The West Nile virus was diagnosed in another five people in the Netherlands between October 30 and November 5, according to recently published data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The virus was already found in a person in the province of Utrecht on 15 October.
In mid-October, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) released the news about the first infection. The institute has not disclosed the five other infections with the virus.
West Nile virus is common in birds and is transmitted by mosquitoes, which feed on the blood of infected birds. Then the mosquitoes infect other birds. People can get sick from the virus, but it does not play a role in its spread.
Blood is tested at blood banks in the Utrecht region for the presence of the West Nile virus.
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