Fourth confirmed case of West Nile fever in Bulgaria. It was found in a patient in Sofia.
This was announced by the director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCCPD), Prof. Iva Hristova, to Bulgaria ON AIR television.
BGNES recalls that so far three cases of West Nile fever have been known, all three in men. Two of them died.
According to Prof. Hristova, there is no connection between the individual cases. She expects that more positive samples will be confirmed as more tests are being done.
"There is no cause for concern," she also said and recommended caution.
The Ministry of Health has sent letters to the Regional Health Inspectorates (RHI) with an instruction to strengthen the surveillance and control of the West Nile fever disease in the territory of the respective district.
Specific actions are also recommended, including informing medical professionals about the epidemic situation in the country and directing attention to the detection of cases with a fever of unclear aetiology or central nervous system infections (viral meningitis/encephalitis), regardless of a history of mosquito bites.
The first patient was from the district of Haskovo and was defined as an imported case due to his residence in Greece since May of this year. The man returned to the country at the beginning of August, due to complaints of numbness and severe muscle pain, skin rash, vomiting and a temperature of 38 degrees.
The other two cases are from the Sofia city district. The patients were urgently hospitalized in a damaged general condition with weakness in the limbs, fatigue, and elevated temperature. One of them has an accompanying disease - Parkinson's disease. The two cases from the Sofia city district ended in death.
According to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control in the period 01.01. – 31/07/2024 eight countries reported 69 local cases of ZNT in humans as follows: Greece (31), Italy (25), Spain (5), Austria (2), Hungary (2), Serbia (2), France (1) and Romania (1).
Of these, 8 cases ended fatally: Greece (5), Italy (2) and Spain (1). Additionally, cases have been reported in Kosovo (1) and Albania (3).
The incubation period of West Nile fever is between 3 and 14 days. About 80% of human infections are asymptomatic. About 20% of those infected with the virus develop a disease - West Nile fever, which is usually mild to moderately severe, with flu-like symptoms - fever, headache, malaise, and fatigue. A maculopapular rash, nausea and vomiting may also occur. In less than 1% of patients, the course is severe and affects the nervous system (encephalitis, meningoencephalitis), mainly in elderly people and those with accompanying diseases. The lethality in persons from the risk groups reaches 17%.
Because the disease is usually spread to humans by infected mosquitoes that are infected by infected birds, personal precautions to prevent infection include using mosquito repellent, wearing clothing that covers exposed body parts, netting windows, using devices and preparations for home disinsection. | BGNES
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