Overflowing the shores: West Nile virus engulfs Europe

European countries are faced with West Nile fever, which is rapidly spreading in the southern regions, where the risk of getting sick was greatest. According to experts, the changing climate creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of insects and increases the risk of transmission of the virus. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Foci of mosquito bites

Record activity of diseases carried mainly by mosquitoes is recorded in Europe. The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota (CIDRAP) reports that to date, eight countries have reported 335 cases of localized infections. Most of the cases live in Italy, and double-digit numbers of West Nile fever cases are also recorded in Greece.

In Italy, the number of cases continues to grow, 22 people have already died from complications. According to reports from the Nova news agency, the geography of West Nile fever is gradually expanding — cases have been recorded in the Italian regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Campania, Basilicate, Calabria and Sardinia.

At the same time, according to the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Institute of Infectious Diseases (ISS), West Nile fever continues to spread in endemic areas of northern Italy. The mortality rate of neuroinvasive forms today is 13.9%.

West Nile fever has reached Israel. Most cases of the disease were recorded in the south and north of the country — in Central Arava and Emek ha-Maayanot - three people have fallen ill there since the beginning of the season. Local health care is already concerned about what is happening — on behalf of the head of the Pest Control Department of the Ministry of the Environment, Shai Reicher, prevention, monitoring and disinfection measures have been strengthened. Last year, a real epidemic swept through the region, which became the largest outbreak in the last two decades. Then 73 people died, and more than 930 people got sick in total.

The British Health Safety Agency said that the West Nile virus has reached the Foggy Island for the first time. The population of local mosquitoes turned out to be a carrier of the disease.

As for Russia, according to Rospotrebnadzor, there are endemic mosquito-borne diseases in our country. Among them are not only West Nile fever, but also tularemia, dirofilariasis and some types of encephalitis. In addition, the risk of malaria transmission remains due to the presence of specific vectors.

The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, noted in an interview with reporters that against the background of an increase in the incidence of West Nile fever in Europe, the number of recorded cases of virus infection in Russia decreased sixfold in 2025.

Climate Sponsor

Experts attribute the increase in the number of diseases to climate change and an increase in the population of vectors during the warmer months. According to experts, the change in temperature and humidity levels has created favorable conditions for the reproduction of mosquitoes.

Prolonged heat and heavy precipitation led to the fact that the foci began to circulate more actively in the regions. It is assumed that if the climatic trends continue, the geography of the disease will expand.

According to the latest data, foci of West Nile fever are located in more than 90 countries of the world — from Africa and Asia to America and Europe, among which 16 countries are endemic. In total, the danger affects 369 regions, which is three times more than 10 years ago: there were only 114 of them then.

Rospotrebnadzor recalled that countries with a tropical climate are most at risk. In addition to the fact that mosquitoes can carry West Nile fever, residents can also contract malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever after being bitten by an insect.

African disease

West Nile virus is an acute viral pathogen belonging to the flavivirus family. The vectors are mosquitoes, which become infected by feeding on the blood of sick birds. Humans and other mammals are considered "accidental hosts" and do not transmit the virus further.

The predominant habitats of mosquitoes are shallow ponds, puddles with warm standing water, swampy areas, basements, sewers, as well as sewage and abandoned buildings.

Most of those infected carry the disease asymptomatically. Some people develop flu-like symptoms: fever, headache, weakness, muscle and joint pain, rash. In rare cases, infection can lead to damage to the nervous system — encephalitis or meningitis, accompanied by confusion, seizures and paralysis.

Elderly people and patients with weakened immune systems are considered to be at risk. There is no specific vaccine or treatment for humans yet, and symptomatic therapy is being used. The main prevention is protection from mosquito bites: the use of repellents, mosquito nets and the elimination of insect breeding grounds near housing.

As for tularemia, yellow fever, dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis, vaccines have been developed against these diseases.