Deadly Ticks Continue to Plague Central Kosovo

Kosovo intuitions have failed to take any measures so far this year to tackle the problem of deadly ticks in the Malisheve region of central Kosovo.

Around 10 people have died in Kosovo of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, caused by infected-tick bites, since 2000, despite yearly eradication operations usually carried out in April.

Last year, 75 people were hospitalized and four died as a result of becoming infected.

This year, residents have grown concerned that no efforts have been made to tackle the problem, while Kosovo's institutions argue over who is responsible.

“Last year, my goats were sprayed, but this year they were not," said Jonuz Limaj, a 60-year-old shepherd who grazes his animals near the village of Banje, Malisheve.

He recalls that during Yugoslav times, airplanes were used to spray the insecticide.

Besim Zogaj, head of the main family medical centre in Malisheva, told Balkan Insight there had been 14 reports of tick bites so far this year. “For the moment, we do not have any concerns, however, with the increase in temperatures, we expect a new wave of these cases,” he said.

The Municipality of Malisheve has allocated 20,000 euros to provide protection against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. However, the municipality has not sent any requests to relevant state institutions for the elimination of ticks.

“Regarding the situation of epidemic hemorrhagic fever, we are neither responsible, nor competent, to implement the protection project, " says Skender Hoti, health director at the municipality. According to him, the responsible institution to take measures is the National Institute for Public Health.

Naser Ramadani, head of the National Institute for Public Health, said that the institute is observing the situation every day of the year. “There are no delays from us, but from them [the municipality].

“We have voluntarily visited them and have worked more than them. We are observing the region of the Malisheva municipality for 365 days of the year, but we cannot sleep there the whole year.”

Hoti said that Kosovo could look for help from other countries as it did not have its own airplane capable of spraying insecticide.

But Ramadani said this is not desirable. “Spraying by airplane was listed as an option, but it is not preferred,” he said. “The National Institute for Public Health recommends not taking into account this option, because the damages caused by spraying are even higher if it is done by airplane.”

Disagreements over responsibility look set to deepen when the job of killing the ticks is transferred from the National Institute to the Kosovo Veterinary and Food Agency.

“It is not the responsibility of the National Institute to kill the ticks,” Mr. Ramadani added.

“They should be killed by veterinary services and the Kosovo Veterinary and Food Agency.”

But Bafti Murati from the division for protection of animal health at the Veterinary and Food Agency says that since the ticks do not have a negative impact on animals’ health, they are not responsible. “Owners of livestock should address their issues to veterinary ambulances and they will remove the ticks from them,” he said.