Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are being told to brace ourselves for an influx
of mossies a little later this week too, and to
also take precautions to prevent those bites. Now INNT Health
saying high tides are expected to trigger extensive breeding of
salt marsh mosquitoes, which are set to take flight from Friday.
(00:20):
Joining me on the line from the Center for Disease Control,
the director, I should say, Medical Entomology, Nina Kurtz, Good morning.
Hopefully I've got her on the line there, Hang on,
I better put her through the desk. Oh dear, my
phone line, as luck would always have it, is now
playing up, so I'll just make sure I get her
on the line. Good morning to you, Nina.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
It was like a bit of a bit of a
technical issue. I've got you now. Lovely to have you
on the show, Nina. Last year, I reckon, we spoke
about the influx of mossies and happening again. What are
we expecting from Friday?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, look, this is the time of the year again.
So last week we had the really high tides, and
then November we've got high tides again and probably significant
rain in between. So all these events are triggering a
lot of salt marsh mosquito to hatch and then have
an impact on people right across the anti coastline. And
(01:20):
as you said, this time it will start from around
Friday this week. These little modies are very aggressive by us.
They not only buy it at night, but also during
the daytime and unfortunately they can transmit Ross River virus.
So this is our seasonal warning to everybody just to
cover up, to make sure you're not getting bitten, use
(01:42):
to write repellents with the DP carotin oil of lemon eucalyptus,
cover up and use the devices that out there, and
also make sure when your kids are out that they
are adequately covered as well to not get sick. And
then we are getting into the monsoon season and that's
after the really heavy rains when the other mosquitoes are
(02:03):
coming around that are mostly active during nighttime after sundown,
but they're the ones that can transmit the Murray Valley
andcephalitis Japanese and cephalitis. So again, cover up, make sure
you don't get bitten, so you don't get sick.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So, Nina, I know last year and well last year
we had a situation as well where there was like
there was such an influx of mosquitos that you know,
you might be at an outdoor activity in the evening
and you were literally swatting them away. Are we expecting
it to be like that or is it just an
(02:38):
increase on what we've sort of seen, you know, in
the I guess in the dry season.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, unfortunately, I think there will be quite an impact
because we've been out in the last few days and
having a good look around in the swamp areas close
to Darwin and there were high numbers of mosquitoes out
there were already treated three hundred tactors of mosquito breeding.
We also looked further afield and saw that there's quite
high numbers breeding, so they will make their way into
(03:06):
the suburbs as well. And as said, other communities are
more rural communities close to the coast will also be impacted.
So yeah, we are expecting the season to be quite bad.
So yeah, cover up the repellents and be safe, Nina.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
In terms of rosh rivervirus, have we had many cases
this year or many cases of other mosquito born viruses, So.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
We are not in the high risk season for ros
riviyette that usually starts from December after the monsoonal rain
and then goes through to June. And that's the same
with Mori Valley or Japanese sephalidas. So this financial year,
since July, we had twelve cases anti white, So that's
not that many on average in the anti we experience
(03:52):
in about two hundred and fifty cases that are notified.
They're probably a lot more, but people just don't go
to the doctor and don't go get the second blood
test done because you need two tests to confirm ross
robavirus or Barma forest. But yeah, it's a debilitating disease.
Lots of joint pains, ankles, knees, fingers, so that's something
(04:13):
you don't want to experience.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah, exactly, Nina. I know you mentioned it before, but
just remind us again what should we do to protect
ourselves from being beaten?
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, just self for starters, wear long sleeves, shirts, light
and color because mosquitos are attracted to dark colors, long pants.
Cover up your feet as well. Use the insect repellents
that are proven to work for extended periods, like the
ones that contain the deed, the picaridine oil of Yemen eucalyptus.
(04:45):
Then there's a good old mosquito coiled, other mosquito devices
like ferma cells out there. If you're more stationary, you
can use a barrier spray sort of. That's the actual constituent,
the active constituent, and there's hold by Senfrin that can
be applied as per label or by a licensed pest
(05:05):
controller on low shrubs, or if you've got fences with
like black plastic or other material which you can use
to spray that product on. And the rational behind that
is that the mosquitoes don't go straight to you and
bite you. They rest close to you and get their
orientation right, and if they rest on the surface that's
(05:25):
been treated, they get a lethal dose. But it needs
to be done as per label rate because it does
affect other insects as well as fish, so caution has
to be taken. But these products and backyards around sort
of this time of the year provide protection for about
additional protection for up to six weeks, so it's not
(05:46):
that no mosquitoes will get through to you anymore, but
it reduces the number if there's really high numbers.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah. Well, Nina Kurretz, I really appreciate your time as always,
thank you so very much for joining us and well
letting us the lay of the land when it comes
to this influx of mozzies. Thank you very much, thank you,
thanks so much for your time.