First case of Japanese encephalitis this summer recorded in NSW

A man infected by the Japanese encephalitis virus while camping in NSW is recovering in hospital.

It is the first case of Japanese encephalitis, which killed two people in 2022, to be reported in humans this summer in NSW.

NSW Health’s executive director of health protection Dr Jeremy McAnulty said on Saturday that the man likely acquired his infection while camping in late December/early January in the Murrumbidgee region.

Along with discoveries of the virus in pigs and mosquitoes in NSW, and detections in Victoria and Queensland, McAnulty said the man’s case highlighted the risk of JE virus infection in a large stretch of NSW west of the Great Dividing Range.

“It is very important for people who live in or travel to these areas to be aware of the elevated risk and to take precautions against mosquito bites. In addition to JE virus, Murray Valley Encephalitis, Kunjin, Ross River, and Barmah Forest viruses can also be spread by mosquito bites,” he said.

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Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a rare, but potentially serious infection of the central nervous system. It is carried by some, but not all mosquitos.

Most people who get JE do not have any symptoms. For those who do, symptoms develop five to 15 days after getting bitten by infected mosquitoes. They include fever, headache and vomiting.

People with a severe infection (1 in every 250 people) may suffer neck stiffness, disorientation, tremors, coma, seizures and paralysis.