First detection of West Nile virus in Belgium through wild bird surveillance, Belgium, 2025
In August 2025, West Nile virus (WNV) was detected for the first time in Belgium through a monitoring programme in wild birds, with three corvids testing positive by RT-qPCR. In September and October, four additional infected birds were identified. Whole genome sequencing classified the strain as WNV lineage 2, consistent with strains circulating elsewhere in Europe. These detections provide evidence of local WNV circulation with important implications for animal and public health preparedness and surveillance during the 2026 mosquito season.
Authors
- Tinne Lernout (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6812-7716)
- Floris C. Breman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9722-7564)
- Muriel Vervaeke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6131-2831)
- Charlotte Sohier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4699-0789)
- Nick De Regge
- Javiera Rebolledo Romero
- Marjan Boter
- Bas Oude Munnink
- Marion Koopmans
- Annick Linden
- Laura Duran Illan
- Reina Sikkema
Institutions
- University of Liège (BE)
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE)
- Erasmus MC (NL)
- Sciensano (Belgium) (BE)
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Eurosurveillance
- Published
- 2026-01-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2026.31.4.2600049
- Primary Topic
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00