An eighty-two-year-old woman has died in Italy from West Nile fever, ANSA reported, quoted by BTA, citing local authorities.
The woman is from Nerola, north of Rome. She was admitted to hospital last week with a high fever.
Six more cases of infection have been confirmed in the area of the Italian capital. Two of the infected, aged 63 and 72, are in hospital in critical condition.
The authorities have set up a special group in connection with the spread of the infection.
The most serious and fatal cases of West Nile fever, caused by the West Nile virus, are usually in elderly people with chronic diseases. Only about 1 percent of infections result in severe neuroinvasive disease.
The number of unreported cases of West Nile virus is usually very high, as about 80 percent of infections are asymptomatic.
The virus was first discovered in Africa and was probably carried to Europe by migratory birds.
Mosquitoes infected by birds can transmit the virus to humans and other mammals.