Authorities in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Croatia say several dozen others have also been hospitalised in past month
At least five people in the Balkans have died from West Nile virus and several dozen others have been hospitalised in the past four weeks, according to health authorities in Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Croatia.
West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease usually found in temperate and tropical regions. While many cases are mild and have no symptoms, severe disease symptoms can include headaches, high fever, neck stiffness, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.
Kosovo confirmed its first fatality on Wednesday, saying the victim was a woman from central Kosovo who died on 14 September. Macedonia’s health officials said on Thursday one woman had died and two other people were infected with the virus.
A spokesman for the Kosovo health ministry told Reuters two other people who died recently were also suspected of having the same virus, but the cases had not been confirmed with laboratory blood tests.
The United States is currently experiencing one of its worst outbreaks of West Nile virus since 2003.
In Serbia, three people have died and 35 hospitalised since mid-August.
“This is the first time the West Nile virus has been officially registered in Serbia,” the country’s department for public health said in a statement.
All the infected people were over 50 and had other chronic diseases, it said. Serbia’s western neighbour Croatia has registered five probable cases of the virus but no deaths.
Tags: At least, five die, Nile virus in the Balkans, West
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