Australian dies of rare mosquito-borne disease after visiting Thailand

An Australian man returned from Thailand has died from the rare but potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease, Japanese encephalitis.

The risk of catching the virus is "vanishingly
rare", Steven Tong says. Climate change is
 changing that view.

It is understood to be only the 10th case of the disease recorded in Australia since 2001 and one of only a handful of deaths in that time, although Japanese encephalitis is endemic in South-East Asia, where it is most commonly found in rural or farming areas.

The Victorian man in his 60s had visited Phuket for 10 days in early May and became lethargic on day eight.

After returning home he struggled to stay awake and went to hospital a few days later in a confused state.

Read Anne Barker’s story on ABC News - “Australian dies of rare mosquito-borne disease after visiting Thailand.”

(Mosquito viruses are presently largely regional, suggesting climatic conditions limits their range, or at least the conditions that allow a particular virus to thrive. Climate change is changing all that and the warmer conditions the many deadly viruses prefer are quickly evolving to appear in the most unlikely places and although the difficulty described here by Anne Barker is only found in certain places, it is spreading its influence - Robert McLean) 

Japanese encephalitis surges on changing climate

The Culex tarsalis mosquito is the vector for
Japanese encephalitis, and climate change
is accelerating the difficulty.

In July this year, the death of a four-year-old girl in Manipur due to Japanese Encephalitis unleashed panic in the state. This was the first death from the deadly viral brain infection, transmitted by the Culex mosquito, since 2010. Manipur has seen a surge in the virus this year, recording 45 cases this season, leading to two deaths, Sasheekumar Mangang, head of epidemiology in the Manipur health department, told indiaclimatedialogue.net.

Japanese Encephalitis is characterised by the inflammation of the brain and high fever. There is no medical treatment for the disease, and as with other viruses, patients are treated for the symptoms they develop. Fatality rates for severe infections hover between 20% and 30%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Assam, an Indian state that neighbours Manipur, has also had a deluge of Japanese Encephalitis cases—304 cases so far this year with 1,256 cases of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (which doctors say is linked to the virus)—leading to over 200 deaths, according to data from the health department.

Read the India Climate Dialogue story - “Japanese encephalitis surges on changing climate.”

CSIRO takes genetic approach to disarming mossies

Summer is the time of year when we head out for trips to the beach or picnics in the park. But we need to keep in mind that this is also when mosquito season reaches its peak.

The swarms of mosquitoes flooding our summer fun inevitably bring increased outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases, such as Ross River fever, in some areas, dengue fever.

Australian travellers through Southeast Asia are also exposed to a variety of dangerous mosquito-borne viruses such as chikungunya virus and even Japanese encephalitis. Both of these are a significant risk to Australia, should they successfully establish here and join the suite of existing mosquito-borne viruses which represent major public health concerns that impact our economy, tourism and way of life.

Read the story on the CSIRO blog - “A genetic approach to mosquitoes can stop them spreading infections.”