Supporting NZ’s war on mozzies
by Kelly Stone
Summer is approaching and unfortunately, so are the mosquitoes. But if a plan by the New Zealand Government goes well, our neighbours will have a lot less of the pests before too long.
It’s part of a plan to keep the debilitating Ross River virus out of the country. Ross River virus is a disease spread by mosquitoes throughout Australia, particularly in the north of the country. And now our neighbours in New Zealand are turning to UniSA to help keep it Ross River virus free.
The strategy involves eradicating the southern saltmarsh mosquito which is an Australian mosquito and a carrier of the Ross River virus. It entered New Zealand about 10 years ago.
Dr Craig Williams from UniSA’s Mosquito and Plant Research Group is among the researchers working on the ambitious project.
"The New Zealand Government is keen to eradicate this mosquito to stop Ross River virus getting into the country," said Dr Williams.
"It’s a preventative health measure – they’re spending the dollars now on eradicating the mosquito that carries the disease, rather than risking a new disease entering their country, because if that happens, it’s very expensive - millions and millions of dollars a year."
As we head into the SA mosquito and Ross River virus season, Dr Williams and team member Christie Bader have completed a research report on the southern saltmarsh mosquito for the New Zealand Government.
"No one nation has ever tried to tackle an insect pest in this way – that is, to completely eradicate it from a country," Dr Williams said.
"Because we have the same mosquito here in Adelaide, we can do the research in SA that tells the New Zealand authorities useful things such as how long these mosquitoes live, the best ways to catch them, and how long their eggs can last. We’ve just completed a large surveillance report to help with their eradication project."
Dr Williams said the southern saltmarsh mosquito was common in Adelaide during winter and spring, while the northern saltmarsh mosquito was "the one that mauls people in Adelaide during February and March."
"We’re been gathering data from 30 mosquito monitoring sites along the River Murray plus sites in the metropolitan area to assess mosquito numbers and the Ross River virus risk for the coming season," he said.
According to Dr Williams, SA averaged 100 to 150 cases of Ross River virus a year but in an epidemic, up to 600 cases could be reported.