Filenews 7 May 2025 - by Marilena Panayi
The competent authorities are on alert for the West Nile virus. The Ministry of Health has sent an extensive briefing to all doctors in Cyprus urging them to be vigilant and proceed with laboratory tests on all patients who present relevant symptoms.
The West Nile virus, the Ministry of Health points out in its briefing, "is mainly transmitted by the bite of infected 'common' Culex mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are usually infected by infected birds (some species of mainly wild birds)."
The incidents "occur during the summer and autumn months mainly during the mosquito circulation season" and "given the detection of cases of West Nile virus infection in the Republic of Cyprus in previous years", doctors are asked to be vigilant from now until the end of October.
Symptoms of infection
The majority of people infected with West Nile virus (75%-80%) will not show any symptoms, the Ministry of Health says, while about 20%-25% of people infected show "symptoms of acute systemic viral assistance such as:
- Fever
- Headache
- Generalized weakness
- Disorientation
- Tremor
- Myalgias
- Arthralgias
- Posterior Lumbar Pain
- Swollen lymph nodes
Some people may experience gastrointestinal manifestations or a rash.
A smaller group of people (around 1%) are likely to experience more severe symptoms, namely "severe neuro-penetrating" disease with central nervous system involvement, mainly encephalitis, meningitis, acute flaccid paralysis/myelitis or a combination of these."
"With the aim of early detection of cases, it is recommended that every clinically suspected case be investigated in the laboratory for West Nile virus infection," the Ministry of Health points out, referring doctors for further information, both on this disease and on other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes in the medical literature and on specific official websites.
"Laboratory testing of encephalitis cases without a laboratory-confirmed cause is of particular importance, especially in older people," the Ministry of Health stresses, noting that "infection with West Nile virus is a mandatory declared disease, for each case must be declared to the Epidemiological Surveillance and Control of Infectious Diseases Unit of the Medical Services".
