A 92-year-old woman from Karditsa is the first victim of the West Nile virus for 2023 in Greece.
The woman was admitted to the Karditsa hospital on July 18 with meningitis and encephalitis and died on July 24.
According to the latest epidemiological surveillance report of the NHS, three cases of the mosquito-borne infection had been recorded by July 25.
The cases were registered in the regional unit of Serres (probably in the municipality of Heraklia), Karditsa (probably in the prefecture of Karditsa) and Kavala (probably in the municipality of Nestos).
The actual number of cases may be higher, however, since the majority of people who are infected do not show symptoms.
Fever, headache, nausea or rash may occur in 20% of cases, but only 1% of patients develop severe disease affecting the brain.
Older people and immunosuppressed patients are at increased risk.
Incidents have appeared in recent years in many European countries. In 2019, Greece reported 227 incidents.
