West Nile fever in Europe in 2018 - human cases compared to the previous season; updated 28 September

In 2018, as of 27 September 2018, EU Member States have reported 1 266 human cases: Italy (495), Greece (261), Romania (237), Hungary (190), Croatia (44), France (16), Austria (15), Bulgaria (5) and Slovenia (3). EU neighbouring countries reported 404 human cases: Serbia (320), Israel (81) and Kosovo* (3). To date, 124 deaths due to West Nile virus infection have been reported by Italy (36), Romania (30), Serbia (29), Greece (26), Bulgaria (1), Hungary (1) and Kosovo* (1).

During the current transmission season, 201 outbreaks among equids have been reported by Italy (107), Hungary (78), Greece (10), France (2), Romania (2), Austria (1) and Germany (1).

In accordance with European Commission Directive 2014/110/EU, prospective blood donors should defer for 28 days after leaving an area with evidence of West Nile virus circulation among humans unless the results of an individual nucleic acid test are negative.