This was the case for 69-year-old Ray Henderson.
Mr Henderson was on the brink of retirement when he was holidaying in Thailand in 2017 and contracted the virus. Soon after arriving back home in Australia, he passed away from it.
Troy Hueston is a nephew of Ray Henderson and has been wary of the disease since the passing of his uncle.
“It was rare. You never heard of anyone contracting JEV and it was not what was on our family’s mind regarding what my uncle was sick with,” Mr Hueston said.
“They did tests earlier on and I can remember we went looking for all other things that he might have come in contact with like chemicals off the farm or something like that, but it was tested as JEV.
“It’s a bit of shock when somebody goes down just like that.”
At that time, JEV was usually associated with Asian countries but in the past nine months, it has been discovered in Australia in areas of NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
JEV-infected mosquitoes are known to infect pigs and water birds, with anyone working or living near piggeries or a river at high risk.
JEV is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, and is a rare but potentially serious infection of the brain. Most people bitten by a JEV-infected mosquito only have mild to no symptoms and may not realise they’ve been bitten at all.
Now a canola farmer on his uncle’s old property in Pine Lodge, Mr Hueston works only kilometres from a local piggery and is often travelling between his home in Melbourne and Pine Lodge for work. This work puts him at risk of JEV.
Because of this, Mr Hueston has made the decision to get his JEV vaccination.
“It being in Australia increases the risk somewhat but if you were someone previously in Australia that didn’t travel often you wouldn’t have even thought about it,” Mr Hueston said.
“When you’ve got this disease on your doorstep you’ve got to assess whether you need to take precautions, and that might just be wearing mosquito repellent or a long shirt or getting a vaccination.”
Free vaccination for JEV for people who are eligible is available from the GV Health Vaccination Hub in Shepparton and via Jabba the Bus. If you are over 50, work, reside at or have visited a piggery or pork abattoir, are personnel who work with mosquitoes through their surveillance, or your usual place of work is in Moira Shire and Greater Shepparton, or you spend a lot of time in those areas for recreation — you are encouraged to receive the vaccination.
For more information on JEV and vaccinations, go to the Victorian Department of Health website.
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