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West Nile Virus in Europe

16 Aug 2017

Between 2 August and 10 August 2017, 15 cases of West Nile disease were reported in Greece. This brings the Greek case total to 20 (including 2 deaths) since the beginning of the 2017 transmission season.

During the same period, Romania reported 1 case, in the south East of the country and Serbia reported 2 cases, the first cases of the year in these countries.

As of 10 August 2017, 1 case of West Nile disease has been reported in Italy.

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.