The first locally infected cases of West Nile virus have been detected in Belgium, as five people have likely been infected with the virus in Flanders, according to the Department of Care. One person is hospitalised.
The infections happened in areas where the virus had previously been detected among horses and birds, but these are the first known humans to get infected in the region. According to the Department of Care, the chance of getting infected in the areas remains low.
The West Nile virus is spread by mosquito bites and primarily circulates among birds. In some cases, horses and humans can get infected if bitten. While intra-human infections are technically possible, they remain rare.
"In larger mammals, the virus is diluted within the blood. The chances of a mosquito being contaminated by biting a human are very low," professor Hans Nauwynck, head of the Laboratory of Veterinary Virology at the University of Ghent, told The Brussels Times in August.
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Infections tend to be mild among humans: only one in four develop symptoms like headache, muscle pain and fever. In very rare cases, the virus can lead to meningitis and become potentially fatal.
The virus has started spreading in Europe in recent decades, as warmer winters and drier summers allow for the mosquitoes carrying the virus to survive and multiply.
With the majority of infected people or animals not noticing the infection, it is hard to estimate the extent to which it has spread in Belgium.
