West Nile Fever: 60 Cases in Serbia, 23 in Belgrade
Batut counted 60 people sick since June 1 as of October 18, and in 49 of them the disease reached the nervous system. Here is where the cases are and what is known about the mosquito.
Did West Nile fever leave along with the summer? It did not, and the latest figures show it. The Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut” announced on October 19 that 60 people have been registered with West Nile fever in the country from the start of the surveillance season on June 1 through October 18, 2026.
How many people are sick, and who are they?
In 49 of the 60 patients, the disease took a neuroinvasive form, meaning it affected the nervous system. That is about 82 percent of patients. The remaining 11 did not have that form.
The patients include 35 men and 25 women. The average age is 63.6 years. Batut’s release, and the media coverage of it, contains no data on deaths, so we do not report any either.
Where were the cases registered?
Cases are recorded in 13 areas: twelve districts and the territory covered by the Kosovska Mitrovica Institute of Public Health. Belgrade, the South Backa District and the Sumadija District together account for 39 of the 60 cases, nearly two thirds.
The breakdown, as Batut lists it:
- Belgrade: 23
- South Backa District: 9
- Sumadija District: 7
- Central Banat District: 6
- South Banat District: 4
- North Banat, Rasina and Pomoravlje districts: 2 each
- West Backa, Branicevo, Raska and Nisava districts: 1 each
- Kosovska Mitrovica Institute of Public Health area: 1
Belgrade alone has 23 cases, more than a third of the national total (38 percent).
How does the virus spread, and how long does the season last?
West Nile fever is a seasonal disease, spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. The main carrier of the virus is Culex pipiens, a species that is well established in Serbia. Batut says the virus transmission season in Serbia usually runs from June to November, so new cases before the end of the season cannot be ruled out.
What is happening in Europe?
Alongside the domestic data, Batut reports the European picture as of October 14. In the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area, human cases have been registered in Italy, Greece, Romania, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Belgium, Bulgaria and Slovenia. In the region, patients have also been reported in North Macedonia and Albania.
Since the start of the 2026 transmission season, a total of 208 areas affected by the virus have been identified in 16 European countries. Italy has the most (70), followed by France (28), Greece (25) and Romania (24).
Read the figures for Serbia as a snapshot from October 18. The transmission season is still under way, so this is the situation on that day, not a final total.
