Australia reports 1st death in 3 years from Japanese encephalitis virus

KARACHI, Pakistan

Australia has reported its first death in three years from the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus, health authorities said Tuesday.

A 70-year-old man from northern Sydney died Sunday in hospital after receiving treatment for the disease since early February, Sky News reported, citing a New South Wales (NSW) Health Department statement.

It marked the first death of a person with Japanese encephalitis in Australia's most populous state since May 2022.

The man likely became infected with the virus while holidaying along the Murrumbidgee River in southern New South Wales in January.

Another case of the disease, it added, has been identified in a woman in her 60s in the state's north, who is receiving hospital care.

"These two cases of JE virus, one of which was infected while traveling for a holiday, shows it is very important all people take precautions against mosquitoes, not just those living in affected regions," Jeremy McAnulty, NSW Health's executive director of health protection, said in a statement.

Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne virus that can infect animals and humans but cannot be transmitted between humans.