West Nile virus infection causes one death in the Netherlands

A person ​has died in a ​Dutch hospital after contracting ‌the West ​Nile virus in the Netherlands, the country's public health institution RIVM ‌said on Wednesday. The RIVM reported last week the first West Nile virus infection contracted in the Netherlands since 2020 ‌and said the number of infections that had likely ‌occurred inside the country had now risen to three.

It was not immediately clear whether the person who died was one of ⁠those ​previously reported ⁠and the RIVM gave no further information on the case. The virus, ⁠which mostly spreads to people through mosquito bites, can cause ​severe, life-threatening illness in about one in 150 people ⁠who are infected, according to the World Health Organization.

The WHO has ⁠said ​warmer temperatures are giving mosquitoes more time and territory to spread the West Nile virus ⁠across Europe, with cases climbing in Greece and Italy this summer. The ⁠RIVM ⁠said it was still "very unlikely" for people to be infected with the virus in ‌the ‌Netherlands.