Chile's SEREMI de Salud to fumigate Tarapacá before San Lorenzo festival

The regional health authority SEREMI de Salud announced a preventive fumigation operation in the town of Tarapacá, Chile, scheduled from 3 to 7 August 2026 ahead of the annual San Lorenzo religious festival that attracts thousands of pilgrims.

The spray, carried out by the Unit of Zoonosis and Vector Control, targets the mosquito Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, a known malaria vector historically present in the area. Residents were asked to prepare homes—unplug appliances, move furniture, cover food and objects, and keep houses empty for one hour after treatment before ventilating and cleaning surfaces. The measures support Chile’s long‑standing record of zero autochthonous malaria cases since the 1960s.