Japanese encephalitis, Murray Valley encephalitis concerning but risk of death low, mosquito experts say
ABCThe resurgence of Japanese encephalitis this summer and the detection of Murray Valley encephalitis in mosquitoes has health authorities concerned, but the likelihood of death from either remains low. Dr Webb said it was not surprising that mosquito populations had been "massive" this year, given the recent flooding. Dr Webb said mosquitoes typically picked up MVE and JE from waterbirds, which were also thriving due to flooding, before passing the viruses onto humans. "With Japanese encephalitis being relatively new, everybody at all age groups is at risk of being infected," Professor Dwyer said. Dr Webb said surveillance programs, such as sampling mosquito populations and sentinel chickens, played a crucial role in the early detection of mosquito-borne viruses.