Skopje
Capital and largest city of North Macedonia.
Skopje, North Macedonia's capital and largest city, was the centre of the country's unprecedented 2026 West Nile virus season, with 53 of 55 national cases counted around the city by 3 September.
Last refreshed: 4 October 2026
Timeline for Skopje
Mentioned in: Europe's West Nile cases reach 1,765
Pandemics and BiosecurityBackground
Skopje is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, and the centre of the country's unprecedented 2026 West Nile virus season. ECDC's monthly report counted 55 cases and seven deaths in North Macedonia by 3 September, 53 of them around Skopje. By 7 September the country had confirmed 58 cases and eight deaths, all of them men aged 62 to 83 with underlying conditions, AFP reported.
Skopje's cases Fed a Europe-wide surge: by 30 September 16 European countries had reported 1,765 locally acquired cases, against 1,086 on 3 September and a ten-year average of 736 for that date. ECDC places the season's growth in the north and south-east of the continent rather than in Italy. Culex mosquitoes spread the virus from wild birds, and longer, hotter summers extend the season into October.