"The Perfect Swarm" - Flooding across Northern Victoria leads to intensified mosquito breeding and subsequent re-emergence and transmission of Murray Valley encephalitis virus during the 2022-23 mosquito season.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The sporadic yet explosive nature of Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) in the southeast of Australia has led to several hypotheses to explain the viruses temporal and spatial patterns in the region. These theories, relying on the presence of flooding events, include the role of migratory waterbirds as carriers of MVEV from endemic areas in northern Australia or the re-appearance of MVEV from isolated, cryptic habitats. Here we describe the environmental, climatic and entomological factors that led to the development of the "perfect swarm" and re-emergence of MVEV in Victoria during the 2022-23 mosquito season, allowing greater scrutiny of the proposed theories for MVEV outbreaks in the southeast of Australia.

Methodology

Mosquitoes were collected using Encep

SUBMITTER: Neville PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12370201 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature