Rare virus turns up in SA

(AAP) - A rare disease, not seen in humans in South Australia for more than 35 years, has been detected in birds in the state's lower Murray region.
Health officials said the Murray Valley Encephalitis virus (MVEv) was spread by mosquitoes with the last reported human case in SA in 1974.
"It occurs in the tropics and is only found in South Australia when infected birds fly down from the tropics during very wet periods such as we have had recently," SA's chief medical officer Paddy Phillips said.
"If people do become infected, the vast majority have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, including fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.
"In about one in 1000 cases, symptoms can worsen with increasing confusion, headaches, drowsiness, neck stiffness, tremors and seizures.
"Anybody who experiences such symptoms should seek urgent medical attention from their GP or their local hospital."
Prof Phillips said health authorities monitored mosquito-borne viruses in birds at locations throughout the Murray River region to act as an early warning system.
MVEv has no specific treatment or vaccine, with people urged to avoid mosquito bites as the most effective protection.