of cases of mosquito-borne disease, with Italy suffering the most from this disease.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 1,715 cases of West Nile virus have been reported this year, compared to 989 cases in the same period last year. Italy was the hardest hit with 748 cases, followed by Greece with 445 cases, France with 144 and Spain with 139.

130 deaths were recorded, the largest number of them in Italy, where 56 people died.

The number of cases is likely to decrease over the next few weeks as weather across Europe becomes cooler and less favourable to the mosquitoes that spread the disease.

“West Nile virus belongs to the same group of viruses as dengue fever, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis. It causes flu-like symptoms and sometimes vomiting with diarrhea, but about one in 150 cases can develop a disease that affects the brain and nervous system and can become fatal. There is no vaccine or cure for it, the newspaper writes.

The disease is widespread among birds, but humans can only become infected if they are bitten by an infected mosquito. The disease is not transmitted from person to person. Most cases of severe disease are observed in the elderly and people with weakened immunity.