WEST NILE VIRUS CONFIRMED IN DEAD GREY CROWS

LJUBLJANA, SEPTEMBER 10 /SRNA/ - West Nile virus has been confirmed in dead grey crows found in the Ljubljana area and nearby Grosuplje.

The virus was confirmed by Slovenia’s National Veterinary Institute.

The virus was last confirmed in birds in Slovenia in 2024, and no cases of infection in humans have been recorded since the beginning of this year, Slovenia’s Administration for Food Safety and Veterinary said.

The virus naturally circulates among birds and is transmitted by mosquitoes.

Some bird species, including crows, are particularly susceptible to infection, meaning the disease can spread rapidly among them and can have a fatal outcome.

Infections have been confirmed this year in Croatia, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Greece, Switzerland and France, STA reported.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last week that more than 1,000 local cases of the virus had been recorded in Europe this year. The number of cases has risen sharply in recent weeks.

The virus originated in Africa and was first identified in 1937 in Uganda’s West Nile Province. It was first detected in Europe in France in the early 1960s.

Today, it is present in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.