70-year-old from Aerodrom is tenth fatality from West Nile fever
Patient from Aerodrom died after 57 days in intensive care; Clinic reports 67 neuroinvasive cases with 10 deaths.
A 70-year-old resident of the Aerodrom municipality in Skopje has died, becoming the tenth fatality linked to West Nile fever treated at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, health officials reported. The patient had several chronic conditions and passed away over the weekend after prolonged treatment.
Dr. Fadil Cana, director of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, said the man had spent 57 days in the clinic's intensive care unit and died despite all measures and procedures taken.
Current ward situation and recent admissions
"There is only one new confirmed admission from September 25. Otherwise, a total of seven patients are hospitalized at the Clinic, of whom two have a more severe clinical picture," Dr. Cana said, describing the current caseload.
Two of the hospitalized patients' conditions recently worsened and they were transferred to intensive care. All hospitalized patients are adults and have accompanying illnesses. The most recent admission is from Rosoman, while most of the others are from Skopje.
On whether the death rate is unusually high compared with confirmed West Nile cases in the country, Dr. Cana said he would not describe it as high.
"According to our statistics, everything is within what is seen in the world. So, in Greece, and in Italy, and in other countries where this infection is confirmed. We must always be cautious and follow all the measures given by the Ministry of Health and the Institute for Public Health," he added.
To date, the Clinic has hospitalized 67 patients with the neuroinvasive form of the disease: 10 have died, 50 have recovered and seven remain in hospital.
Photo: press material from the event
