The first cases of West Nile fever have occurred in Austria. According to the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), eleven human infections have been confirmed as of August 27. According to the AGES infectious disease radar, only adults in the east of the country have been affected so far.
Six cases were identified during routine donor blood tests on blood donors. Some cases were diagnosed and hospitalized based on neurological symptoms. Two cases were imported from abroad.
Birds are the “main hosts” of the pathogen
West Nile fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (Culex mosquitoes). The pathogen normally circulates between blood-sucking mosquitoes and birds, which are the “main hosts.” But humans and other mammals, especially horses, can also become sick, AGES explains: “However, they are a dead end for the virus.”
The virus can no longer be transmitted by mosquitoes from humans and horses, and therefore cannot be transmitted to other humans or horses. The disease is spreading increasingly in Europe, especially in urban areas and where intensive agriculture is practiced, researchers report. “The risk of developing West Nile fever in Austria is still low,” AGES says.
Infections usually asymptomatic
According to the Ministry of Health, 80 percent of infections are asymptomatic and 20 percent of those infected develop a flu-like illness with sudden high fever, muscle aches and headaches, gastrointestinal symptoms, possibly cold symptoms, skin spots and swelling of the lymph nodes. There is no approved vaccine for humans, but there is one for horses.
As part of a monitoring program carried out by AGES, Gelsen traps were placed throughout Austria and also specifically in the gardens of some cases. The virus has not yet been found in the several thousand gelato that have already been caught and tested for the virus this year.
Three cases confirmed in Slovenia
Three human infections with West Nile virus have also been confirmed in neighboring Slovenia, the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) announced. All three cases were reported in the northeast of the country, the report said. These are the first confirmed cases this year; five infections with the virus were last recorded in 2018
Source: Krone
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