North Queensland Resident Tests Positive for Zika Virus

A resident from North Queensland has tested positive for Zika virus after returning from a holiday in Thailand and Bali.

The Dengue Action Response Team (DART) has now been sent to Gordonvale and surrounding areas south of Cairns to spray the town for mosquitoes.

Tropical Public Health Service director Dr Richard Gair said that the DART will continue spraying the area where mosquitoes may have picked up the virus before they become infectious until early next week to ensure that it has been treated. He said that if local mosquitoes have bitten the affected person, the bugs will not become infectious until the middle of next week.

“Now more than ever, it is vital that our community has the facts about the zika/dengue mosquito.

“They live in and around your home, have a short life expectancy, do not fly far and are likely to bite people on the feet during the day. You may not even notice them.

“Removing breeding sites in and around homes and killing these mosquitoes needs to become as natural as putting out the garbage bins,” he said.

Dr Gair said the type of mosquitoes that transmit Zika and dengue only bred around homes and in urban areas, not in swamps or creeks. He added that common dengue/zika mosquito breeding sites include tyres, buckets, toys and pot-plant bases.

Residents are also urged to ensure roof gutters are not blocked and breeding mosquitoes. They are also encouraged to use indoor surface spray, mozzie zappers and coils around the house.

However, there have been no locally acquired cases of Zika virus confirmed in Queensland and there is currently no vaccine to protect against Zika virus.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk