Hantavirus in Belgium — 2021

Western European bank-vole peak drives Puumala virus surge in Belgium

Overview

2021 brought a western European bank-vole population peak that produced an elevated Puumala virus year in Belgium and the neighbouring Netherlands. Sciensano, the Belgian national public-health institute, recorded a case surge concentrated in the Walloon forested zones bordering France. The year's activity reflected the broader European Puumala cycle and reinforced the importance of seasonal advisories on cabin and shed cleaning during autumn-vole peaks. Belgian and Dutch surveillance during 2021 illustrated how synchronised vole population dynamics produce trans-border outbreak years across the western European hantavirus zone.

Belgium baseline

Source: Sciensano Belgium

Relevant strain

References & primary sources

• Sciensano Belgium

Other years tracked for Belgium