NO VACCINE OR CURE FOR MOZZIES: The Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Program is used to provide an early warning of increased flavivirus activity in Australia. The Arbovirus Lab is located at Westmead Hospital. Across the state, flocks are established in Bourke, Deniliquin, Griffith, Hay, Leeton, the Macquarie Marshes, Menindee, and Moree. Forbes is classed as a central location in the Central West for this surveillance to occur and has had high activity since the floods.
Forbes Shire Council General Manager, Steve Loane, wants the community to know their health and well-being is a top priority, post-flood. Each year during the warmer months Council partners with NSW Health to carry out Arbovirus Surveillance, to monitor for Mosquito-Borne Diseases in the Central West. Importantly to identify any virus in the region. Forbes is strategically located in the heart of NSW and the Central West, monitoring the entire Lachlan Valley.
“To ensure our community remains safe, Council monitors for mosquito-borne diseases in our area via two methods, the blood sampling of a sentinel flock of chickens and mosquito trapping,” said Forbes Shire General Manager Steve Loane.
“When chickens are bitten by mosquitoes they don’t get sick, unlike humans, this is why they are used to pick up such diseases as Ross River Fever, Murray Valley Encephalitis, Barmah Forest virus, and Kunjin virus.”
The Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Program is used to provide an early warning of increased flavivirus activity in Australia. The Arbovirus Lab is located at Westmead Hospital. In NSW, Forbes is classed as a central location in the Central West for this surveillance to occur.
“Council is spraying its public spaces, sporting fields, parks and gardens until February 2022 to keep the numbers at bay. We encourage the community to be vigilant during the next few months.”