Health Alerts

More on mosquito-borne infections, with SA Health advising that Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVEV) and Kunjin viruses (KUN) were both detected recently during routine surveillance of sentinel chickens sited in Meningie, near the mouth of the Murray River. The agency did note that both infections are rare in humans in the state, but the public should take appropriate measures to avoid mosquito bites. Similar warnings, but related to Ross River virus, have been issued in for both the Surf Coast and Greater Geelong in Victoria as their early 2021 cases passed the 2020 total.  Read More

The AMA says a national response is needed to manage the 10-year syphilis outbreak that has spread ‘through parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia since January 2011’. Of the more than 3,600 people infected, many are ‘young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote and rural areas’. Read more