MOSQUITO WARNING AS VIRUS SPREADS ACROSS PILBARA

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Pilbara residents and travellers are being warned to protect themselves against mosquito bites, as the Murray Valley Encephalitis virus has spread into the region. 

The Department of Health's warning to the Pilbara followed earlier detections of the virus in the East Kimberley.

Symptoms of the MVE virus can include fever, headache, drowsiness, stiff neck and nausea.

In severe cases, the disease can be fatal.

WA Health’s Managing Scientists of Biological Hazards Dr Andrew Jardine said that MVE is only transmitted by mosquitoes and that the risk of becoming infected is low.

The virus was detected in sentinel chicken flocks in the Pilbara. Sentinel chicken flocks are used by the Department to monitor and provide an early warning system for mosquito-borne virus activity.