Bulgaria confirms two cases of West Nile virus in Black Sea towns
Laboratory tests have confirmed two new cases of West Nile virus in the Bulgarian Black sea city of Bourgas and in Primorsko, also at the coast, the regional health inspectorate said on October 3.
Both cases involve women aged 76.
The outcome of tests at a laboratory in Sofia of two other suspected cases of West Nile virus is pending.
An 84-year-old man from the village of Botevo in Bulgaria’s Yambol district died of West Nile fever, the regional inspectorate of health in Yambol said, Bulgarian National Radio reported on September 25. At the beginning of September, health authorities in Yambol had issued a notice to health care professionals not to exclude West Nile fever from their diagnoses.
At the beginning of September, the municipality of Bourgas at the Black Sea issued a warning after a woman showed symptoms of West Nile fever.
On September 3, a man in Bulgaria’s second city Plovdiv was diagnosed with West Nile fever.
West Nile fever is a viral infection typically spread by mosquitoes. In about 75 per cent of infections people have few or no symptoms. About 20 per cent of people develop a fever, headache, vomiting, or a rash. In less than one per cent of people, encephalitis or meningitis occurs, with associated neck stiffness, confusion, or seizures.
(Photo: JJ Harrison)
