JERUSALEM, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus have been detected in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, and other areas, the country's health and environmental protection ministries said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The infected mosquitoes were found in the Mediterranean city of Tel Aviv, the nearby cities of Herzliya, Petah Tikva, and Kiryat Ono, villages near the coastal city of Netanya, and in Eilat and the nearby Hevel Eilot Regional Council in southern Israel.
The detection comes amid an outbreak of infection cases in Israel, with eight deaths from West Nile fever reported so far by the Health Ministry, out of 153 people who have contracted the disease since the beginning of May.
Following the latest detection, the Environmental Protection Ministry instructed the local authorities involved to increase monitoring and extermination efforts, and once again called on the public to protect themselves against mosquitoes. ■
