Athens: West Nile virus has infected 1,855 people across 18 European countries since the start of 2026 and killed 141, according to an update that the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control published on 15 October. The agencies counted 769 new human cases since their previous update in September. EFSA’s Giusi Amore said the disease “has reached record levels in Europe.”
Inside the European Union and European Economic Area, authorities reported 1,715 cases. The average for the same point in the season over the past decade is 693, so this year’s total runs at roughly two and a half times that mark. Italy reported the most cases with 748, followed by Greece with 445 and France with 144. Greece and France both recorded their highest totals on record.
West Nile virus also circulates in animals, which serve as an early warning for human outbreaks. Fifteen countries reported 511 outbreaks in horses and 595 in birds. Mosquitoes spread the infection after feeding on infected birds, and most people who catch it show no symptoms, although a minority develop severe neurological illness. Older people and those with weakened immunity face the greatest risk.
The West Nile virus season is nearing its end. The agencies said transmission normally slows as temperatures fall, although low-level spread may continue for several weeks. That timing matters for blood and organ safety, because donor screening rules in affected regions stay in place until mosquito activity stops.
The numbers raise questions for planners in the Union. Europe has no licensed vaccine for West Nile virus, so national authorities rely on mosquito control, surveillance in birds and horses, and public advice on bite prevention. Greece’s cases concentrated heavily around Attica, which shows how a dense urban area can drive a regional outbreak when conditions favour mosquitoes.
Public health agencies will now compare the 2026 pattern with earlier seasons to see whether warmer, wetter summers are extending the range and length of transmission. Researchers have linked the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in southern and central Europe to climate trends, and the record counts will feed that debate. Health ministries will also review whether early warning triggers reached communities quickly enough.
For residents and visitors, the practical advice stays the same. Use repellent, cover skin at dusk and dawn, remove standing water around homes and seek medical care after a high fever with headache or confusion. Authorities in the worst-hit countries will publish final tallies once the reporting period closes, and those figures will show whether West Nile virus has become a permanent feature of European summers.
