West Nile virus back on UK public health agenda
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The UK's Health Protection Agency starts its annual West Nile virus (WNV) enhanced surveillance programme on June 1. In its fourth year, the scheme involves examining samples from adults with encephalitis or viral meningitis with no known cause, for the presence of the virus. "We continue to take the potential threat to the UK seriously," said the agency. In Europe, limited WNV transmission has been reported in recent years in south-east France, while last year two Irish tourists returning from Portugal's Algarve region were diagnosed. In the US, however, the mosquito-borne WNV is a major public health issue, with 9,858 cases reported in 2003, falling last year to 2,470.