National Public Health Organisation: 157 West Nile cases, 13 deaths

Domestic cases of West Nile virus infection recorded in Greece during 2026 have reached 157, with 13 deaths, according to the weekly epidemiological surveillance report of the National Public Health Organisation for the period up to 19 August 2026. In a single week alone, 47 new cases and four new deaths were reported, a rate showing this year’s transmission period is in full swing. Of all the cases, 116 showed central nervous system involvement, meaning meningitis, encephalitis or paralysis. According to the same report, 42 patients were hospitalised, 23 of them in intensive care units.

The scale of this year’s surge is clear from the comparison with the previous year: the 157 cases already exceed the 96 recorded in the whole of 2025, and this year’s transmission period has not yet ended. The rise is not only about the absolute number: the proportion of cases with nervous system involvement, 116 out of 157, shows that a large share of the cases reaching the health system are severe. The National Public Health Organisation notes that case numbers usually peak from mid-August to early September, so the coming weeks are considered critical. Geographically, besides eastern Attica, which is at the centre of the outbreak, cases are recorded in Thessaly, Central Macedonia, the Peloponnese and Central Greece. All 13 deaths involve patients over 65, the age group considered most vulnerable along with those with underlying conditions or immunosuppression, as also noted in the related coverage.

The virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito and is not transmitted from person to person. This means protection is in practice a matter of avoiding bites. The National Public Health Organisation’s recommendations focus on using insect repellent on exposed skin, wearing long-sleeved clothing around sunrise and sunset, using screens and mosquito nets at home, and removing any standing water from yards, flowerpots, hoses and containers, where mosquitoes breed. The large majority of infections are asymptomatic, but the appearance of high fever with severe headache, confusion or muscle weakness requires immediate medical assessment.

The National Public Health Organisation’s report does not attribute the rise to a specific cause and does not announce new measures at the national level; spraying and mosquito control interventions remain the responsibility of Regions and municipalities. The weekly reports will continue to be published and will show whether the curve peaks within September, as the epidemiological pattern predicts. TodayGrid had tracked the progress of this year’s period, when the tally stood at 110 cases and nine deaths, as well as the measures infectious disease specialists had called for earlier in August.