The US embassy in Athens has issued a health alert for visitors to Greece over the spread of the West Nile Virus, which has resulted in the death of at least 11 people.
The alert says that 77 cases of West Nile Virus have been reported throughout Greece this year as of August 16, and offers advise to visitors and locals alike.
The age of infected individuals ranges from 11 years to 94, but the average is 71 years, the disease control center (KEELPNO) said in a statement on Friday.
The embassy recommends that everyone “take preventative measures, such as using mosquito repellent when outdoors, wearing long pants/long sleeves, closing doors and windows or using screens, cleaning up mosquito breeding areas (such as standing water in flower pots), and keeping grasses and bushes trimmed.”
The virus, which is carried by infected mosquitoes, has spread throughout Greece as the cases have appeared in 33 municipalities, including the City of Athens and the Attica Region, Thessaloniki, Halkidiki, Imathia, Kilkis and Pella in northern Greece, Corinth in the Peloponnese and Rethymno on Crete.
In most cases, those infected have suffered central nervous system diseases, mainly forms of encephalitis or meningitis.
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