THE HAGUE, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Nine people in the Netherlands have been infected with West Nile virus, including one who died, the country's health authority said Thursday.
The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said one of the infections was identified in a blood donor, while the others were confirmed in patients who had been admitted to hospital with symptoms. The infections were caused by bites from infected mosquitoes.
"Doctors, veterinarians, virologists, epidemiologists and ecologists are working closely together to monitor the development and spread of West Nile virus and take appropriate measures," RIVM said in a statement.
RIVM reported last month that a person who had contracted the virus locally in the Netherlands had died.
According to RIVM, West Nile virus naturally circulates among birds and can be transmitted to humans and other mammals through bites from infected mosquitoes.
RIVM said that about 80 percent of infections are asymptomatic, around 19 percent cause flu-like symptoms, and about 1 percent develop a more serious illness involving neurological symptoms.
