Crop duster (Photo: Davor Javorovic/PIXSELL)

The government has vowed to provide 5 million kuna in aid to help bring an unprecedented mosquito infestation in eastern Slavonia under control. Domestic Nikola Badovinac

At Wednesday's government cabinet session, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković called upon the Ministry of Health and local Public Health Institutions to do all they could to ensure local residents stay protected from the potentially disease-carrying insects.

The federal funds will in part go towards intensive 'fogging' campaigns by truck and by air that are designed to eliminate mosquitoes from Osijek-Baranja County. Also, special permits are being sought to treat the wetlands of the popular Kopački Rit Nature Park.

Health Minister Milan Kujundžić said the government would provide the financing and organization of the large-scale project. "The technical aspects," he said, "would be handled at the local public health institute level and by the respective counties."

For his part, the prime minister called the move "decisive" and said he expected the local health professionals to take "appropriate action". And, if need be, he said additional funds would be found in order to solve the problem as soon as possible.

Source: HRT