Levica urges City of Skopje to publish what insecticide was used for mosquito spraying

Levica urges City of Skopje to publish what insecticide was used for mosquito spraying

The party demanded full documentation and concrete figures after West Nile fever caused the ninth fatality this year — a toll equal to the total number of deaths from the disease in North Macedonia over the previous 15 years.

Levica calls for invoices, monitoring data and application details

“Macedonia this year is not facing a usual mosquito season. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control literally described the situation in the capital as an unseen epidemic of West Nile fever. In the previous decade Macedonia had at most five human infections per year, and the latest report from the Institute for Public Health already records 65 cases, of which 60 are confirmed and as many as 60 are residents of Skopje. Today the number of deaths in the country is nine. For comparison, in the entire period from 2011 (when West Nile fever was recorded in Macedonia for the first time) until the end of 2025 there were a total of 54 laboratory-confirmed cases and five fatal outcomes. So, this season alone already has more fatal outcomes than in the previous fifteen years combined,” said Levica.

Levica said they requested not just press releases and photos but specific documents and answers: “When each treatment was carried out, where and over what area; With which preparation, concentration and dose; How many liters or kilograms were actually used; Who supervised the execution; What entomological monitoring showed before and after the treatments; On what criterion the City declared any treatment successful. Invoices, minutes and proof of execution were also requested. But even after an officially delivered Request, we again encountered silence. Due to this inaction, we filed a complaint with the competent Agency. And the reason for the silence becomes even more important when you look at the procurement documentation. Publicly published technical specifications show that part of the seasonal treatments were planned to begin before contracts with executors were signed, that is, for aerial larvicide treatment the specification covers the season starting as early as March, and for terrestrial treatments the envisaged period begins before the contract was concluded with the Public Health Centre Skopje. That alone raises a perfectly legitimate question whether the prevention program started when it should have, or whether the City entered the season late.”

Levica also flagged concerns about what chemicals were applied and whether they were appropriate for aerial application. The public procurement placed emphasis on hectares and application repetitions, while the supplier only had to declare the product is effective and safe and that it will be applied according to the manufacturer's instructions.

“In an epidemic like this, with fear and money spent from the city treasury, the public has the right to know the valid authorizations, the permitted uses and specifically whether the product is authorized for aerial application, the concentrations and quantities used, the dose per hectare and proof that the treatment had an effect. The World Health Organization warns that monitoring resistance is crucial for choosing an effective insecticide, and the ECDC this year emphasizes that stronger evidence is needed for effectiveness, safety and the impact of mosquito control measures. In other words, a flown hectare (as the City requested in the tender documentation) is not the same as a successfully treated hectare. And spraying is only half the story. Preventive action also includes regular maintenance of areas alongside water channels and other water bodies, because stagnant water creates conditions for mosquitoes to breed. That is why we asked the City whether there was any order to clean the hotspots and Skopje's canals,” Levica added.

With ECDC speaking of an unseen epidemic in the capital and the season's death toll already exceeding the total from the previous fifteen years, Levica warned that silence fuels suspicion. “If VMRO-DPMNE thinks that by keeping silent they will bury the questions — they are mistaken. Either they will respond responsibly and with dignity and put the documents on the table to show what, when and with what effect they did, or every day of silence will only strengthen the public's doubt whether behind ‘we sprayed’ there is actually something much deeper and criminal that they do not want to show. When it comes to public health, there is no room for arrogance, partisan insolence, PR and concealment,” the party said.

Photo: press material from the event