This year, West Nile Virus (WNV) is once again appearing in the regions of eastern Germany from which cases have already been reported in the previous two years. Since the beginning of July, the National Reference Laboratory for West Nile Virus infections confirmed the disease in 32 zoo and wild birds and 7 horses. So far one horse has died as a result of the infection.
Affected federal laender are Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. Here, WNV was already detected in animals in 2018 and/or 2019. Further cases of disease in birds and horses are expected in the coming weeks. Horse owners should follow the vaccination recommendations of the Standing Veterinary Vaccination Commission (StIKo Vet).
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) also reported a number of human infections, 7 WNV detections were determined for Leipzig alone, see Epidemiological Bulletin 37/2020 at www.rki.de.
