January 15, 2013
Every three or four years Queensland Health surveys mozzies in various local government areas … not to check their voting intentions but rather to determine what varieties are hanging out and where.
And now it’s the South Burnett’s turn.
Queensland Health will partner with the South Burnett Regional Council over the next few weeks to conduct a voluntary household mosquito survey.
The survey officers will determine if there are mosquitos of “medical significance” present, for example Aedes aegypti, the mozzie that spreads the potentially fatal dengue fever.
A council spokesman said dengue fever mosquitoes have not been found within the South Burnett Council area in the recent past however some had been detected at Goomeri.
In 2010, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were found in 10 locations around Goomeri which prompted a quick response from Queensland Health and Gympie Regional Council to treat potential breeding sites.
In the past, the distribution of Aedes aegypti extended much further south than it does today, up to and including Melbourne, and dengue fever cases occurred as far south as Gosford in NSW.
However in more recent times both the mosquitoes and the virus have been confined to Queensland, with the only cases of dengue fever being recorded in North Queensland.
Council is urging property owners to assist with the survey as early detection of any dengue mosquitoes could help prevent an outbreak of dengue fever.
The survey officers will carry identification cards, which property owners should ask to see.
For more information, contact Council’s Environmental Health Team on (07) 4189-9100.
