The National Agency for Public Health (ANSP) informs about the registration of a case of disease caused by West Nile virus, confirmed by laboratory methods in a 70-year-old man from Cahul.

ANSP states in a press release that the man got sick on August 24. Initially he was admitted to the Cahul district hospital, later transferred to the capital’s Emergency Medicine Institute. "According to the epidemiological history, it was found that the patient was stung at home by an unknown insect. At the same time, on August 18, he visited Galați, Romania, where cases of disease have been registered during the year 2019”, the press release says.

Asked by IPN, Igor Curov, deputy medical director of the Emergency Medicine Institute, said that the patient was undergoing treatment, his condition being of average severity, with a tendency to improve.

The carriers of the virus are the migratory birds. They come in contact with mosquitoes, and once infected, can easily transmit the virus to humans. The disease causes flu-like symptoms: 39-40-degree fever, headache, muscle pain, achy eyeballs etc. Most cases are treated, but there is a risk of complications, especially in the elderly and children, which can develop encephalitis, meningitis, with the risk of death.

ANSP states that during the year 2019, cases of West Nile virus were reported by eight EU countries. Most cases in Greece - 126. In Romania there were 19 cases, and two resulted in death.