From abroad
The first three cases of West Nile virus infection since 2018 have been confirmed in Slovenia.
Source: Dnes24.sk, SAS
Three people have been infected with the West Nile virus in Slovenia. These are the first cases of infection with this disease in the country since 2018, the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) announced on Monday. TASR informs about it according to the report of the STA agency.
All three cases were reported in the northeast of the country. Two infected people were admitted to the University Hospital in Maribor, and both contracted the mosquito-borne virus in Slovenia.
Different seriousness
“One had mild symptoms and we have already discharged him. However, the course of the disease in the second is more difficult with certain complications, which are not life-threatening, however. said Bozena Kotnik Kevorkijan, head of the infectious disease department.
It is spreading across Europe
She pointed out that none of the cases were imported to Slovenia from abroad. She noted that the disease is not transmitted directly from person to person and the hospitalized patients did not come from the same area of the country.
The last time Slovenia registered five people infected with this virus was in 2018. In 2017 and 2013, the authorities reported one case each. According to the STA agency, infection with the West Nile virus has already been reported this year from Italy, Croatia, Austria and Hungary.
What is it about?
West Nile virus first appeared in Uganda in 1937. It is transmitted by mosquitoes and mostly occurs in the warmer months when mosquitoes are more active. Transmission from person to person is very rare, for example through blood transfusion or organ donation.
The incubation period lasts three to 14 days, but approximately 80 percent of those infected will not develop any symptoms. People over 50 years of age or people with weakened immunity are considered at risk groups. There is no vaccine against the herpes simplex virus. However, after overcoming the disease, the infected person will probably gain long-term immunity, writes STA.
Photo: illustrative
Source: TASR
Source: www.dnes24.sk
