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Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one O four nine. Now, Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory residents and visitors are being reminded to protect themselves

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Speaker 1: from mosquito bites following an increase in the number of

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Speaker 1: feral pigs that have tested positive to Japanese in cephalitis

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Speaker 1: in the top end. Now, joining me on the line

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Speaker 1: to tell us a bit more about this and what

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Speaker 1: it means to Territorians is Nina Kurtz, the director of

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Speaker 1: Medical entomology with nt Health. Good morning to you, Nina.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning to you too.

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Speaker 1: Now, Nina, what exactly is Japanese in cephalitis.

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Speaker 2: Japanese encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, So when

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Speaker 2: people contract the disease there will be in your neurological signs.

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Speaker 2: So it's a very serious disease which can include se

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Speaker 2: be a headache and fever, seizures and fits, next disiness, drowsiness, confusion.

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Speaker 2: It can also lead to coma and in some cases,

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Speaker 2: unfortunately also to death, and we had a case early

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Speaker 2: last year. Fortunately we haven't had any cases since compared

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Speaker 2: to all the cases on the East Coast, and that

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Speaker 2: is probably because on the East Coast they have these

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Speaker 2: huge commercial piggeries with thousands of pigs and pigs sort

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Speaker 2: of domestic picks as well as well as feral pigs.

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Speaker 2: They act as what we call amplifiers, so they can

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Speaker 2: have a lot of virus and morsitos can pick up

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Speaker 2: the virus and then transmit the disease to people.

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Speaker 1: Right. So, Nina, at this point in the top end,

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Speaker 1: we've just had one case in a human, is that correct?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and that case occurred early last year, so we

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Speaker 2: had a whole year without a case, which is great.

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Speaker 2: But we know from forty four feral pigs that have

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Speaker 2: tested positive from surveys that the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy

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Speaker 2: did just recently, that the virus is in the environment.

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Speaker 2: We know that the mosquitos that can transmit the virus

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Speaker 2: is getting up in high numbers now. So again we

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Speaker 2: are asking people to protect themselves from mosquito bites, use

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Speaker 2: the repellents as an alternative out now called oil of

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Speaker 2: lemon nucalyp otherwise, or the repellents contain indeed or picarried

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Speaker 2: in long sleeved shirts, long pants, and make sure your

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Speaker 2: kids are also protected.

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Speaker 1: So, Nana, can you talk us through exactly how it

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Speaker 1: spreads what's the situation here.

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Speaker 2: So there's some ard eyed birds, which are your herons

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Speaker 2: and egrets. They can have the virus, so the mosquitos

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Speaker 2: can pick it up from the bird and then also

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Speaker 2: give it to pigs. So in our case, mostly the

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Speaker 2: feral peaks, and they then amplify the virus. They work

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Speaker 2: up a lot of virus, and then mosquitos can pick

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Speaker 2: it up from there again and transmitted to humans. So

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Speaker 2: you've got high risk situations close to waterways up to

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Speaker 2: five kilometers from the big wetlands, where you've got the

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Speaker 2: feral pigs, you've got the water birds, and you've got

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Speaker 2: the mosquitos. Fortunately, those mosquitos are only active after some

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Speaker 2: down so when people are out and about at night,

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Speaker 2: just use the mosquito repellents and protect yourself from getting bitten.

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Speaker 2: That's the main thing at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, and so is the biggest concern here, people

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Speaker 1: that are maybe out hunting or fishing or out camping

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Speaker 1: in some of those areas where there can be feral

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Speaker 1: pigs around, and also those birds.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, they are the high risk group of people,

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Speaker 2: of course, but also people who live in rural areas

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Speaker 2: and who might be wandering outside their property after some downs.

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Speaker 2: So they also have been very careful people in communities

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Speaker 2: who live very close to wetlands. So there's a lot

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Speaker 2: of people potentially at risk after sundown in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Nina, you did mention that obviously, protecting yourself from mozzies,

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Speaker 1: I mean it is a mosquito born virus. Protecting yourself

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Speaker 1: from those mosquitoes is the best plan of attack here.

