The Regional Government of Andalusia, through its Ministry of the Presidency, Health, and Emergencies, has declared the Campanillas district in the provincial capital of Malaga as a new alert area due to the spread of the West Nile Virus. This declaration entails increased surveillance and reinforced control and treatment measures against the transmitting mosquitoes.
Additionally, two new mild cases of the virus have been reported in Coria del Río and Villamanrique de la Condesa, in the province of Seville, bringing the total number of cases recorded in Andalusia to 21.
The Malaga City Council, via its Environmental Sustainability Area, has activated a new phase of its comprehensive municipal vector surveillance and control plan. This action follows the alert issued by the Directorate General of Public Health of the Andalusian Regional Government for the Campanillas district, effective until September 3rd, due to the detection of a mosquito sample near the Guadalhorce River.
Fumigation efforts will be intensified in Campanillas and in areas near the El Tarajal neighborhood. The municipality of Malaga is classified as high-risk according to the Regional Government of Andalusia's risk map for the 2026 season.
The protocol, implemented for six years in coordination with the Regional Government of Andalusia, includes increased inspections of stagnant water, application of biological larvicides, and the deployment of more traps to detect mosquito presence. Municipal technicians and pest control contractors have intensified fumigation work in drains and stagnant water areas.
Aerial fumigation is planned for the declared alert area, and as a preventive measure, controls and fumigation have been reinforced in other wetland areas and near the Guadalhorce River, although no West Nile vectors have been detected so far. The alert will remain active for four weeks or until no virus circulation is detected for an equivalent period.
The City Council conducts continuous diagnosis through weekly sampling of adult mosquitoes in traps distributed across eight points within the municipality, and searches for water accumulations in another 24 locations. To date, samples taken by the council have not detected the West Nile Virus.
The surveillance plan complements the ordinary mosquito prevention and control program maintained year-round, intensified with rising temperatures, particularly in neighborhoods near humid environments like the Guadalhorce, Guadalmedina, and Campanillas rivers.
Manuel García Howlett, Director General of the National Association of Environmental Health Companies (ANECPLA), emphasized that prevention is the best tool against West Nile Virus infection, recommending against accumulating stagnant water in homes. He highlighted the importance of constant surveillance and reducing mosquito populations before they become a public health issue, referencing a recent fatality in Dos Hermanas (Seville) from the viral disease.
It is advised to avoid water accumulation in garages, basements, cisterns, gardens, patios, terraces, plots, swimming pools, fountains, gutters, buckets, and plant pots, as these can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
