NEED TO KNOW
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A reported 32 cases of West Nile virus have been documented in Italy this year so far, comprising of two deaths
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The country’s National Institute of Health announced that 23 of the cases were listed as neuroinvasive
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There has been 49 cases of the West Nile virus documented in the U.S. in 2025 so far, per the CDC
There have been 32 cases of West Nile virus reported in Italy this year so far, with two of those people dying after contracting the virus, officials announced last week.
In an update published on Thursday, July 24, the Italian Health Ministry announced that 32 total cases have been reported in the country — a jump from the 13 confirmed cases and no deaths reported last year at the same time.
Per Italy’s National Institute of Health, 21 of the 32 cases were reported in the Lazio Region, specifically in the province of Latina.
A reported 23 of those cases were listed as neuroinvasive, one was an “asymptomatic case identified in a blood donor,” and two of the confirmed cases have since resulted in death — one in the region of Piedmont and another in Lazio.
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Stock image of a mosquito
Anna Teresa Palamara, director of the ISS’s Infectious Diseases Department, said in a translated statement that the virus “has been endemic in our country for several years now,” adding that 80% of cases are asymptomatic.
“The advice is to protect yourself as much as possible from contact with mosquitoes, which carry the virus, and to contact your doctor if you have symptoms such as a fever above 38°C [100.4°F], especially if accompanied by a rash,” she said. “Doctors are advised to consider the possibility of West Nile virus infection in the presence of compatible symptoms and proceed with laboratory diagnosis.”
The West Nile virus mostly spreads through bites of infected mosquitos which fed on infected birds, with 20% of people infected developing a fever or mild symptoms, according to the World Health Organization. Roughly one person out of 150 people infected will develop a “severe illness affecting the central nervous system” — including encephalitis or meningitis.
The virus can also be also be transmitted through organ transplant, blood transfusions, during pregnancy delivery and through breast milk, per the WHO, which notes that there has been no “human-to-human transmission” of the virus documented to date. Those infected are encouraged to rest, drink liquids and get in contact with their doctors if they notice severe symptoms, per the WHO.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been 49 cases of the West Nile virus documented in the U.S. in 2025 so far across 15 total states, with 24 of those cases considered “neuroinvasive.”
Read the original article on People
