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The Director General of Prevention and Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health, Dr Djamel Fourar, revealed on Tuesday that two cases of scabies were recorded among students across the country. He warned about the rabies and brucellosis situation, calling for urgent intersectoral action.
Speaking at a press conference on the epidemiological situation of communicable diseases, organized by the Ministry of Health at the headquarters of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Dr. Fourar specified that these cases were observed in two separate wilayas. He added that the situation was handled rigorously, with the immediate activation of detection and monitoring units, allowing the eradication of the disease.
The Ministry of Health reaffirmed, according to him, its priorities for fighting contagious diseases: strengthening prevention to aim for their eradication, intensifying the fight against diseases linked to environmental hygiene via a multisectoral approach, and developing health surveillance with early detection and rapid responses to limit the spread of infections.
The ministry focuses on strengthening the national system of preparedness and response to emerging health threats, in accordance with the guidelines of the International Health Regulations (IHR), in order to ensure effective protection of the population from current and future risks.
Dr Fourar also presented a national report on three worrying pathologies: brucellosis, rabies and West Nile fever. Regarding rabies, Dr. Fourar highlighted a worrying resurgence of this pathology, a preventable but increasing disease, mainly affecting children. Human data reveal 16 cases in 2020, 11 in 2024 and 12 in October 2025. Regarding the severity of the lesions, it is reported that 60% of children have grade 3 lesions, requiring serotherapy and serovaccination. At the same time, the number of animal bites has doubled since 2019, from 119,000 to 214,000 cases.
Dr Fourar specifies that the major problem lies in the systematic non-vaccination of dogs and the lack of pounds, the dog being responsible for 60% of bites. He therefore calls for coordinated action between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of the Interior to effectively manage this problem and protect the population.
Regarding brucellosis, Dr. Fourar affirmed that the situation remains stable since 2020, with around 12,000 annual cases, mainly attributable to the sale of raw milk. He underlined the urgency of systematic vaccination of livestock by the Ministry of Agriculture and supervision of the sale of unpasteurized milk by local communities.
The general director of prevention specified that the disease, formerly localized in Biskra, has spread to almost all wilayas, showing an increase from 11,500 cases in 2020 to 13,000 in 2024. He insisted on the need to strengthen inspections, in accordance with the 2015 interministerial decree.
Concerning West Nile fever, Dr Fourar said that Algeria had anticipated this threat in 2014, with the establishment of a national surveillance system as soon as the first cases appeared in the Mediterranean Basin. “This virus circulates mainly in wild birds and can be transmitted to humans or domestic animals, particularly horses, through the bite of the Culex mosquito,” he explained.
According to him, the spread of this disease was favored by climate change, which modified the migratory routes of birds, allowing the virus to settle in new wilayas. “To date, 76 confirmed cases have been recorded in 2025,” he stressed.