A case of the "West Nile" virus has been identified in the Var: this is the first indigenous case in 2025

This is the first case identified in France this year. According to the latest bulletin from Public Health France detailing the progress of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, these three diseases are on the decline in France.

However, an indigenous case of the West Nile virus has been identified in Hyères, in the Var region . According to authorities, symptoms appeared in mid-July. According to the Pasteur Institute, the virus is now endemic in the Mediterranean region.

80% of cases have no symptoms according to the Pasteur Institute

Migratory birds act as reservoir animals for the West Nile virus. West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of Culex mosquitoes : after biting infected birds, female mosquitoes multiply and then transmit the virus to humans during a blood meal.

Symptomatic forms of the disease are characterized by the sudden onset of a high fever after 3 to 6 days of incubation, specifies the Pasteur Institute .

This fever is usually accompanied by headaches, backaches , muscle pain, cough, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, and often a rash, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and respiratory symptoms. Neurological complications occur in less than 1% of cases, particularly in immunocompromised or elderly people, and can even lead to death.