SDSM: Authorities delayed West Nile prevention, putting public health at risk

SDSM accused the government today of a delayed reaction to the West Nile fever outbreak and warned that citizens’ health has been placed at risk, after health authorities recorded 26 cases nationwide. At a press briefing Keti Shterjova said the ruling party led by Hristijan Mickoski failed to mount preventive measures and only moved after the problem escalated.

Shterjova listed the current toll: 26 patients identified with West Nile fever since the start of the year, 24 laboratory-confirmed cases, one death and five patients on mechanical ventilation. She stressed that the fatal case was an 83-year-old resident of Skopje with a confirmed neuroinvasive form of the virus and multiple comorbidities.

SDSM demands a coordinated, system-level response

At the briefing she said the response system has not been functioning and urged immediate structural steps. "West Nile fever is not a new disease. Mosquitoes did not appear yesterday, the climatic conditions did not appear yesterday, and the risk of vector-borne diseases is not unknown. This is already a matter of government incompetence and institutional irresponsibility. The system for prevention, protection and control simply does not work," she said.

The opposition outlined concrete measures it wants implemented: creation of a National Operational Headquarters with clearly defined responsibilities; development of a national GIS risk map to track the epidemic; entomological testing of mosquitoes for West Nile virus; mapping and elimination of breeding sites; and daily public reporting on the state of the epidemic across the country.

Shterjova also questioned why the epidemic was declared only in parts of Skopje rather than across the whole city, asked whether timely entomological monitoring and mosquito testing had been performed, and whether the efficacy of spraying operations has been assessed and linked to health, climate and veterinary data. "Dealing with an epidemic is not just routine mosquito spraying and a press conference. A strong, integrated systemic response is required. The state must immediately step up to protect the health of citizens," she said.

The Public Health Centre–Skopje declared an epidemic yesterday in several Skopje municipalities and settlements: Kisela Voda, Gazi Baba, Aerodrom, Butel and Ilinden, and in the neighbourhoods of Dracevo, Przhino, Dolno Lisiche, Kadino and Yurumleri. Officials at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases confirmed the national case count and the single death.

Photo: press material from the event