Klekovski calls on Gostivar residents to cooperate in epidemiological surveys

Health Minister Sasho Klekovski stated that an epidemic situation will not be declared in Gostivar until the cause of the gastrointestinal problems reported among residents has first been determined.

According to him, health institutions need to gather more information through epidemiological surveys in order to identify the source of the infection.

Klekovski called on residents to respond to epidemiological teams and cooperate with them, stressing that patient data are essential to identifying the cause.

“Several institutions are involved in the epidemiological investigation, and several types of analyses are being conducted to rule out all possibilities, from heavy metals, parasites and viruses to bacteria. So far, only 19 residents have completed an epidemiological survey. I appeal to residents to respond positively to invitations from Gostivar’s epidemiological services and cooperate with them. We need many more epidemiological surveys to find the cause and link possible sources of infection,” Klekovski said.

He added that he could not assess the situation, as the investigation of the case falls under the authority of epidemiologists.

“Neither I nor the director of the public enterprise can determine the cause. That is the job of epidemiologists. There is the Public Health Centre and the Institute of Public Health, and their assessment must be awaited. Unofficially, I can say that the likelihood of 1,000 people being poisoned by food is very small. Moreover, this situation has now been ongoing for four days, so, in my view, food can be ruled out as a possible source,” Klekovski said.