West Nile virus leaves two dead in Belgium

Published at: 15/10/2026 10:39 AM

The Department of Health of Flanders confirmed this Thursday the death of two of the fourteen patients infected with the West Nile virus in Belgium, who presented the highest level of risk among the cases registered in the country.

The agency's spokeswoman regretted the deaths and recalled that the circulation of the virus in the region had been known for months. “It's not a surprise; we knew that the virus circulated locally in Flanders and that 1% of those infected could develop a severe form of the disease,” he said.

Belgian health authorities did not release details about the victims for reasons of confidentiality. West Nile virus, an arbovirus native to sub-Saharan Africa, is mainly transmitted by mosquito bites and can cause neurological damage in people.

According to what was published by Telesur, the event has triggered alerts in the Central European region, where the Netherlands reports a sustained increase in deaths associated with the circulation of the virus since last August.

Mazo News Team