West Nile fever maps, 23 August 2012: 33 new cases in the EU and 46 in neighbouring countriesArchived

Thirty three new human cases of West Nile fever have been reported for the EU and 46 for its neighbourhood over the past week.

Twenty nine new cases were reported in Greece by the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO). Most cases, 26, were found in areas with previous case reports: in the prefectures of Attiki (3), Kavala (8), Samos (1), Thessaloniki (2), Xanthi (12). Two probable cases come found in the newly affected prefecture of Chalkidiki, and the location of one case is not known. (See KEELPNO Weekly bulletin for more information). New cases and affected areas in Greece are not unexpected given that since 2010 there has been progressive geographical expansion of West Nile virus transmission throughout the country, as stated in the recently published ECDC risk assessment on the epidemiological situation of West Nile fever in Greece.

For the first time this transmission season Romania reported cases of West Nile fever: three confirmed and one probable, in the Bucuresti municipality (Bucharest), Braila county and Ilfov county.

In neighbouring countries, Russia reported 42 new cases: 20 in new affected areas (Adygeya republic 2, Lipetskaya oblast 2, Novosibirskaya oblast 1, Rostovskaya oblast 13, Tatarstan republic 2) and 22 from Volgogradskaya oblast, an area with previous case reports.

The first cases in Serbia for the season were reported last week: one in Grad Beograd and three in Juzno-Banatski district.

Every Friday ECDC publishes on its website the West Nile fever maps, the information being based on cases reported up to the Thursday of each week.