Enormous efforts are underway by health authorities in Paphos to bring the mosquito population under control, officials said on Thursday.

The identification of breeding grounds and effective ways to combat the summer pests was the subject of an informative event attended by local health officials.

The head of the Paphos municipality’s health services, Christos Christou said mosquitoes were an issue of great concern and that “enormous efforts” were underway to bring their population under control.

He said numerous clusters had been recorded via GPS systems and expressed the hope that this year would be better than last year.

Asked which areas of Paphos face the greatest problem, Christou said the city centre and areas bordering the municipality of Geroskipou and Konia.

In these areas, they identified large clusters.

“One case concerns two abandoned swimming pools whose owners are abroad,” Christou said.

These for instance had been dealt with by inspectors.

During the event, deputy mayor of Paphos municipality, Angelos Onisiforou, welcomed the ministry’s initiative.

In Cyprus, 19 species of mosquitoes have been identified. Reference was also made to three other possible species identified over time by researchers but not in significant numbers.