The Attica regional authority has stepped up efforts to contain West Nile virus, launching a large-scale emergency ground-spraying operation in eastern Attica on Thursday night.
The move comes as the number of reported West Nile virus cases in Greece has risen to 232, with most cases recorded in Attica. Authorities are deploying specialized high-pressure spraying machines, known locally as “turbines,” to target areas with increased mosquito populations.
The overnight operation involves two crews and three high-powered spraying machines, with the goal of reducing the spread of the virus.
How the spraying operation works
George Konstantos, an Attica regional official, said the intervention would use a fogging system.
A specialized vehicle releases an ultra-low-volume (ULV) spraying mixture that creates a cloud designed to cover facilities, homes, gardens and vehicles. According to Konstantos, the treatment does not leave residues by the first light of day but is intended to kill adult mosquitoes.
Konstantos, a public health specialist and chairman of the Technical Monitoring Committee for the region’s mosquito-control program, emphasized that the spraying would not take place inside populated residential areas.
The first operation will cover an area from Arionos Street to Marathonos Avenue, in a sparsely populated zone. Crews will operate with precautions to ensure that no people or animals are present in the area.
A second crew will work in the Kiafa area, near Athens International Airport, targeting grazing land and private properties where there are no homes.
Attica increases mosquito-control measures
Earlier, Attica Regional Governor Nikos Hardalias held a meeting with representatives of the National Public Health Organization (EODY), the Benaki Phytopathological Institute, deputy regional governors and other officials to adjust the operational response based on the latest epidemiological data.
Hardalias announced that interventions would be intensified, saying that “there can be no complacency in the face of such a critical public health issue.”
He said measures are being continuously adjusted based on scientific data and noted that mosquito spraying across Attica has already increased by 30% since the beginning of 2026.
The regional authority has also announced a new emergency large-scale operation covering approximately 2471 acres, in eastern Attica, in close cooperation with EODY and other relevant agencies.
Hardalias stressed the importance of maintaining a continuous presence in the field and intervening immediately where necessary, saying that public health requires constant vigilance.
Cases and deaths continue to rise
The latest spraying operations come as West Nile virus cases have increased rapidly.
Seventy-five additional cases were recorded in less than a week, while the number of deaths has risen to 19.
Deaths have mainly involved people over the age of 65, with scientists considering men to be more vulnerable.
Concern has also been raised by the hospitalization of a 13-year-old boy, who was discharged after experiencing severe symptoms, including a high fever. He was the first reported case among a minor this year.
