Arboviral diseases and malaria in Australia, 2008–09: Annual report of the National Arbovirus and Malaria Advisory Committee
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2010.34.24Keywords:
arbovirus, Barmah Forest virus, chikungunya, dengue, disease surveillance, epidemiology, flavivirus, Japanese encephalitis, Kunjin, malaria, mosquitoborne disease, mosquitoes, Murray Valley encephalitis virus, Ross River virus, yellow feverAbstract
The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System received 8,677 notifications of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes in Australia from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. The alphaviruses, Barmah Forest and Ross River, accounted for 6,574 (78%) of these notifications during 2008–09. There were 1,009 notifications of dengue virus infection locally-acquired in North Queensland and 484 notified cases resulted from overseas travel. Notification rates of dengue virus infection for 2008–09, regardless of where infection was acquired, exceeded the five-year mean rate and may be attributed to increased disease activity in the Asia–Pacific region. North Queensland was the site of several outbreaks of locally-acquired dengue virus infection involving all 4 serotypes. These dengue outbreaks affected several locations with over 1,000 notifications. Detection of flavivirus seroconversions in sentinel chicken flocks across Australia provides an early warning of increased levels of Murray Valley encephalitis virus and Kunjin virus activity. Increased levels of flavivirus activity were detected in western and northern Australia, which prompted public health action. This action preceded 4 notifications of Murray Valley encephalitis infections, 2 (fatal) cases acquired in the Northern Territory and two in Western Australia. There were no notifications of locally-acquired malaria in Australia and 567 notifications of overseas-acquired malaria during 2008–09. This annual report presents information of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes in Australia and notified to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Commun Dis Intell 2010;34(3):225–240.
Downloads
References
NNDSS Writing Group. Australia's notifiable disease status, 2008: annual report of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Commun Dis Intell 2010;34(3):157–224.
Russell RC, Dwyer DE. Arboviruses associated with human disease in Australia. Microbes Infect 2000;2(14):1693–1704.
Medical Entomology, Centre for Disease Control, Department of Health and Families, Northern Territory. Medical Entomology Annual Report 2008/09. Darwin: Department of Health and Families, Northern Territory; 2009.
Parida MM, Santhosh SR, Dash PK, Lakshmana Rao PV. Rapid and real-time assays for detection and quantification of chikungunya virus. Future Virol 2008;3(2):179–192.
Harrington S, Lindsay MD, Douglas A. Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean: Mosquito fauna and mosquito-borne disease risk assessment and management recommendations. FINAL REPORT of investigations undertaken in 2007–08: Public Health Division, Western Australian Department of Health; 2009.
van den Hurk AF, Hall-Mendelin S, Pyke AT, Smith GA, Mackenzie JS. Vector competence of Australian mosquitoes for chikungunya virus. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2010;10(5):489–495.
National Health and Medical Research Council. The Australian Immunisation Handbook 9th edn. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing; 2008.
Hanna JN, Ritchie SA, Richards AR, Humphreys JL, Montgomery BL, Ehlers GJ, et al. Dengue in north Queensland, 2005–2008. Commun Dis Intell 2009;33(2):198–203.
Queensland Health. Dengue fever management plan for North Queensland 2005–2010. Cairns, Queensland: Tropical Public Health Unit Network, Queensland Health; 2005.
Hanna JN, Ritchie SA. Outbreaks of dengue in north Queensland, 1990–2008. Commun Dis Intell 2009;33(1):32–33.
Hanson JP, Taylor CT, Richards AR, Smith IL, Boutlis CS. Japanese encephalitis acquired near Port Moresby: implications for residents and travellers to Papua New Guinea. Med J Aust 2004;181(5):282–283.
Hanna JN, Ritchie SA, Phillips DA, Lee JM, Hills SL, van den Hurk AF, et al. Japanese encephalitis in north Queensland, Australia, 1998. Med J Aust 1999;170(11):533–536.
Broom AK, Azuolas J, Hueston L, Mackenzie JS, Melville L, Smith DW, et al. Australian encephalitis: Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Programme. Commun Dis Intell 2001;25(3):157–160.
Broom AK. Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Program in Australia, July 2002 to June 2003. Commun Dis Intell 2003;27(3):367–369.
Hall RA, Broom AK, Harnett AC, Howard MJ, Mackenzie JS. Immunodominant epitopes on the NS1 protein of MVE and KUN viruses serve as targets for a blocking ELISA to detect virus-specific antibodies in sentinel animal serum. J Virol Methods 1995;51:201–210.
Johansen C, Avery V, Cashen C, Power C, McFall S, Masters M, et al. The University of Western Australia Arbovirus Surveillance and Research Laboratory Annual Report: 2008–2009. Discipline of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Australia; 2009.
Cordova SP, Smith DW, Broom AK, Lindsay MD, Dowse GK, Beers MY. Murray Valley encephalitis in Western Australia in 2000, with evidence of southerly spread. Commun Dis Intell 2000;24(12):368–372.
Doggett S, Clancy J, Haniotis J, Webb C, Russell RC, Hueston L, et al. The New South Wales Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Monitoring Program 2008–2009 Annual Report. Medical Entomology Department, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital; 2009.
Doggett S, Clancy J, Haniotis J, Russell R, Hueston L, Marchetti M, et al. The New South Wales Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Monitoring Program 2003–2004 Annual Report. Medical Entomology Department, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital; 2004.
Top of page
Heymann D, ed. Control of Communicable Diseases Manual. 18th edn. Washington: American Public Health Association; 2004.
Cox-Singh J, Davis TM, Lee KS, Shamsul SS, Matusop A, Ratnam S, et al. Plasmodium knowlesi malaria in humans is widely distributed and potentially life threatening. Clin Infect Dis 2008;46(2):165–171.
Hanna JN, Ritchie SA, Eisen DP, Cooper RD, Brookes DL, Montgomery BL. An outbreak of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Far North Queensland, 2002. Med J Aust 2004;180(1):24–28.
Animal Health Australia. National Arbovirus Monitoring Program Annual Report 2008–2009. Canberra: Animal Health Australia; 2010.
Animal Health Australia. Animal Health in Australia 2008. Canberra, Animal Health Australia; 2009.
Ritchie SA, Moore P, Carruthers M, Williams C, Montgomery B, Foley P, et al. Discovery of a widespread infestation of Aedes albopictus in the Torres Strait, Australia. J Amer Mosquito Control Assoc 2006;22(3):358–365.
Queensland Health. Aedes albopictus elimination program in the Torres Strait: Report for the period 1 July 2007–30 June 2008. Queensland, Australia: Queensland Health; 2009.
Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Portfolio budget statements 2009–10: Budget related paper No. 1.10; 2009.
Hanna JN, Ritchie SA, Hills SL, Pyke AT, Montgomery BL, Richards AR, et al. Dengue in north Queensland, 2002. Commun Dis Intell 2003;27(3):384–389.
Regional Office for South-East Asia and the Western Pacific World Health Organization. The Dengue Strategic Plan for the Asia Pacific Region, 2008–2015. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2008.
Beebe NW, Cooper RD, Mottram P, Sweeney AW. Australia's dengue risk driven by human adaptation to climate change. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2009;3(5):e429.
Public Health Laboratory Network. Alphavirus and flavivirus laboratory case definitions. 2001. Accessed on 11 June 2009. Available from: http://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cda-phlncd-flavivirus.htm
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2010 Communicable Diseases Intelligence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
