38 cases of West Nile fever and four deaths in North Macedonia

In North Macedonia, 38 cases of West Nile fever and four deaths from the disease have been registered this year, the Institute of Public Health announced today.

As stated in the epidemiological report on West Nile fever in North Macedonia in 2026, as of August 18, four deaths have been registered in patients with neuroinvasive West Nile fever, three of whom died in the previous week.

"These are men aged 62 to 83 from Skopje, who were hospitalized at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Conditions. Comorbidities were registered in three of the deceased. The diagnosis was confirmed by a serological examination of cerebrospinal fluid," it is specified.

Of the 38 registered cases of West Nile fever in 2026 in North Macedonia, 37 infected with the virus were from Skopje and one from Veles, while, by gender, 28 were men and 10 were women.

There were 37 indigenous cases and one case with a history of travel to Greece, but the incubation period also includes a stay in North Macedonia, and the first symptoms in the first diagnosed case of West Nile virus infection in 2026 appeared on May 12.

According to the Institute of Public Health of North Macedonia, the onset of symptoms in most patients, 24 of them, was registered in July, in 11 cases the onset of symptoms was in August, in two in June, and in one in May.

Most patients with West Nile virus are people over 60 years old - 33, four are people aged 50 to 59, and one person is aged 20 to 29, while the average age is 67,3 years.

"All registered cases in 2026 were in people with neuroinvasive disease (encephalitis and/or meningitis) and all were hospitalized - 37 at the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Conditions in Skopje and one at the (private) Acibadem Sistina Hospital," the report by the Institute of Public Health of North Macedonia states.