WA Health issues urgent warning over mosquito-borne disease

Illness from the same family of viruses can be severe, and even lead to death.

An urgent warning has been issued by WA Health to prevent mosquito bites in Western Australia’s north-west after a potentially deadly disease was found.

The department has advised people to take caution when travelling through the Kimberley, after mosquito-borne virus activity was identified in sentinel chickens.

More testing is needed to identify the specific virus, but it is known that illness from the same family of viruses can be severe, and even lead to death.

Symptoms are fever, drowsiness, stiff neck, headache, nausea and dizziness.

In children the only sign of infection may be a fever.

Urgent warnings have been issued after a mosquito-borne virus was detected in the Kimberley. Picture: Getty

The latest alert comes after earlier warnings, when Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) was detected in sentinel chickens and mosquitoes for the first time this year.

In March last year, a child from West Kimberley died from MVE after rain created breeding conditions for mosquitoes during heavy flooding.

Residents, and people travelling in the Kimberley are urged to wear long, loose fitting clothes and avoid being outdoors at dawn and early evening when mosquitoes are most active.