An Australian child has died from a mosquito-borne illness as cases across the ditch see a rare spike.
The child died from Murray Valley encephalitis, The Northern Territory (NT) Health Department revealed, bringing the number of deaths this year from the virus in the country to three.
This is the second child to lose their life to the rare disease in Australia in just over two months, following the death of a Western Australian child in April. A woman in her 70s has also died from the disease this year.
Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) is a potentially fatal disease that occurs after being bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus.
Children are at greater risk, with very young and older people more likely to have long-term health problems after an infection.
Some of the symptoms include severe headache, neck stiffness, sensitivity to bright lights, drowsiness, confusion, seizures, and loss of consciousness.
Health authorities said as of May 10 this year, there have been four cases of MVE in NT, compared to only two in the previous five years. Two of these cases were in young infants in the Big Rivers region.
Australian health authorities have issued a public health alert warning residents to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, which are most active between dusk and dawn. Protective measures include wearing long sleeves and pants when outdoors and applying insect repellent.
"[MVE] is considered to be one of the most severe illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes in the Northern Territory (NT), along with Japanese encephalitis," NT Department of Health said in a media release.
Last year, Australia's federal Department of Health issued a national warning after a man died from Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne virus that hadn't been detected in humans in more than 20 years.
