West Nile Virus Cases Concentrate in Skopje Region and Veles, Macedonia Health Minister Says

The Macedonian health ministry reported that almost all confirmed West Nile virus infections this year have occurred in the Skopje region and the town of Veles. Emergency mosquito control measures were carried out within a 200‑metre radius of patients' homes, including ground‑level spraying in the village of Dračevo, which the minister said is more effective than aerial applications.

Inspections confirmed that most municipalities have adhered to scheduled regular mosquito‑spraying programmes. The health minister, Sasho Klekovski, urged citizens to use personal protection and eliminate standing water in yards and gardens. He emphasized that the virus is not transmitted from person to person; wild birds serve as the natural reservoir and the disease spreads through infected mosquito bites.

Previous cases were often linked to travel in Greece, but this year the majority of infections were acquired in the Attica region. The 2019 outbreak remains the highest recorded. In addition to West Nile, Macedonia has reported four malaria cases, three dengue cases and one Zika case in the same period.