Ministry Orders Wider Mosquito Control After West Nile Virus Found in Five Authorities

The Ministry of Environmental Protection announced Friday that female mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus had been captured in five authorities in northern and central Israel. The affected areas are Yokneam, Megiddo Regional Council, Ramat HaSharon, Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut and Kokhav Ya’ir–Tzur Yigal, with the findings confirmed by Health Ministry laboratories. The ministry directed all local authorities, especially those where infected mosquitoes were found, to expand prevention, monitoring, public information and pest-control work. It said the findings came from its ongoing year-round mosquito monitoring, which places particular emphasis on mosquito season.