A Riverina GP is warning people across the region to do everything they can to avoid mosquito bites after a Griffith man has become the first NSW resident to die with encephalitis.
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On Wednesday afternoon NSW Health confirmed that a man in his 70s from the Griffith region died with Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV).
He passed away in a Sydney hospital on February 13, and post-mortem testing subsequently found he had contracted JEV.
"NSW Health expresses its sincere condolences to his loved ones," a spokesperson said.
There are now three known cases of JEV across the state, including a child from the Wentworth area and man from Corowa.
Both of these patients are being treated in hospitals in Victoria, with the Corowa man in a serious condition in the ICU.
The Griffith man's death is the second JEV death to be reported, with a man in his 60s from northern Victoria - who died on February 28 - confirmed to have died from JEV following an autopsy this week.
JEV is a viral illness, spread by mosquitos, that can infect both animals and humans. It has been present in far northern Australia since the 1990s but has never been recorded in people further south, until now.
There are now confirmed cases in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, with outbreaks in animals in at least 21 piggeries including those in Corowa, Grong Grong and Stockinbingal across the Riverina.
Alam Yoosuff, a Finley GP based near the NSW-VIC border, said the emerging JEV cases are largely the result of climate change.
He said that climate change has forced migratory birds that carry the virus further south than they would normally go. These birds travel with the virus and share it with pigs, who only need a small amount of virus to in-turn develop a large amount of the virus in their bodies.
Mosquitos then bite these pigs and transfer the virus to humans via bites. Humans - as well as animals like donkeys and horses - are end hosts, which means the virus cannot be spread from them to others once infected.
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Currently, the only thing people can do to prevent JEV is avoid being bitten by mosquitos.
"Do whatever needs to be done to prevent mosquitos getting in touch with you," Dr Yoosuff said.
This could include not going outside at dawn or dusk, using mosquito repellent and avoiding activities by the river such as camping.
This is especially pertinent following the recent floods in Queensland and NSW, with chief executive of the Encephalitis Society Ava Easton warning that mosquito-borne viruses responsible for causing encephalitis "will be proliferating".
"As Australia faces ongoing extreme weather conditions we are urging all Australians to equip themselves with knowledge about this very real disease and to not dismiss it as a low-risk probability or something too rare to talk about," Dr Easton said.
NSW Health acting chief health officer Dr Marianne Gale echoed these concerns, saying that the recent wet weather has led to very high mosquito numbers.
"We know mosquitoes are most active between dusk and dawn, and we need people planning activities near waterways or where mosquitoes are present to be especially cautious, particularly those in the vicinity of the Murray River and its branches," she warned.
There is a vaccine for JEV, however Dr Yoosuff says there is extremely limited stock available for purchase, with the public health unit prioritising piggery workers, and other industries at high-risk, for the jab.
He said there isn't huge cause for concern at this stage, and anticipates there will be readily available stock in the next few months.
"When the vaccine comes, get the vaccine," he said.
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