Netherlands records four more West Nile deaths, total reaches 9 this year
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment: four additional deaths in recent weeks, and infections have reached 56 since the first case was recorded in August.
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands announced on Thursday that four additional people have died from West Nile virus infections in recent weeks, bringing the country's total deaths from the virus this year to nine.
The first West Nile virus infection in the Netherlands in six years was recorded in August, and since then the total number of cases in the country has reached 56.
The institute said the spread of the disease has most likely peaked, noting a decline in new infections in recent weeks.
The World Health Organization says the virus is often transmitted by mosquito bites, and infection may develop into severe illness in about one in every 150 infected. The WHO added that rising temperatures give mosquitoes more time and space to spread West Nile virus across Europe, which has experienced an unprecedented series of heatwaves this year.
Increases in West Nile virus cases have also been recorded in Greece and Italy.
