Seventh suspected West Nile case admitted to Skopje infectious clinic
Seventh clinically suspicious patient admitted; ten confirmed cases in Skopje, three critically ill on ventilators.
A 76-year-old patient with confirmed inflammation of the brain and meninges of viral origin and positive serum serology for West Nile virus was admitted to the Clinic for Infectious Diseases during the past 24 hours, clinic officials said on August 4, 2026. With this admission there are now seven clinically suspected cases; ten cases in total have tested positive for West Nile fever, of which three remain in critical condition in the intensive care unit on mechanical ventilation. All patients are from Skopje.
The clinic's director, Dr. Fadil Cana, said additional cerebrospinal fluid tests are needed to demonstrate a neuroinvasive form of the disease in the seventh suspected case.
"The incubation period of the disease lasts up to 14 days. No one can predict in advance how the disease will develop in an individual organism. What is known so far is that older people are most susceptible to a severe form. All the patients hospitalized with us are over 60 years old and have comorbidities. Older people, those with chronic diseases, immunocompromised persons, i.e. those with weakened immunity, are most susceptible to a more severe clinical picture. In about 80 percent of those infected the disease passes easily or even without symptoms," Dr. Cana added.
According to the clinic, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is not considered a gold standard for diagnosing the neuroinvasive form of West Nile disease; therefore the suspected patients are undergoing further laboratory examinations and are being treated as West Nile cases pending confirmation.
The clinic reported no improvement so far in the condition of the three patients on ventilators. Health officials have not released additional details about treatment beyond standard supportive care for neuroinvasive viral infection.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Skopje and are conducting the necessary laboratory work to clarify which of the suspected patients have developed the neuroinvasive form of West Nile fever.
Photo: press material from the event
