Sentinel cluster of locally acquired Japanese encephalitis in southern Australia

Samuel Thorburn; Deborah Friedman; John Burston; Paul M Kinsella; Genevieve E Martin; Deborah A Williamson; Justin Jackson

doi:10.1111/imj.16086

Sentinel cluster of locally acquired Japanese encephalitis in southern Australia

Intern Med J. 2023 May;53(5):835-840. doi: 10.1111/imj.16086. Epub 2023 May 3.

Authors

Samuel Thorburn^{1

2}, Deborah Friedman³, John Burston^{1

2}, Paul M Kinsella⁴, Genevieve E Martin⁴, Deborah A Williamson⁴, Justin Jackson^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Albury Wodonga Health, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.
² Infectious Diseases Department, Albury Base Hospital, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Public Health Divison, Victorian Department of Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 37134258
DOI: 10.1111/imj.16086

Abstract

Prior to January 2022, only a single case of infection with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) had been reported on the Australian mainland, acquired in the northern extremity on Cape York. We report the clinical characteristics of the sentinel cluster of cases that confirmed the local acquisition of JEV in southern Australia along the Murray River bordering New South Wales and Victoria.

Keywords: Australia; Japanese encephalitis; climate; vector-borne.

MeSH terms

Animals
Culex*
Encephalitis Virus, Japanese*
Encephalitis, Japanese*
Humans
South Australia
Victoria