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West Nile Virus in Europe (Update 3)

02 Oct 2017

West Nile virus (WNV) continues to be transmitted in Europe. From the beginning of the 2017 transmission season to 28 September 2017,WNV has been reported in  Italy (49 cases), Greece (47 cases), Romania (45 cases), Hungary (16 cases) and Austria (4 cases). In the surrounding area, WNV has been reported in Serbia (36 cases), and Israel (9 cases).

There have been 15 deaths from WNV in Europe since the start of the 2017 transmission season in Romania (7), Greece (5), Hungary (1), Italy (1) and Serbia (1).

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.