Health authorities on both sides of the Atlantic are reporting a fresh surge in West Nile virus infections and deaths as peak mosquito season approaches. Italy’s Lazio region recorded two additional fatalities and eight new cases on 21 August, while neighbouring Molise confirmed its first death. The latest figures take Italy’s nationwide toll to 24 deaths this year, according to regional health data compiled by local media. In the United States, the Louisiana Department of Health said a second neuroinvasive West Nile case has been confirmed in New Orleans and a third presumptive infection is under investigation. Farther north, officials in Westchester County, New York, disclosed the state’s first human case of the season after a Yonkers resident tested positive. New York City’s health department plans aerial spraying in parts of the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island from 25–27 August to curb mosquito populations. West Nile virus is transmitted by infected mosquitoes and can cause severe neurological illness; public-health agencies are urging residents to eliminate standing water and use repellents to limit exposure.