Tuesday 8 May 2018

Mozzies: Irritating but not Infectious

BY SANZIANA TIMIS

Testings of mosquito habitats across Lake Macquarie have revealed no evidence of harmful mosquito-borne viruses such as Ross River Fever or Barmah Forest Virus.

The Department of Medical Entomology collected weekly samples from their three sites; Dora Creek, Teralba and Belmont South as part of Council’s annual monitoring program.

Council’s Acting Manager of Waste, Environment and Rangers, Derek Poulton said that this evidence is great news for the residents of the Lake Macquarie region.

"While none of us enjoy having mozzies around, there's at least some comfort to be found in the news that the ones we caught were unlikely to cause harm."
Although the weather has become cooler, Poulton stresses that there still may be disease carriers in a small mosquito population.
"There's definitely been a decline in numbers because it's a lot cooler, but the general reminder is that people should still wear appropriate personal repellent."