Mosquitoes carry viral meningitis in Bulgaria. There are nearly one-third more cases of meningitis since the beginning of the year than the previous year. The state has allocated another BGN 2 million to deal with mosquitoes.

The disease is not typical for Bulgaria’s latitudes, but has started to manifest itself with climate change, said Prof. Dr. Tatyana Chervenyakova of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Bulgaria said.

The infection is transmitted through mosquitoes, and if there are complication, hospitalisation may be needed. However, the complications are only about 1% of the cases, said Prof. Chervenyakova.

Most of the cases pass the disease slightly - with fever and general malaise. It usually goes away after 2-3 days.

"It is very difficult to control the mosquitoes in these rainfalls. After every rainfall it must be sprayed. We shouldn’t think that all mosquitoes are infected with the virus. The individual protection is the availability of repellents, the other is within the reach of the state " Dr. Tatiana Chervenyakova, said in an interview for Bulgaria ON ON AIR.