Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Director of Medical Entomology with NT Health Nina Kurucz says cases of Japanese Encephalitis are on the rise in the NT...here's what you need to know

Transcript

Director of Medical Entomology with NT Health Nina Kurucz says cases of Japanese Encephalitis are on the rise in the NT...here's what you need to know · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one O four nine. Now, Northern
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Territory residents and visitors are being reminded to protect themselves
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: from mosquito bites following an increase in the number of
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: feral pigs that have tested positive to Japanese in cephalitis
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: in the top end. Now, joining me on the line
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: to tell us a bit more about this and what
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: it means to Territorians is Nina Kurtz, the director of
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Medical entomology with nt Health. Good morning to you, Nina.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning to you too.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Now, Nina, what exactly is Japanese in cephalitis.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Japanese encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, So when
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: people contract the disease there will be in your neurological signs.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: So it's a very serious disease which can include se
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: be a headache and fever, seizures and fits, next disiness, drowsiness, confusion.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: It can also lead to coma and in some cases,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: unfortunately also to death, and we had a case early
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: last year. Fortunately we haven't had any cases since compared
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: to all the cases on the East Coast, and that
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: is probably because on the East Coast they have these
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: huge commercial piggeries with thousands of pigs and pigs sort
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: of domestic picks as well as well as feral pigs.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: They act as what we call amplifiers, so they can
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: have a lot of virus and morsitos can pick up
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: the virus and then transmit the disease to people.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Right. So, Nina, at this point in the top end,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: we've just had one case in a human, is that correct?
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that case occurred early last year, so we
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: had a whole year without a case, which is great.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: But we know from forty four feral pigs that have
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: tested positive from surveys that the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: did just recently, that the virus is in the environment.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: We know that the mosquitos that can transmit the virus
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: is getting up in high numbers now. So again we
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: are asking people to protect themselves from mosquito bites, use
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: the repellents as an alternative out now called oil of
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: lemon nucalyp otherwise, or the repellents contain indeed or picarried
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: in long sleeved shirts, long pants, and make sure your
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: kids are also protected.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: So, Nana, can you talk us through exactly how it
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: spreads what's the situation here.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: So there's some ard eyed birds, which are your herons
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: and egrets. They can have the virus, so the mosquitos
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: can pick it up from the bird and then also
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: give it to pigs. So in our case, mostly the
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: feral peaks, and they then amplify the virus. They work
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: up a lot of virus, and then mosquitos can pick
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: it up from there again and transmitted to humans. So
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: you've got high risk situations close to waterways up to
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: five kilometers from the big wetlands, where you've got the
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: feral pigs, you've got the water birds, and you've got
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: the mosquitos. Fortunately, those mosquitos are only active after some
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: down so when people are out and about at night,
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: just use the mosquito repellents and protect yourself from getting bitten.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: That's the main thing at the moment.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, and so is the biggest concern here, people
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: that are maybe out hunting or fishing or out camping
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: in some of those areas where there can be feral
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: pigs around, and also those birds.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, they are the high risk group of people,
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: of course, but also people who live in rural areas
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: and who might be wandering outside their property after some downs.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: So they also have been very careful people in communities
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: who live very close to wetlands. So there's a lot
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: of people potentially at risk after sundown in the Northern Territory.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Nina, you did mention that obviously, protecting yourself from mozzies,
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: I mean it is a mosquito born virus. Protecting yourself
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: from those mosquitoes is the best plan of attack here.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Yes, it absolutely is at the moment, and anti health
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: is also at the moment working up a vaccination strategy
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: so to trying to figure out, taking all those risk
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: factors into account, which group of people are mostly at risk,
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: and then the vaccination will be rolled out to those people.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: But until that happened, as we say, just protect yourself,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: use the repellen, put on the light color clothing, long sleeves,
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: long pants, and if you can avoid mosquito prone areas
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: at night.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: And so Nina, are we we're working on a vaccine
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: now this for this disease. How far away do you
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: reckon it could be?
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: So there is a very say vaccine available already. Unfortunately,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: because Japanese encephalitis is new to Australia, there's only a
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: limited supply of vaccines at the moment, so therefore we
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: are trying to work out at the moment which groups
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: of people are mostly at risk to make sure those
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: people can be vaccinated first until further vaccines become available.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: And this is what anti health is working at at
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: the moment.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Now, Nane of this may be a stupid question, but
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: what does it mean ultimately, I mean for pigs and
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: ultimately the consumption of PORLK. Does it have an impact
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: in that? Why not?
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: At all? Consumption of park is absolutely safe. Unfortunately, the
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: pigs themselves as well as horses and humans can get sick.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: And the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy and Department of Industry,
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: Chism and Trade and Health we are all doing our
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: part in surveillance of mosquitos and feral pigs to figure
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: out the risk. But park consumption is safe.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: And Nina just finally, obviously since March twenty twenty two,
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: so earlier this year, with those forty four feral pigs
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: that have been infected, what area have they been in?
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: What region?
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: They have been found in several regions and they include
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: the Victoria Daily, the Cox Daily, the litchfield Shire, Teewe Islands,
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: the Marachai Douctlas daily and also recently we detected it
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: in West Arnam and there will be further surveillance done
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: to the east very shortly by the NAKs team and
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: that will inform us further about the risk and where
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: the virus might be. Just to put it in perspective though,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: we also are testing the mosquitoes who we've tested up
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: to fifty thousand mosquitos already and we have not found
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: the virus in any mosquitos today via PCR tests, but
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: again this work will continue. Next year, the pic testing
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: will continue and hopefully a lot of vaccine will be
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: shortly available for people in the Northern Territory.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Well, Nina, we always appreciate your time, but really appreciate
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: you are giving us a bit more detail about Japanese
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: in cephalitis this morning. If there is anybody listening who
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: is concerned and thereafter a bit more info, can they
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: head to the Anti health website?
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and they can contact Anti Health or Medical
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Entomology or the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade for
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: further information. And we are also asking people to watch
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: out for any signs and domestic pick or horses and
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: neurological science and if they discover anything like that then
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: please contact the Department of Industry, Tourism Trade straight away
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: so they can come out and assess the situation.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Well, Nina, we always appreciate your time. Thank you so
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: very much for having a chat with us this morning.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: That is Nina Kurtz there, who is the director of
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: the of Medical Entomology, the Medical Entomology Unit with nt Health.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: That number if you'd like to call through today eight
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: nine four one one oh four nine