Tropical diseases

No confirmation of West Nile virus

BELGRADE -- The latest report of Belgrade’s Institute for Biocides and Medical Ecology gives no confirmation that mosquitoes in Serbia carry West Nile virus (WNV).

This is the case despite the May flooding and high humidity that provides these insects with favorable breeding conditions.

BELGRADE – With the May flooding and high humidity in Serbia providing mosquitoes with favorable breeding conditions, the latest report by Belgrade’s Institute for Biocides and Medical Ecology gives no confirmation about mosquitoes in Serbia carrying West Nile virus (WNV).

BELGRADE - Talks are under way with the European Commission, which has offered a donation for the purchase of anti-mosquito chemicals, following the recent floods that hit Serbia, said Dragan Ilic, director of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia.

Threat of malaria and rat-bite fever

The first cases of diarrhea and temperature caused by poor hygiene due to lack of water have been registered in the flooded areas.

Health authorities warn about possible outbreak of diseases

BELGRADE -- VMA Department of Preventive Medicine chief Sonja Radaković says "personal and collective hygiene" is key to suppress, prevent and control infectious diseases.

Deputy Health Minister Zeta Makri on Thursday gave the go-ahead to local authorities in Attica, Larissa in central Greece and eastern Macedonia in the north of the country to start spraying chemicals from the air to ward off mosquitoes which have appeared early this year following a mild winter.