The NSW Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Monitoring Program (ASMMP), run by NSW Health, aims to give early warnings about increased risk of arboviruses in NSW by monitoring these viruses in sentinel chickens and mosquitoes. Arboviruses are viruses spread by insects like mosquitoes, ticks, and sandflies. They are of concern because they can cause diseases in humans.
The ASMMP has been operating in NSW since the 1980s. It runs from spring to autumn each year when mosquito and virus activity is at its peak. The program involves collecting mosquitoes from different areas of NSW and testing them for two types of viruses: alphaviruses and flaviviruses.
The alphaviruses of concern in NSW are Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus. The flaviviruses of concern in NSW include Kunjin virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). As part of the program, NSW Health monitor special flocks of chickens in inland NSW during the arbovirus season. These chickens are tested for antibodies to Kunjin virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) to help detect the presence of these viruses.
This dashboard presents mosquito trapping data from the 1980s onwards and sentinel chicken data from 2011 onwards, collected through the ASMMP. Mosquito and virus activity is affected by weather conditions like rainfall and temperature. Mosquitoes need water to breed, so in coastal areas both tidal flooding and rainfall are important. Temperature and the length of day are also important because higher temperatures can increase infections and the spread of viruses. The dashboard presents ASMMP data with rainfall and temperature to show how these factors influence mosquito and virus activity.
Machine readable feed of NSW Health publications.