Essay by Eric Worrall
You might think that the easiest way to stop the spread of a dangerous mosquito-borne disease is to spray a little bit of mosquito repellent. But the real solution, according to the Washington Post, is fighting climate change.
As Australia’s climate changes, a tropical disease evolves
An outbreak of Japanese encephalitis has infected 34 people and killed 3 people
Via Frances Vinall
ECHUCA, Australia – A cloud of dust rose behind farmer Tim Kingma’s pickup truck as he drove down a muddy road to a neat row of pigsty. The landscape is flat and muted: the ground is arid, mostly devoid of trees and patchy grass. On this farm in southeastern Victoria, there are hundreds of flies and not a single mosquito to be seen. It’s a world away from the verdant places one might expect to spot deadly tropical diseases.
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Japanese encephalitis is rare and most often asymptomatic. In 99 percent of cases, it passes through the body without causing symptoms. But of the unlucky 1 percent, nearly a third die, and about half of the survivors are left with permanent problems. There is no cure, and Australia is spend millions of dollars in a rush to import vaccine doses.
Public health experts say the emergence of Japanese encephalitis here is just the latest example of how global warming is. contribute to the spread of illness. Six years ago, the permafrost melted in Siberia release of frozen anthrax, has infected an indigenous community. In 2007, tropical chikungunya virus was discovered in Europe first in two Italian villages and has since appeared in France. In the United States, cases of Lyme has doubled more than 30 years with warmer conditions create longer tick seasons. And in Australia, experts warn Japanese encephalitis could be the first of several to spread southward.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/14/australia-japanese-encephalitis-climate-change/
The area around Echuca has seen many outbreaks of Encephalitis in history, such as 1974-75 outbreak of encephalitis, which is contained with a powerful organophosphate spray program. So the latest outbreak is not necessarily a new problem.
The Japanese Encephalitis/climate statement is further weakened by the geographic spread of the current outbreak, which includes Echuca (36°s south) to South Queensland (27° South). Having spent time in both areas and having visited Echuca more than once, I can personally assure you that the climate in Echuca is very different from that of Southern Queensland.
If Japanese Encephalitis is sensitive to climate change, why has it flourished over such a wide range of climates?
Places like Echuca try to spray insecticides. Unfortunately in Australia, green people tend to oppose mosquito control programs with the same strength that they oppose the controlled burning of bushfire fuels, with hysterical claims about clusters of cancer and environmental destruction.
In my opinion, over the decades this green opposition has contributed to the decline of large-scale spraying programs, from the previous annual active spraying programs that blinded the entire set the town and surrounding areas with protective chemicals, to response strategies, where the intense spraying mostly follows an outbreak of encephalitis or whatever has killed a few people .
Honestly, I’d love to see a return to active spraying on a large scale. Admittedly the risk is small – if you’ve visited Echuca, chances are you’ll have an enjoyable time admiring the architecture and enjoying the cafes and river attractions. If you get a few mosquito bites, you are unlucky to get Encephalitis, even during an outbreak. But why should someone die or contract a debilitating disease, from a completely preventable problem?
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