TRNC People’s Party calls for mosquito control to begin before the first West Nile virus cases

Teksen Köroğlu, a member of the central executive committee of the People’s Party (Halkın Partisi) and head of its public health and environmental affairs committee, called for stronger West Nile virus prevention measures in Northern Cyprus without waiting for the first cases in the TRNC. The call came after infections were reported in the Republic of Cyprus, where one person died from the virus.

Cyprus is a small island, and mosquitoes recognize neither political nor administrative borders, Köroğlu noted. According to him, it is impossible to wait for the virus to appear in Northern Cyprus: work must begin now. He expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased.

Köroğlu listed the sites requiring constant monitoring: standing water, inspection wells, drainage systems, areas connected to sewage systems, septic tanks and abandoned swimming pools. Mosquitoes breed fastest in these locations.

He stressed that mosquito control should not be limited to responding to residents’ complaints — it is a public health issue. In high-risk areas, especially Lefkoşa, regular scientific monitoring is needed: tracking mosquito species and population density and identifying their breeding sites. “The goal is not to carry out more spraying, but to correctly assess the risk and combat it at the right time using the right methods,” he said.

Köroğlu called for stronger coordination between health authorities, municipalities and relevant agencies, as well as timely public information. “We cannot manage a risk that we do not measure. We cannot prevent a threat that we do not monitor. Waiting for cases to appear is an unacceptable approach from a public health perspective,” he stated.

Earlier, the TRNC Ministry of Health reported that it had intensified mosquito control measures: data on 10 West Nile virus cases and one death in the Republic of Cyprus had been transmitted to Northern Cyprus through the bi-communal Technical Committee on Health.