An official from the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (KEELPNO) said on Wednesday that 16 people have died as a result of contracting the West Nile virus in Greece, out of a total of 133 cases reported.
“Unfortunately, the spread of the virus is quite broad and incidents have been detected in many municipalities, mainly in Attica and Central Macedonia,” Danai Pervanidou said.
“We are now at the peak of cases, from mid-August to mid-September, but we will see other incidents in early October,” the KEELPNO official said.
Last week the health ministry dismissed concerns that the spread of the virus is out of control.
“There is no particular concern that we will have an uncontrolled spread of the West Nile Virus, but the Health Ministry and disease control center KEELPNO are on alert,” Health Minister Andreas Xanthos said.
However, the United States embassy in Athens has issued a health alert for visitors to Greece over the spread of the West Nile Virus.