The case was diagnosed in the 33rd epidemiological week of 2026, with laboratory tests by the National Public Health and Pharmacy Centre confirming the infection. An epidemiological investigation found that the patient had not travelled abroad before falling ill, meaning the infection is considered to have been acquired in Hungary.
Virus behind exotic disease is active in Hungary
The case is particularly noteworthy because last year’s first locally acquired infection in Hungary was identified as early as the 31st epidemiological week. The latest infection therefore once again indicates that the virus is present in the country’s mosquito population, Szúnyogmonitor wrote.
The West Nile virus’s natural cycle takes place primarily between birds and the native and widespread Culex mosquito. Humans and horses are known as ‘dead-end hosts’: they can become infected but generally do not pass the virus on.
The infection often goes unnoticed. Most human cases are asymptomatic. When symptoms do develop, they may include fever, headache, muscle pain, malaise and other flu-like symptoms. In rarer cases, however, the virus can attack the nervous system, causing encephalitis or meningitis, severe neurological symptoms and, in extreme cases, death.
It can be fatal: these groups face the greatest risk
Fatal cases are not unknown in Europe. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 1,112 locally acquired infections and 97 deaths were recorded across 14 European countries in 2025. The situation was particularly serious in Italy, where 72 of 779 cases proved fatal – a mortality rate of almost 10 per cent.
The greatest risk is faced by older people and those whose immune defences are weakened by an underlying medical condition. Most infected people, however, recover from the illness without serious consequences.
The Hungarian case should therefore prompt heightened vigilance rather than panic. Mosquitoes play a key role in the virus’s emergence in Hungary, making the continuous monitoring of mosquito populations and the pathogens they carry particularly important. There are no vaccines or specific treatments for the virus.
Multiple deaths in Europe
In the Netherlands, an infection causing West Nile fever was detected in August for the first time in seven years. The country’s public health institute said at the time that about 80 per cent of people infected with the virus showed no symptoms. However, roughly 1 per cent developed neurological complications, chiefly people over 50 and those with weakened immune systems. In rare cases, the infection can prove fatal.
The agency advised people to wear long-sleeved clothing, use insect repellent and keep mosquitoes at bay with bed nets and window screens.
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But on August 26, the Hungarian news agency MTI reported that the first person in the Netherlands had died from West Nile fever, in the province of Utrecht. The only detail released about the victim was that they were elderly. At the time, two further cases were known to have been acquired within the country. Another patient being treated in hospital for West Nile virus was also reportedly elderly, according to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant. Earlier, a woman had died after contracting the infection while travelling in south-eastern Europe.
This is hardly surprising: reports last week said that further West Nile virus infections had been recorded in Serbia and Croatia, while North Macedonia was facing the most serious outbreak in the region.
According to figures released last week by the ECDC, Albania, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Spain have reported cases this year.
ECDC: Hungary, among other countries, facing a growing threat from mosquito-borne diseases
