The heavy rain that caused massive flooding along the east coast may have stopped … but the trouble it brought hasn’t.
Experts predict insect numbers will explode in the wake of the deluge, leaving residents and travellers facing an ‘itchy, bitey and scratchy’ stint.
“It’s shaping up to be a pretty pestilent season along the whole east coast,” David Emery, a professor of veterinary parasitology at the University of Sydney, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “If it’s warm and moist, it’s highly likely we’ll get lots of mosquitoes.”
The SMH report that ticks, fleas, midges and, if the winds are favourable, biting flies may also blow in from Queensland, adding to the irritation of humans, pets and other animals.
“Everything’s had a good season,” Professor Emery said. “The rain helps all parasites to survive longer if it hasn’t drowned them in the first place.”
He said that mosquitoes absolutely love the stagnant pools left behind by receding waters.
Mild weather, if it persists, will also increase the risk of Ross River fever, a viral infection, transmitted via kangaroos and other wildlife through mosquito bites.
Those living closer to the coast, will most likely face an increase in so-called paralysis ticks. These ticks can attach and feed on a wide range of animals, including dogs and humans, and can be picked up during outdoor activities including gardening, volunteer weeding and bushwalking.
The SMH reports that unlucky hosts can pick up illnesses, such as Lyme disease-like Rickettsial infections caused by bacteria.
“It’s pretty rare but you can get it from the one-in-a-thousand ticks that carry them,” Professor Emery said.
There have certainly been instances where travellers have got seriously ill following insect bites.
Earlier this year, a 68-year-old grey nomad talked about how he went from being extremely active to constantly exhausted after contracting Ross River fever following a mosquito bite.
And late least year, for example, a woman was diagnosed with a dangerous disease after being bitten by a tick while camping at a popular camping spot in north Queensland.
As with a lot of other Northern folk Ive had RRF…no fun..!
Those thermocel gadgets for keeping mozzies away work fairly well…!