JERUSALEM, July 21 -- The number of people who died from West Nile fever in the current outbreak in Israel rose to 38 on Sunday, according to the country's health ministry.

The number of infection cases with the virus rose to an all-time annual high of 566 since the beginning of May, according to the ministry's figures.

Over half of the infected individuals are aged 60 or older, with over 100 patients being over 80 years old. Additionally, there are at least four children aged nine or younger and 20 cases involving individuals aged between 10 and 19 years old.

Most of the infections detected so far have been in central Israel, alongside a few cases in the northern city of Haifa and the Negev desert city of Beer Sheva in the south, said the ministry.

It noted that despite the high number of cases this year, no unusual clinical characteristics of the disease's manifestations were clearly identified among the patients.

  - Xinhua