Batut Institute on reports of West Nile fever: "People are not infected, it's virus transmission season"

Photo: Nikola Tomic, Mateja Beljan

Two days after Telegraf.rs reported that there are mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus in Serbia in Belgrade, Pancevo and Pozarevac - the last of which towns announced yesterday that a woman has this virus, the Institute of Public Health of Serbia Batut reacted.

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They claim that for now there are no people infected with West Nile virus, and as for places that have infected mosquitoes, they referred us to the Institute for Biocides and Medical Ecology in Belgrade.

"For all information regarding the cities where infected mosquitoes have been registered, you should contact the Institute for Biocides and Medical Ecology in Belgrade," they stated in their response to Telegraf.rs and added that as of yesterday, there were no infected people either:

"Based on the data submitted to the Institute of Public Health of Serbia 'Dr. Milan Jovanovic Batut' (in accordance with the Recommendations for monitoring of West Nile fever in the human population in the 2022 season) and laboratory criteria (according to recommendations of the European center for prevention and control of diseases) no confirmed cases of West Nile fever in the human population have been registered in the territory of Serbia as of July 5, 2021."

Batut adds that by June 29, 2022, no cases of West Nile fever have been reported in the human population in the countries of the European Union (EU), either.

Batut posted a statement similar to its reply to the Telegraf query on its website.

All this happened after we reported that there have been infected mosquitoes in three cities since June -  in Belgrade, Pancevo and Pozarevac -and that no one warned the public about it until a few days ago. The City of Pozarevac also announced on its website that a woman was infected with this fever and is being treated at the General Hospital in Pozarevac.

She was in good general condition, and the confirmation of the second test of the presence of this virus was awaited. As Telegraf.rs has learned, the result is expected from the Torlak Institute for Virology, Vaccines and Serums.

As we have already reported, it has been known since June 21 that there are infected mosquitoes in Pancevo, and in the same month they appeared in Palilula in Belgrade. However, this was only learned after Telegraf.rs published an article on Monday about the presence of infected mosquitoes, and yesterday the public company City Sanitation announced that there were infected bloodsuckers in six locations in the capital.

The Batut Institute recalls in a press release that West Nile Fever is a seasonal disease, that is, a disease that is most prevalent in the period of greatest activity of its vector - the mosquitoes.

"For our geographical area, it is characteristic that vectors become active in the spring (March/April), and the period of their intense activity is from the end of May to September. West Nile virus transmission season in Serbia usually lasts from June to November. In the Republic of Serbia, intensive monitoring of West Nile fever in the human population is carried out during the virus transmission season from June to the first half of November, and passive monitoring of the disease during the rest of the year. Taking into account the experiences of both the surrounding countries and our country, the first patients are registered mainly in the second half of July, and the largest number of cases are reported during the month of August," states Batut.

It adds that on June 1, 2022, the Institute of Public Health of Serbia forwarded its recommendations for the monitoring of West Nile fever in the human population in the territory of the Republic of Serbia to a network of institutes.

"Institutes of public health have sent recommendations to clinics for infectious and tropical diseases, that is, to general hospitals wards that treat infectious and tropical diseases in the territory of their jurisdiction, with a note that special attention should be paid to neuro-invasive forms of the disease. In this way, and in cooperation with the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for arboviruses of the Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Serums Torlak, etiological diagnosis of encephalitis or meningitis is made possible. The Institute of Public Health of Serbia collects all relevant data regarding affected persons, there is a protocol according to which the information is collected and consolidated."

(Telegraf.rs)