Australia announced Friday the purchase of additional quantities of vaccines against the Japanese encephalitis virus, which can cause death and is transmitted by mosquitoes, after it spread for the first time on the east coast of the country hit by the recent floods.
One of the scientists explained that the increased amounts of precipitation caused an increase in the number of mosquitoes in eastern Australia, at a time when the country was battling heat waves due to climate change.
There is no specific treatment for disease caused by a virus that spreads only through mosquito bites.
And the Australian Federal Ministry of Health reported that less than 1% of people infected with the virus may develop a serious illness such as encephalitis. She noted that the symptoms include a stiff neck, severe headaches, coma, and “in rare cases, permanent neurological complications or death.”
The Australian Ministries of Health and Agriculture said the government will allocate A$69 million ($51 million) to control measures, including the purchase of an additional 130,000 vaccine doses, to increase the current stockpile of 15,000 doses and strengthen monitoring.
As for the Australian states that have confirmed cases of Japanese encephalitis virus, they include New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, which have not previously recorded local infections with the virus. Queensland has also been affected by the spread of the virus.
State authorities have advised people to try to avoid mosquito bites by covering exposed skin, using insect repellents, removing water containers where they may breed, staying indoors at dawn and dusk, and staying away from insects in wet areas and bushes.