Wet, hot, and muggy conditions have resulted in a boom in mosquitoes in parts of Australia, and has medical professionals worried about a rise in mosquito borne-diseases this summer. A simple mosquito bite has left one young man on the Victoria-NSW border battling three potentially deadly encephalitis cases and had to be put on life support.
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00:00 Dylan Meyer's family did not think they'd have a Christmas together again.
00:07 Back in March, I was actually planning my 21-year-old's funeral in my head.
00:13 The Albury man went camping along the Murray River at Rutherglen, but fell seriously ill
00:19 after he was bitten by mosquitoes.
00:22 He was diagnosed with Japanese encephalitis virus, Murray Valley encephalitis virus and
00:28 autoimmune encephalitis, spending over four months on life support.
00:33 Hi Brendan.
00:34 Hi Brendan.
00:35 I was aware of the virus, I just didn't think anything of it.
00:39 I just thought it was another mosquito bite.
00:43 Encephalitis causes brain inflammation and has a high mortality rate.
00:48 Corowa resident David Kiefel fell victim to Japanese encephalitis last year.
00:54 His wife wants better awareness around the danger of mosquitoes.
00:59 I think it's one of those things that needs to be done each season, every year, particularly
01:06 with the influx of visitors.
01:09 Murray Valley encephalitis virus was detected in Victoria earlier this year for the first
01:15 time since 1974.
01:18 We don't have any good underlying data to know how prevalent this condition is in our
01:23 population, so this will help us understand the risk in our area.
01:29 People can avoid mosquito bites with clothing and repellent or be vaccinated against Japanese
01:35 encephalitis if eligible.
01:37 Advice Dylan hopes others heed this festive season as he continues his long road to recovery.
01:43 It's not a matter of if I get there, I will get there.
01:48 I'm determined to get there.
01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]