West Nile fever in Sardinia
Recently there were alarming reports from Italy of an outbreak of dengue fever. Now a man there is apparently infected with West Nile fever.
Viruses that actually occur in other climate zones are also getting closer and closer to us in Europe.
The tropical disease West Nile fever has now been detected again in Sardinia. As “Südtirol News” reports, a 51-year-old man is infected there. He suffers from symptoms similar to those of meningitis. He is said to be in stable condition at a hospital in Oristano.
As “Südtirol News” further reports, there was the first case of infection on the island in August. The virus also appeared there last year. In its current weekly report alone, the European Health Authority (ECDC) names 31 confirmed cases of the virus in Europe: in Greece, France, Hungary, Romania and Spain. There was also one confirmed death in Greece.
West Nile fever has already been detected in Germany
West Nile fever has already arrived in Germany. As the Robert Koch Institute reports, “the first mosquito-borne infections of West Nile fever in East Germany became known in late summer 2019 (a total of 5 infections). In the following years, infections were also reported in the summer and autumn months East Germany (Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia) reported (2020: 22 infections; 2021: 4 infections; 2022: 17 infections, 2023: 4 infections so far).”
The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes that have previously sucked on infected birds. However, around 80 percent of those infected do not show any symptoms. Here you can read more about it.
