Three new West Nile cases bring Skopje total to 34
Center for Public Health – Skopje reports first seasonal case in Arachinovo and says total infections have reached 34.
Three additional cases of West Nile virus have been confirmed in the Skopje area, bringing the total number of reported infections this season to 34, the Center for Public Health – Skopje said. For the first time this year a case was detected in a resident of Arachinovo.
Most infections so far have been recorded in the Kisela Voda and Aerodrom municipalities, and nearly half of the total are from the Drachevo neighbourhood.
Local conditions and control measures under scrutiny
“We have a new case today in Arachinovo; today a case has been detected there for the first time. There are canals, pools, stagnant water and that might be the reason. There are conditions for mosquito breeding,” said epidemiologist Ljuljzime Bajrami of the Center for Public Health – Skopje.
Bajrami said authorities should start disinsection campaigns earlier next year and perform an analysis to check whether mosquitoes may be resistant to the products currently in use, so the insecticides can be changed if necessary.
To date the country has recorded two fatal cases linked to West Nile virus. The deceased were aged 72 and 83 and, in addition to the viral infection, both had several chronic illnesses.
On 12 August the Center for Public Health – Skopje declared an epidemic of West Nile virus in several Skopje municipalities — Kisela Voda, Gazi Baba, Aerodrom, Butel and Ilinden — and in the settlements Drachevo, Przhino, Dolno Lisiche, Kadino and Yurumleri.
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