Three deaths from West Nile fever in North Macedonia as cases reach 35

North Macedonia has recorded 35 confirmed cases and three suspected cases of West Nile fever, health authorities reported on August 17, 2026. Six patients are in critical condition and are being treated in the intensive care unit of the Infectious Diseases Clinic.

According to Health Minister Sasho Klekovski, most of the confirmed patients are hospitalized at the Infectious Diseases Clinic while one patient is receiving treatment at a private medical facility. "So far three deaths have been registered, while 15 patients have recovered and been discharged from the Infectious Diseases Clinic," he said at a press briefing.

The three suspected cases remain in the diagnostic process as epidemiologists and clinicians continue testing to confirm infection and trace potential exposures.

Other developments across the country

The Basic Public Prosecutor's Office has issued new orders to pursue seven additional suspects in a cross-border marijuana transport case. The ongoing investigation, handled since February by the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption (OJO GOKK), points to a wider network involved in the organized transport of marijuana from North Macedonia to Serbia. Prosecutors say evidence gathered through investigative actions and international cooperation with Serbian authorities prompted the decision to open proceedings against seven more individuals.

A fire struck houses in the Prilep-area village of Chaniste, affecting several older and some inhabited dwellings. Firefighters, local residents and volunteers remained on the scene overnight to protect nearby properties and prevent further spread of the blaze in the Mariovo region.

In a separate legal proceeding, court expert Marijana Lazarevska testified that all construction work at the PULS facility in Kochani was carried out illegally — without project documentation, without professional supervision and without permits from the competent institutions. She stated that the changes cannot be treated as an extension or adaptation but amount to reconstruction, which requires a full legal procedure that was not followed.

In political and administrative updates, dismissed Minister of Culture and Tourism Zoran Ljutkov has been appointed national coordinator for culture in the Government of VMRO-DPMNE. The Agency for Management of Seized Property announced plans to sell nearly 1,000 damaged vehicles in a single lot, to be offered exclusively for processing as waste material. A United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) survey found that having a large network of friends is important to 17 percent of young Macedonians. Meanwhile, Agon Ferati, the new Minister for the Political System and Community Relations, submitted what officials described as the "most impressive" declaration form to the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption among the new ministers following last month’s cabinet reshuffle.

Also highlighted in the day's coverage was a survivor’s account from a bus returning from Medjugorje: Helena said she was in the so-called "bus of death" and described the panic on board. "People were under the seats, everyone was screaming and asking for help," she recalled.

Photo: press material from the event