Thousands of Australians at risk of JEV in coming wet summer: experts
Mosquito bites are a bigger risk than occupational exposure to pigs, say researchers
Arbovirus experts say they are “extremely concerned” about the potential for a major Japanese encephalitis virus outbreak this summer as there are now an estimated 750,000 Australians at risk.
Researchers, led by the mosquito control laboratory at QIMR Berghofer in Brisbane, have mapped the dramatic expansion of the virus across southern states that occurred this year.
Six people died among the 31 confirmed cases during outbreaks in temperate inland areas of NSW, Victoria and SA, where Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is now presumed to be endemic.
Until 2022, JEV — which is spread mainly by the Culex annulirostris mosquito — had caused only a handful of cases in the Top End of Australia from the mid-90s.
