Three in north test positive for West Nile virus

Three people in the north have tested positive for West Nile virus, the Turkish Cypriot 'health ministry' said on Tuesday, with seven confirmed cases already having been detected in the Republic, where one has died. 'Yesterday, two patients who presented themselves at health institutions with complaints of upper respiratory tract infection, sore throat, fever and fatigue were hospitalised, and both patients tested positive for West Nile virus,' it said. It added that as of Tuesday, 'the general condition of both patients is better than yesterday', and that neither is in a 'life-threatening condition'. Additionally, it said, 'a person with no health complaints tested positive for West Nile virus during routine blood tests' on Tuesday. 'The health status of all patients is being closely monitored,' it said. The World Health Organisation says that human infection of West Nile virus is 'most often the result of bites from infected mosquitoes'. It said that West Nile virus is asymptomatic in around 80 per cent of cases, but that the remaining 20 per cent of cases develop West Nile fever.