Australian researchers predict mosquito diseases
Updated
Researchers from Australia's Northern Territory can now predict how many people will contract Ross River Fever around Darwin, one month before they're actually infected.
Senior Medical Entomologist Peter Whelan says using rainfall, tidal patterns and mosquito data, scientists have developed a model to accurately predict the timing and number of Ross River cases.
Mr Whelan says there are up to 250 reported cases of the virus in the Territory every year with people aged in their early 30s most commonly infected.
He says the health system will now know how many cases to expect and which areas to combat.
"That's cues for us to do our mosquito control work and to alert the public that this is likely to be say a really big peak of Ross River virus cases so the difference whether that occurs or not is if people take their self protection mechanisms like cover up, don't go to the problem areas, and things like that. "
