Pamela Rendi-Wagner, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
In the current season, West Nile has been reported for the first time in Almería and Alicante in humans and in Almería and Menorca in horses.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDCfor its acronym in English) and the European Food Safety Authority (Efsafor its acronym in English) have published their monthly report on surveillance of HIV infection West Nile in humans and animals in Europe.
As explained in the report, in 2025, and until November 5, 2025, 14 countries in Europa they notified 1,096 human cases of West Nile virus infection (VNO) locally contracted with a known site of infection.
The earliest and latest dates of appearance were May 19, 2025 and October 27, 2025, respectively. In this way, they report that locally acquired cases have been reported in Italy (773), Greece (95), Serbia (62), France (59), Romania (49), Spain (31), Hungary (13), Croatia (4), Albania (3), Germany (2), North Macedonia (2), Bulgaria (1), Kosovo (1) and Turkey (1).
On the other hand, in Europe it was regrettable that 95 deaths and the number of cases reported this year is above the average of the last decade (751). “However, these figures are still lower than those recorded in 2018, 2022 and 2024, years in which the circulation of the virus was especially intense, with more than 1,300 cases reported on these same dates,” the European authorities point out.
Of course, they warn that, because these latest figures are based on consolidated data, while the data for the current year continue to be delayed and incomplete, the “Direct comparisons should be made with caution”.
The report highlights the Italian casesince, this year, Italy has experienced a large outbreak, with 773 confirmed human infections, including 71 deaths (case fatality rate of 9.2%, which is within the expected range). “This is the highest number of human WNV infections reported by Italy at this time of year,” they indicate.
Likewise, they highlight that during the current transmission season 35 regions notified by first human cases of WNV infectionsuch as various Italian ones like Genoa or Brindisi or French ones like Seine-Saint-Denis or Paris. In the case of Spainof the cyclist Alicante and Almeria.
Human cases reported in Europe in 2025
VETERINARY SURVEILLANCE OF WEST NILE IN EUROPE
The report also analyzes WNV surveillance from the veterinary point of view and points out that in 2025 they will have been reported in Europe 178 outbreaks among horses and 345 outbreaks among birds. Furthermore, the earliest date of onset of an outbreak among equids and birds was January 15, 2025 in Germany and February 16, 2025 in Italy, while the latest date of onset of an outbreak among equids and birds was, respectively, October 21, 2025 in France and October 22, 2025 in Italy.
In Europe, outbreaks among equids were reported in Italy (86), France (55), Croatia (10), Spain (9), Hungary (7), Germany (5), Greece (4), Austria (1) and the Netherlands (1). Outbreaks among birds were reported by Italy (318), Germany (15), Belgium (3), Spain (3), Austria (2), France (2), Croatia (1) and Hungary (1).
In the database of the Animal Disease Information System (ADISfor its acronym in English), no information was provided on the exact species of equids reported, while data on bird species was available.
Las bird species associated with the greatest number of outbreaks reported in 2025 were the common crow (95) and the common magpie (59), followed by the wood pigeon (30), the common kestrel (18), the northern goshawk (10), the herring gull (9), the little owl (9), rock pigeon (9), falconry unidentified (9) and black crow (8). Additionally, several other bird species were involved in between one and seven outbreaks.
It is notable that, in June, July and August 2025, the Outbreaks in horses exceeded the monthly average of the last ten years (2015-2024), but in September and October they were below it, while outbreaks in birds remained below the monthly average of the last three years (2022-2024) during most of the months, except in August and September 2025.
The ECDC and Efsa report that, as of November 5, 2025, outbreaks in birds and/or horses have been reported in 111 regions from 10 countries. Of the 10 countries that submitted data in 2025, eight had previously reported WNV outbreaks in birds and/or equids to ADIS in previous years, reflecting endemicity in these territories.
On the contrary, Belgium reported outbreaks for the first time of WNV to ADIS in 2025, with three outbreaks in wild birds. Two outbreaks affected common jackdaws and one affected common crows, all recorded in August 2025.
Furthermore, in October 2025, the Netherlands notified ADIS for the first time of a outbreak of WNV in equids. However, this was not the first detection of the virus in the Netherlands, where WNV was first documented in mosquitoes, birds and humans in 2020.
Likewise, of the three new regions of Belgium and the Netherlands, until November 5, 2025, they were notified by first time to ADIS buds in birds and horses in 26 regions. In Spain, these were Almeria and Menorca —in both fair cases—.
Map with outbreaks in horses and birds reported in 2025
FIRST DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS IN BELGIUM: THE EXPANSION OF THE ZOONOSIS CONTINUES
“The notification of WNV outbreaks in birds represents the first detection of the virus in Belgium. It should be noted that the country has never recorded any locally contracted human cases. This fact represents a significant step in the local appearance of WNV and points to a probable recent introduction of the virus into the national ecosystem,” European authorities warn.
In the report they explain that the identification of WNV cases in humans and animals in areas that had not previously been affected highlights the continued geographic expansion of the virusprobably driven by environmental conditions and conducive ecological factors. Furthermore, increased surveillance or sensitivity of controls and increased awareness in these areas could influence case detection.
“Due to delays in diagnosis and reporting, as well as the fact that most WNV infections are asymptomatic or subclinicalthe case figures in this report are likely to underestimate the actual number of cases. It should be noted that seasonal surveillance in humans focuses mainly on detecting laboratory-confirmed cases, which contributes to the delay in diagnosis,” they state.
Of course, they reassure that meteorological conditions are much less favorable for the transmission of WNV in Europe; The number of human cases and outbreaks in horses and birds is steadily decreasing. “The broadcast season is coming to an end and only a few sporadic cases are expected in the coming weeks“, conclude from the ECDC and the EFSA.
‘One Health’ map with data on both humans and birds and horses
