First West Nile fever case in Pelagonia registered in Dolneni; Bitola starts additional disinfection

The first confirmed patient with West Nile fever in the Pelagonia region lives in the municipality of Dolneni, health authorities reported; no other infections have been registered so far in the other Pelagonia municipalities. Dolneni falls under the jurisdiction of the Center for Public Health in Prilep.

Municipal officials in Prilep said that on 7 and 8 August the second phase of adulticidal mosquito spraying was carried out. The operation was performed by the Center for Public Health in Skopje, while professional supervision was provided by the Center for Public Health in Prilep. The campaign covered roughly 800 hectares, including all urban communities of the city of Prilep and surrounding villages.

So far only the Municipality of Bitola has launched additional, extraordinary disinfection measures; other Pelagonia municipalities are currently carrying out the second or third planned phases of vector control activities. The extra spraying in Bitola began today in cooperation with the Center for Public Health, a move justified by the current epidemiological situation in the country — including a declared West Nile fever epidemic in parts of Skopje — and the need to intensify preventive measures against mosquito vectors.

Local authorities urge continued prevention

"The municipality has been regularly implementing preventive measures continuously since 2005. Critical points designated by the Center for Public Health are treated, and this is an extraordinary measure in the interest of protection and prevention against diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, including West Nile fever," said Mayor Toni Konjanovski.

An SMS information campaign has been launched to inform citizens about West Nile fever; so far there are 38 reported cases nationwide. Svetlana Popovska-Kljuseva, director of the Center for Public Health, appealed to residents to take steps at home to reduce mosquito breeding sites.

"Stagnant water in yards must be cleaned, wells and tanks covered, gutters cleaned. It is also important to install protective screens on doors and windows; citizens can personally use sprays, gels, sticks that are applied to the body to repel mosquitoes, avoid going out when mosquitoes are most active, in the evenings and early morning hours, and when going out during that period wear clothing with long sleeves and trousers," Popovska-Kljuseva urged.

Environmental engineer Ljupcho Stojanovski warned that Dolneni is not isolated by impermeable barriers but is directly connected to other Pelagonia municipalities, including Bitola, via a dense transport network and daily movements of people and machinery. "Institutional inter-municipal coordination in Pelagonia is necessary because the mosquito does not know the boundary between Dolneni, Prilep and Bitola, nor should health preventive measures stop there. Public health must act preventively before the virus reaches the clinical phase, because when a case is published in the bulletin of registered patients, prevention for that season is already too late," Stojanovski said.

Zh. Zdravkovska

Photo: Opshtina Biotla)