Mosquito season has come early, with NSW Health urging people to protect themselves against two mozzie-borne viruses that can cause brain damage.
Sixty NSW local government areas (LGAs) have been flagged as higher risk of the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a rare but potentially serious infection of the central nervous system that is carried by some mosquitoes.
The areas are spread across northern NSW and west of the dividing range, including Lismore, Orange, Albury, the Upper Hunter, Liverpool Plains and Broken Hill.
This summer’s first detection of JEV was last week in mosquitoes in Victoria, about three-and-a-half hours north-west of Melbourne.
Another mosquito-borne virus, Kunjin virus, has been detected in western NSW at Cowra in a chicken blood sample in late November via a NSW Health routine surveillance program.
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The viruses spread when a mosquito bites an infected animal, such as a waterbird, pigs or horse, and then bites a person. It cannot be spread human-to-human.
Dr Stephen Conaty, NSW Health’s director of health protection, said these detections so early in summer are concerning.
“Mosquito numbers will likely increase with warmer weather, and we remind everyone in NSW to protect themselves against mosquito bites, which can cause diseases such as Japanese encephalitis and Murray Valley encephalitis, and infection with Kunjin virus, Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus,” Conaty said.
