❓ WA Parliament Question on Notice regarding mosquito-borne diseases, funding for control measures, and the Zika virus, answered by the Minister for Health. Reveals disease statistics, funding allocations, and preventative measures.
AnsweredQoN 5026Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) How many cases of mosquito born diseases have been reported in Western Australia for each of the following years: 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015: (a) for each year, can you provide a breakdown of how many cases of each mosquito borne disease eg. x number of cases of Ross River, x number of Dengue Fever, x cases of Barmah Forest Virus, and z cases of Murray Valley Encephalitis? (2) Have there been any deaths from Murray Valley Encephalitis in WA since 2009, if so, how many? (3) What was the total State Government Contiguous Land Authority Group (CLAG) funding for controlling mosquito breeding areas in each of the following financial years: 2013/14 and 2014/15? (4) What is the States total funding allocation for CLAG mosquito breeding control and prevention measures in the current financial year? (5) Has any money been spent by the State Government on research into mosquito borne diseases in the following financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15, if so how much? (6) Apart from spraying larvicides and adulticides what other control mechanisms (including natural controls) has the State Government funded to control mosquitos in recent years? (7) Given the popularity of the 'babymoon holiday,' and the apparent link between microcephaly and Zika: (a) are WA Health maternity services asking pregnant women if they have travelled in locations where there is presently a Zika outbreak throughout their pregnancy, to determine if additional screening services are required; and (b) are public maternity services warning pregnant women against travel to countries with an outbreak?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 March 2016
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
27 days
(1) Data is only available for financial years.
2009/10 – 617.
2010/11 – 1384.
2011/12 – 2242.
2012/13 – 1404.
2013/14 – 2051.
2014/15 – 1924.
(a) Refer to table provided below:
Disease
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Ross River virus
308
747
1539
1079
1515
1271
Barmah Forest virus
87
110
155
22*
39*
46
Murray Valley encephalitis
0
9
0
0
0
0
Dengue virus #
222
518
548
325
536
607
Total
617
1384
2242
1404
2051
1924
*Data for 2012/2013 and 2013/14 reporting of Barmah Forest virus (BFV) infection has been adjusted by removing excess numbers of false positive diagnoses resulting from use of an unreliable commercial assay in some pathology laboratories in those two (2) years.
# All but one case of dengue fever diagnosed from 2009-2015 were acquired (exposed to infected mosquitoes) overseas or in north Queensland.
(2) Yes, one death in 2011.
(3) Total finance provided to Contiguous Local Authorities Group (CLAG) budgets was $638,422.62 in 2013/14 and $390,998.17 in 2014/15.
Additionally, $502,349.00 and $530,961.00 were spent on a helicopter for application of mosquito larvicides in mosquito breeding areas sites managed by CLAGs in 2013/14 and 2014/15, respectively.
(4) Total CLAG funding in 2015/16 is $508,196.05.
Additionally, $176,963.90 has been spent to date in 2015/16 on a helicopter for application of mosquito larvicides in mosquito breeding areas sites managed by CLAGs.
$50,000 has been allocated to health promotion about mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases via the Fight the Bite initiative launched in September 2015.
(5) Yes, $164,271.96 in 2013/14 and $181,256.38 in 2014/15.
(6) The Department of Health’s Statewide mosquito management program is an integrated (multi-faceted) program, including:
(7)(a) Yes. While a causal link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly has not yet been proven, out of an abundance of caution, national guidelines have been developed by the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) to guide Australian healthcare providers in providing advice and managing possible risks associated with travel and Zika virus infection.
These guidelines have been distributed to clinicians in WA, including maternity health services. The guidelines include recommendations for determining if pregnant women have travelled to countries experiencing Zika virus transmission, and for appropriate screening for infection and for fetal abnormalities in those who do have a potential exposure or illness history.
(b) Yes. National and WA guidelines for clinicians recommend that:
2009/10 – 617.
2010/11 – 1384.
2011/12 – 2242.
2012/13 – 1404.
2013/14 – 2051.
2014/15 – 1924.
(a) Refer to table provided below:
Disease
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Ross River virus
308
747
1539
1079
1515
1271
Barmah Forest virus
87
110
155
22*
39*
46
Murray Valley encephalitis
0
9
0
0
0
0
Dengue virus #
222
518
548
325
536
607
Total
617
1384
2242
1404
2051
1924
*Data for 2012/2013 and 2013/14 reporting of Barmah Forest virus (BFV) infection has been adjusted by removing excess numbers of false positive diagnoses resulting from use of an unreliable commercial assay in some pathology laboratories in those two (2) years.
# All but one case of dengue fever diagnosed from 2009-2015 were acquired (exposed to infected mosquitoes) overseas or in north Queensland.
(2) Yes, one death in 2011.
(3) Total finance provided to Contiguous Local Authorities Group (CLAG) budgets was $638,422.62 in 2013/14 and $390,998.17 in 2014/15.
Additionally, $502,349.00 and $530,961.00 were spent on a helicopter for application of mosquito larvicides in mosquito breeding areas sites managed by CLAGs in 2013/14 and 2014/15, respectively.
(4) Total CLAG funding in 2015/16 is $508,196.05.
Additionally, $176,963.90 has been spent to date in 2015/16 on a helicopter for application of mosquito larvicides in mosquito breeding areas sites managed by CLAGs.
$50,000 has been allocated to health promotion about mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases via the Fight the Bite initiative launched in September 2015.
(5) Yes, $164,271.96 in 2013/14 and $181,256.38 in 2014/15.
(6) The Department of Health’s Statewide mosquito management program is an integrated (multi-faceted) program, including:
(7)(a) Yes. While a causal link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly has not yet been proven, out of an abundance of caution, national guidelines have been developed by the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) to guide Australian healthcare providers in providing advice and managing possible risks associated with travel and Zika virus infection.
These guidelines have been distributed to clinicians in WA, including maternity health services. The guidelines include recommendations for determining if pregnant women have travelled to countries experiencing Zika virus transmission, and for appropriate screening for infection and for fetal abnormalities in those who do have a potential exposure or illness history.
(b) Yes. National and WA guidelines for clinicians recommend that:
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.