West Nile Virus in Europe (Update 4)
26 Sep 2018
Transmission of West Nile virus (WNV) continues in Europe.
From 14 to 20 September 2018, EU Member States reported 186 cases: Italy (92), Greece (32), Romania (33), Hungary (12), Croatia (11), Austria (2), Slovenia (2) and Bulgaria (2). Twenty five deaths from WNV disease were reported in Europe: Italy (14), Romania (6) and Greece (5).
In 2018, EU Member States have reported 1 134 cases: Italy (453), Greece (224), Romania (216), Hungary (167)Twenty five deaths from WNV disease were reported in Europe: Italy (14), Romania (6) and Greece (5)., Croatia (36), France (16), Austria (15), Bulgaria (4) and Slovenia (3).
EU neighbouring countries have reported 370 cases: Serbia (286), Israel (81) and Kosovo (3).
One hundred and fifteen deaths from WNV disease have been reported by Italy (35), Serbia (29), Romania (25), Greece (24), Hungary (1) and Kosovo (1) in 2018.
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.