mosquito-borne viruses

[tllwd]

Queenslanders are being warned of an expected surge in mosquito-borne viruses after flooding rain, as the state records its second death this year from Japanese encephalitis.

Infectious disease physician Paul Griffin said mosquito populations were likely to surge.

"We've had some extraordinary rainfall events in recent times right across the state, so that is likely to translate into an increase in mosquito numbers and therefore, an increase in mosquito-borne infections," Dr Griffin said.

"We typically see an increase of Ross River and Barmah Forest virus around this time of year, and we've also had significant cases of dengue and an expansion of Japanese encephalitis as far down as south-east Queensland."

The latest data from Queensland Health shows 124 cases of dengue fever have been confirmed so far this year.

That's more than four times higher than in the first quarter of the previous five years.

[Bobby]

I hope it's too cold in Victoria for them.

[Black Orchid]

The area under flood in QLD is apparently bigger than Texas and 4 times the size of the UK.

That's a LOT of water to breed mosquitoes and cultivate water borne disease.

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Ten new melioidosis infections have been detected in Queensland, one of them fatal.

The soil-borne bacteria that causes the infection has killed 26 people in Queensland this year.
What's next?

Cases will likely continue as groundwater pushes bacteria to the surface of soil after flooding.

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Japanese encephalitis is caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). It is spread through bites from mosquitos, which become infected through biting infected pigs and waterbirds.

JEV is endemic to parts of Asia and the Torres Strait region of Australia. JEV has now also been detected in humans, animals and mosquitos in mainland Australia.

Infection in humans is most commonly asymptomatic, but on rare occasions it can result in severe disease and even death.

Animals can be infected with JEV but they cannot transmit the virus to humans. It cannot be transmitted from human to human, or by eating meat from an infected animal. For information about JEV and animals visit the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment website.

https://www.health.gov.au/diseases/japa ... cephalitis

On 4 March 2022, Australia’s Acting Chief Medical Officer declared the Japanese encephalitis virus outbreak a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance, following the detection of human cases of JEV across multiple states on mainland Australia.