Greece had 27 deaths, 180 cases of West Nile Virus up to Sept 18

A total of 27 deaths and 180 cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) infection have been diagnosed and investigated in Greece up until September 18, according to an epidemiological report released on Thursday by Greece's National Public Health Organization (EODY).

Of these, 132 cases presented with symptoms involving the central nervous system (encephalitis, meningitis and/or acute muscle weakness and paralysis, among others), 48 cases presented with mild or no symptoms and 27 of the patients died.

According to the report, there were 18 new domestic cases reported in the past week and four cases where patients contracted the virus while abroad (three in Albania and one in Austria), which were not included in the above analysis. For two more cases with a complex travel history, an investigation on whether they are imported or domestic cases has yet to be concluded and they have...