researcher
Spread of West Nile virus in the east by mosquitoes
A mosquito sucks blood from a man’s arm. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The West Nile virus has only recently appeared in humans in Germany. In the meantime, the pathogen has spread across several federal states – especially in the east.
In addition to Bavaria, the east is a hot spot for the spread of the West Nile virus, which has only recently appeared in humans, through native mosquitoes.
That said Doreen Werner, biologist at the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (Zalf) in Müncheberg (Märkisch-Oderland), the German Press Agency. “We don’t know why yet.”
Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Brandenburg are affected. Scientists at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) had already identified house mosquitoes as carriers of the West Nile virus, which originally occurs primarily in warmer regions of the world.
The virus can overwinter in mosquitoes. “The warmer it gets, the better the pathogens can develop,” explains Werner. Some infected people then suffer from flu-like symptoms. Severe courses are rare, but can be fatal.
The researcher has also observed that there is a circulation of viruses with a view to climate change. “Climate change means that the pathogens can multiply better in the mosquitoes. The central linchpin, however, is increasing globalization,” estimates Werner. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), cases in humans have been registered in Germany since 2019. It is to be expected that the pathogen will continue to establish itself in Germany.