West Nile Virus cases going up

Health officials in the Republic of Cyprus say there have been four confirmed cases of the West Nile Virus in the greater Nicosia area.

According to Greek Cypriot media, four known patients are hospitalized in south Nicosia with confirmed cases of the WNV infection. Two of them are in the Intensive Care Unit at Nicosia General Hospital, another patient in the hospital’s pathology clinic, while a fourth patient is being treated in the ICU of a private hospital.

A fifth case is being suspected according to reports but has not been confirmed, while WNV cases have also gone up in the Turkish Cypriot community in the north, with sources saying there are six known cases.

State Medical Services officials said two of the four patients in the south are seniors, both treated at Nicosia General, with one of them described as very critical and the other making progress.

Infection in these two cases took place in the Strovolos and Pallouriotissa boroughs of the capital, but officials pointed out there were not linked.

Officials advise the general public to take preventative measures to minimize exposure to mosquito bites. Such measures include using bug repellent spray when outdoors, closing doors and windows when indoors or using door and window screens,

Most West Nile virus infections occur in warm weather when mosquitoes are most active during the summer. The incubation period is anywhere between a couple of days and two weeks, that is the time between a bite by an infected mosquito and the appearance of symptoms.

Humans get the virus most commonly by the bite of an infected mosquito, which has been feeding on infected birds before spreading WNV to people and other animals.