QLD: Authorities fear dengue fever is spreading south
29 Jan 2009 3:08 PM
BRISBANE, Jan 29 AAP - Central Queensland health authorities have begun eradicating mosquitoes to stop the spread of dengue fever as fears grow of it heading further south.
The mosquito-borne disease is in epidemic proportions in Cairns, with 214 people affected.
Townsville has 25 cases, which includes two strains of the virus, and Mackay has reported two cases.
The Rockhampton Regional Council is concerned it could be on their doorstep next and is taking steps to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito - the breed of mosquito that can carry dengue.
The council's health committee chairman Tony Williams said caravans, parks, schools and any locations known to have big populations of the mosquitoes were being sprayed.
"It's just a matter of somebody (with the virus) travelling through and being bitten," Mr Williams said.
"Especially after the school holidays, there's a lot of people travelling up and down the coast. The potential is there for it to spread.
"We have doubled staffing, even pulled people out from other jobs, to spray mosquito breeding grounds."
The mosquitoes breed in stagnant water and residents are being urged to clear blocked gutters, empty buckets, containers, wheelbarrows, pot plants and anything else that carries water.
