West Nile virus reaches 64 confirmed Dutch infections
The RIVM reports five new cases; reported deaths remain at ten.
Listen to this article
There is no audio version yet. Request one and an AI voice will read the article aloud.
Read by an AI voice.
Five new West Nile virus infections have been identified in the Netherlands, bringing the total this season to 64. Three new cases were reported in Zuid-Holland and two in Noord-Brabant, according to a report circulated on Thursday about the RIVM’s weekly update.
The number of reported deaths remains at ten, according to the update. The RIVM warns that an infection does not automatically mean the virus was the direct cause of death; age or underlying conditions may also have played a role.
The five new patients are thought to have contracted the virus through the bite of an infected mosquito. The number of new reports is lower than in the summer months. The RIVM links this to the waning mosquito season and lower temperatures, which make the virus less active.
In addition to the human infections, 32 birds and five horses tested positive in the same week. The figures show that the virus is still circulating in the Dutch environment, even as the number of new human reports declines.
West Nile virus is spread mainly by birds. A mosquito can pick up the virus when it bites an infected bird and then transmit it to people or other animals. According to the available information, people do not infect one another directly.
Most infected people develop no or few symptoms. Some develop flu-like symptoms; in a small minority, a serious neurological infection can occur. The figures are surveillance data and do not mean that every infection leads to illness.
The RIVM publishes the Dutch totals weekly. The current figures should therefore be read as a snapshot of identified infections, not as a complete count of all infections. The new total does not alter the advice to use official information from the RIVM, GGD or GP for medical questions.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The new total and the distribution of the five cases were confirmed by the ANP summary of the RIVM update published on Thursday. The text distinguishes between infection and death caused by the virus and gives no individual medical advice.
- confirmed The total number of confirmed Dutch infections has risen to 64. — Reported by ANP with reference to the RIVM’s weekly update. source
- confirmed Three cases were added in Zuid-Holland and two in Noord-Brabant. — Mentioned in the ANP report. source
- confirmed The number of reported deaths remained at ten. — Mentioned in the ANP report; the direct cause of death has not been established for every patient. source
- confirmed West Nile virus is spread through birds and mosquitoes, and people do not infect one another directly. — The RIVM and NOS describe this transmission route. source
Editor's note
The figure of 64 and the five new cases come from an ANP report published on Thursday summarising the RIVM’s weekly update. At the time of consultation, the publicly visible RIVM page was still lagging behind; medical interpretation is therefore limited to what RIVM and NOS had previously published.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „westnijlvirus rivm”
- RTL Nieuws — „westnijlvirus rivm”
- NOS — „westnijlvirus rivm”