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West Nile Virus in Europe (Update 1)

06 September 2017

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Linkreports the following cases of West Nile virus (WNV) from the beginning of the 2017 transmission season to 31 August 2017.

Austria: 6 cases

Greece: 37 cases

Hungary: 5 cases

Israel: 4 cases

Italy: 27 cases

Romania: 16 cases

Serbia: 12 cases

Advice for Travellers

WNV is present worldwide but the risk to travellers is low.

All travellers should be advised to practice Mosquito Bite Avoidance, especially from dusk till dawn during peak transmission times and when epidemics are known to be occurring.

No vaccine is available against WNV.

NOTE: UK Blood Transfusion Services accept donation from travellers returning from areas where there is a risk of West Nile Fever, provided the blood is tested negative for WNV.

  • It is important donors inform the transfusion services about all recent travel outside the UK so the blood can be tested for WNV, as this is not a routine screening test.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service have produced a leaflet which details information about blood donation after travel:

For further advice see West Nile Fever.