Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
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As the wet season approaches, Thursday Island is at extreme risk of a dengue outbreak, with hundreds of dengue mosquito breeding sites found in residents? yards during a recent survey of the island.
Queensland Health staff surveyed 336 properties on Thursday Island in October and found 459 containers holding water and 66 breeding mosquitoes. The most-common breeding sites were containers with plant cuttings and pot-plant bases.
Queensland Health entomologist Brian Montgomery said the high number of breeding sites provided ideal conditions for a dengue outbreak.
?Residents on Thursday Island are urged to check their yards once a week, every week and get rid of mosquito breeding sites. If you stop this mosquito breeding, you can stop the disease,? Mr Montgomery said.
?Preventing mosquito breeding in the yard is the responsibility of residents.
Change the water once a week in containers with plant cuttings, and remove pot plant bases altogether, or empty them, or fill the bases with sand.?
In 2005, there were 56 cases of dengue fever (type 4) in the Torres Strait, including 37 cases on Thursday Island.
In the 2003/04 wet season, there were 278 cases of dengue fever (type 2) in the Torres Strait, including one death.
Mr Montgomery said: ?Hundreds of people in the Torres Strait have had dengue in recent years and those people are now at risk of becoming dangerously ill if they get another type of dengue.
?With the recent history of dengue there was a multitude of containers that could be rendered mosquito proof.
We?d hope the message could get out that dengue is preventable.
?It would be nice if the community could take the responsibility for itself. Health is seen as a fallback position after the community has done all it can for itself.?
Mr Montgomery said: ?Your backyard is your responsibility, and our survey wad dominated cuttings and pot-plant bases. They can be kept, but change the water weekly and puit sand in the bottom of pot-plant bases.?
The mosquito which has been the source for dengue fever for many years is still the greatest risk. It is the real and present danger to cause the next outbreak of dengue fever on Thursday Island.
?Say ?No? to dengue,? he said.
For more information on dengue fever in north Queensland, see the website: www.health.qld.gov.au/dengue.
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As the wet season approaches, Thursday Island is at extreme risk of a dengue outbreak, with hundreds of dengue mosquito breeding sites found in residents? yards during a recent survey of the island.
Queensland Health staff surveyed 336 properties on Thursday Island in October and found 459 containers holding water and 66 breeding mosquitoes. The most-common breeding sites were containers with plant cuttings and pot-plant bases.
Queensland Health entomologist Brian Montgomery said the high number of breeding sites provided ideal conditions for a dengue outbreak.
?Residents on Thursday Island are urged to check their yards once a week, every week and get rid of mosquito breeding sites. If you stop this mosquito breeding, you can stop the disease,? Mr Montgomery said.
?Preventing mosquito breeding in the yard is the responsibility of residents.
Change the water once a week in containers with plant cuttings, and remove pot plant bases altogether, or empty them, or fill the bases with sand.?
In 2005, there were 56 cases of dengue fever (type 4) in the Torres Strait, including 37 cases on Thursday Island.
In the 2003/04 wet season, there were 278 cases of dengue fever (type 2) in the Torres Strait, including one death.
Mr Montgomery said: ?Hundreds of people in the Torres Strait have had dengue in recent years and those people are now at risk of becoming dangerously ill if they get another type of dengue.
?With the recent history of dengue there was a multitude of containers that could be rendered mosquito proof.
We?d hope the message could get out that dengue is preventable.
?It would be nice if the community could take the responsibility for itself. Health is seen as a fallback position after the community has done all it can for itself.?
Mr Montgomery said: ?Your backyard is your responsibility, and our survey wad dominated cuttings and pot-plant bases. They can be kept, but change the water weekly and puit sand in the bottom of pot-plant bases.?
The mosquito which has been the source for dengue fever for many years is still the greatest risk. It is the real and present danger to cause the next outbreak of dengue fever on Thursday Island.
?Say ?No? to dengue,? he said.
For more information on dengue fever in north Queensland, see the website: www.health.qld.gov.au/dengue.
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