Cyprus has recorded its first case of West Nile virus for 2026. Infectious disease specialist Aristos Aristodimou said the patient, a 70-year-old man, is in serious condition and being treated in the intensive care unit at Nicosia General Hospital.
Aristodimou said the case falls within the very small percentage of patients infected with West Nile virus who go on to develop serious infection of the central nervous system. Such patients are usually elderly or immunosuppressed, though this is not always the case, he said. The majority of infections are asymptomatic, he added, while a similarly small percentage of patients develop flu-like symptoms.
The detection of infected mosquitoes carrying the virus has prompted alarm among the authorities, coming after the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) had already classified Cyprus among high-risk Mediterranean areas for mosquito-borne disease, having earlier assigned the island a Level 2b risk rating for the transmission of dengue fever, Zika virus and chikungunya.
Elisavet Konstantinou, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health, said the ministry has protocols and procedures in place to manage cases, with mosquito spraying carried out once cases are identified. Aristodimou said spraying takes place throughout the year but is intensified when cases are detected, following tracing of locations where the patient may have been exposed and the dispatch of specialist teams for that purpose.
Cases in Cyprus remain sporadic, no cause for panic
Konstantinou said cases of the virus remain sporadic in Cyprus, adding that the current picture does not warrant particular concern or panic, despite the surge observed in other European countries.
She said the virus has been monitored in Cyprus since 2016, with recorded cases remaining sporadic, except in 2019, when 24 cases were recorded, and in 2023, when nine cases were recorded. There were no cases at all in 2020, 2021 and 2025, she said.
Aristodimou said a case was to be expected, since the mosquito capable of transmitting West Nile virus is endemic to Cyprus. Health authorities note that higher temperatures prolong the period during which mosquitoes are active, with research showing mosquito biting frequency triples as temperatures rise from 20 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius, extending both the duration and intensity of transmission.
Aristodimou explained that ministry services are also on alert for the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which can transmit diseases not endemic to Cyprus, including dengue fever, Zika and chikungunya.
Konstantinou stressed that it is important for both residents and travellers heading to areas experiencing a surge in the virus to use insect repellent.
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