The Health Ministry issued a list of measures people can take against mosquito bites after the incidence of bites hospitalizing people apparently escalated in Istanbul, Türkiye’s most populated city.

The measures, reported by Turkish media outlets, include advice such as wearing long-sleeved clothes, using mosquito nets and yellow light bulbs. The ministry also recommended the use of mosquito repellents.

For public spaces, it advised draining swimming pools when they are not used and replacing water at least once in two or three days in fountains or in water containers left in open areas – such as those left for water for stray animals.

The ministry also advised people returning from abroad, after visits to countries under risk of malaria or other diseases spread by mosquitoes to visit a health facility if they suddenly have symptoms like fever, headache, muscle pains or fatigue.

Hospitals in Istanbul reported a rise in the number of people seeking treatment following mosquito bites in recent weeks, which causes long-term itching and swelling in the skin among some. Professor Zekayi Kutlubay from Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, told Demirören News Agency (DHA) last week that the species of mosquitoes biting people were also "changing." "We see more bites from Aedes, an aggressive species," he said.