Central Britain Confirmed West Nile Virus for the First Time

According to a recent research program by the  UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, West Nile Virus (WNV) genetic material has been detected in mosquitoes in Britain for the first time.

This area is located about 70 miles east of Manchester, UK.

These researchers stated that UKHSA collected Aedes vexans mosquitoes from wetlands on the River Idle near Gamston (Retford), Nottinghamshire, in July 2023.

As of May 21, 2025, the UKHSA has assessed the risk to the general public as very low, but is advising healthcare professionals so that patients with encephalitis of unknown cause can be tested as a precaution.

WNV is usually found in birds, and typically circulates through bird-biting mosquitoes, which can transmit the virus to humans or horses.

While rare in the United Kingdom (UK), WNV is endemic in various regions across the globe, including  Europe, Africa, the Middle East, West and Central Asia, and North America, as well as South America, Australia, and the USA. 

Since 2000, seven travel-associated cases have occurred in the UK.

In 2024, 1,466 WNV cases were confirmed in 49 states in the USA, led by Texas with 176 cases.

Dr Jolyon Medlock, Head of Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology at UKHSA, added in a media release, "Mosquitoes in the UK are also commonly found in wet woodland areas and various aquatic habitats, including ponds, ditches, marshes, and even garden water butts or cisterns."

"To avoid being bitten by a mosquito in these areas, wear long-sleeved clothing and trousers to cover your arms and legs, use insect repellent on your skin,  close windows and doors whenever possible, or use blinds or screens."

Additionally, there are no approved WNV vaccines for people in 2025.

However, current human clinical studies include vaccine candidates such as two live attenuated chimeric, one DNA, one recombinant subunit, and two inactivated whole-virus vaccines.