58 cases of West Nile fever recorded in Armenia 

ArmInfo.At present, 58 cases of West Nile virus infection have been confirmed in Armenia, of which 41  patients have been hospitalized. This was announced on August 20 at a press conference in Yerevan by the Director of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Stepan Atoyan.

According to Atoyan, the condition of most patients is assessed as  moderate.

"Of the 41 hospitalized, four patients are in serious condition," he  added, informing that West Nile fever was diagnosed in Armenia for  the first time, although it has been known since the 1960s.

The director of the center also pointed out three regions of Armenia  where the spread of the disease is most likely - these are the  Aragatsotn, Ararat and Armavir regions.

"However, at the moment the carrier of the virus has been detected  only in the Aragatsotn region. The first case of fever in the  Republic was recorded on August 7," he explained, adding that at the  end of July this year, the pathogen was detected in five insects  collected in the Aragatsotn region. No cases of infection have been  registered in other regions.

Touching upon the situation with the spread of the disease in  neighboring countries, Atoyan said that there are none to date. But,  according to him, cases have been registered in Russia (the number of  cases is not specified), 440 cases in Israel, 231 cases in the United  States, and 69 cases in Eastern Europe.

In order to raise awareness of the disease, as the director of the  center reported, on August 12 all medical centers, including  institutions serving law enforcement agencies, as well as regional  administrations, were informed about the situation and precautions.

West Nile Fever is a viral disease that is transmitted to humans  through a mosquito bite. Often the infection is asymptomatic.  Possible signs of the disease are flu-like symptoms and skin rash. In  rare cases, inflammation of the meninges, brain or other organs  develops