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Speaker 2: Yes, it absolutely is at the moment, and anti health

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Speaker 2: is also at the moment working up a vaccination strategy

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Speaker 2: so to trying to figure out, taking all those risk

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Speaker 2: factors into account, which group of people are mostly at risk,

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Speaker 2: and then the vaccination will be rolled out to those people.

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Speaker 2: But until that happened, as we say, just protect yourself,

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Speaker 2: use the repellen, put on the light color clothing, long sleeves,

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Speaker 2: long pants, and if you can avoid mosquito prone areas

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Speaker 2: at night.

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Speaker 1: And so Nina, are we we're working on a vaccine

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Speaker 1: now this for this disease. How far away do you

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Speaker 1: reckon it could be?

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Speaker 2: So there is a very say vaccine available already. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: because Japanese encephalitis is new to Australia, there's only a

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Speaker 2: limited supply of vaccines at the moment, so therefore we

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Speaker 2: are trying to work out at the moment which groups

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Speaker 2: of people are mostly at risk to make sure those

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Speaker 2: people can be vaccinated first until further vaccines become available.

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Speaker 2: And this is what anti health is working at at

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Speaker 2: the moment.

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Speaker 1: Now, Nane of this may be a stupid question, but

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Speaker 1: what does it mean ultimately, I mean for pigs and

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Speaker 1: ultimately the consumption of PORLK. Does it have an impact

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Speaker 1: in that? Why not?

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Speaker 2: At all? Consumption of park is absolutely safe. Unfortunately, the

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Speaker 2: pigs themselves as well as horses and humans can get sick.

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Speaker 2: And the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy and Department of Industry,

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Speaker 2: Chism and Trade and Health we are all doing our

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Speaker 2: part in surveillance of mosquitos and feral pigs to figure

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Speaker 2: out the risk. But park consumption is safe.

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Speaker 1: And Nina just finally, obviously since March twenty twenty two,

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Speaker 1: so earlier this year, with those forty four feral pigs

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Speaker 1: that have been infected, what area have they been in?

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Speaker 1: What region?

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Speaker 2: They have been found in several regions and they include

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Speaker 2: the Victoria Daily, the Cox Daily, the litchfield Shire, Teewe Islands,

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Speaker 2: the Marachai Douctlas daily and also recently we detected it

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Speaker 2: in West Arnam and there will be further surveillance done

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Speaker 2: to the east very shortly by the NAKs team and

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Speaker 2: that will inform us further about the risk and where

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Speaker 2: the virus might be. Just to put it in perspective though,

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Speaker 2: we also are testing the mosquitoes who we've tested up

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Speaker 2: to fifty thousand mosquitos already and we have not found

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Speaker 2: the virus in any mosquitos today via PCR tests, but

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Speaker 2: again this work will continue. Next year, the pic testing

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Speaker 2: will continue and hopefully a lot of vaccine will be

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Speaker 2: shortly available for people in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Well, Nina, we always appreciate your time, but really appreciate

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Speaker 1: you are giving us a bit more detail about Japanese

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Speaker 1: in cephalitis this morning. If there is anybody listening who

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Speaker 1: is concerned and thereafter a bit more info, can they

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Speaker 1: head to the Anti health website?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and they can contact Anti Health or Medical

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Speaker 2: Entomology or the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade for

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Speaker 2: further information. And we are also asking people to watch

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Speaker 2: out for any signs and domestic pick or horses and

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Speaker 2: neurological science and if they discover anything like that then

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Speaker 2: please contact the Department of Industry, Tourism Trade straight away

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Speaker 2: so they can come out and assess the situation.

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Speaker 1: Well, Nina, we always appreciate your time. Thank you so

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Speaker 1: very much for having a chat with us this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you.

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Speaker 1: That is Nina Kurtz there, who is the director of

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Speaker 1: the of Medical Entomology, the Medical Entomology Unit with nt Health.

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Speaker 1: That number if you'd like to call through today eight

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Speaker 1: nine four one one oh four nine