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West Nile virus continues to spread across Europe in 2026, with health authorities in Italy and the Netherlands reporting new cases and deaths this week from the mosquito-borne disease.
Italy's National Institute of Health said Thursday that it has recorded 432 confirmed cases and 17 deaths from the virus since the beginning of the year.
The case fatality rate, estimated for the neuroinvasive forms of the disease reported and confirmed to date, stands at 7.2%, down from 13.9% in the same period last year. Overall, Italy reported 430 cases and 27 deaths for the full year in 2026.
Dutch authorities said Wednesday that a patient had died from West Nile virus in Utrecht province. "The person contracted the West Nile virus in the Netherlands and died in a hospital," the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said in a statement, which gave no other details on the case.
The RIVM said three cases of West Nile virus infection likely contracted within the Netherlands have been reported so far in 2026, adding that it remains very unlikely for people to contract the virus domestically.
North Macedonia reported its fifth death of the year from the virus on Saturday. In extreme cases, the disease can cause tremors, fever, comas and encephalitis, a lethal swelling of brain tissue.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last week that 12 countries, Albania, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia and Spain, have reported cases this year.
West Nile virus primarily affects humans, horses and birds and spreads to humans when mosquitoes feed on the blood of infected birds. The virus is not transmitted between humans, and currently, there is no vaccine or treatment for it.
Health experts state that 80% of infections are asymptomatic, while roughly 19% cause flu-like symptoms and about 1% lead to severe neurological issues.
In July, the World Health Organization urged European countries to strengthen mosquito surveillance in response to the rising number of cases.
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