Malaria could be making a return to Australia – decades after the ‘insidious’ mosquito-borne disease was last seen Down Under – experts fear
- Scientists fear malaria could come to the Northern Territory due to its location
- The NT is at risk of another malaria outbreak because sits above 19° S latitude
- Australia has 700 cases each year due to travellers from infected countries
Experts fear malaria could devastate the Northern Territory because it sits in the receptive zone for transmission of the deadly disease.
The ‘insidious’ disease – which kills hundreds of thousands every year – used to be found in the NT, but treatment and quick diagnosis meant it left the state by 1981.
But renowned Australian scientist and Director and CEO of Burnet Institute Professor Brendan Crabb fears the region is at risk of another malaria outbreak because it sits above 19° S latitude.
Experts fear malaria – which kills hundreds of thousands every year – could devastate the Northern Territory because it sits in the receptive zone for transmission of the deadly disease
Australian scientist Brendan Crabb (pictured) fears the Northern Territory is at risk of another malaria outbreak because it sits above 19° S latitude
‘The climate is obviously changing and we’re seeing mosquitoes go to different places. We’re already seeing mosquitoes that were once not at a certain altitude in the tropics, going up higher in the mountains,’ he told Nine News.
‘We in Australia don’t recognise malaria – I’m not sure why we don’t, because the human tragedy is immense. Imagine the 12,000 families today that lost their children. It’s happening on our doorstep – through PNG, the Solomon Islands and more.’
Australia sees around 700-800 malaria cases each year due to travellers who bring the disease in from infected countries.
Australia sees around 700-800 malaria cases each year due to travellers who bring the disease in from infected countries
Occasional cases of local transmission occur in the Torres Strait islands and has been seen scarcely in northern Queensland.
But Professor Crabb fears Australia’s next endemic could be malaria due to mosquito-borne diseases going anywhere that gets hotter and wetter.
He is now looking to find the next generation of treatments and vaccines for the deadly disease.
‘It may seem a long road but the scale of malaria and the scale of the problem is worth considering. It’s probably the biggest health problem humans have ever faced,’ he said.