It is likely that Japanese encephalitis will become endemic, and GPs will once again be at the forefront in diagnosis, future immunisation programmes and patient education. This disease is likely worsened due to climate change, migratory birds and feral pigs. Learn more about Japanese encephalitis in this podcast transcript from Associate Professor Bernie Hudson.

This is part three of a three part series.
Read part one
Read part two

Practice points

• We certainly don’t need to scare people, but it’s like any other infection; early pregnancy infection is the most likely time to create problems.
• The mosquitoes that transmit Japanese encephalitis primarily bite between dusk and dawn and certainly around sunset.
• What we need to be promoting very heavily is insect bite prevention and mosquito avoidance, and the authorities will be doing a good job with mosquito control.
• Those at highest risk are children under the age five years and very elderly people, but it can occur at any age, obviously.
• Only one in about a hundred people is symptomatic, then you know that there’s probably quite a lot of people out there that have already got infected and didn’t get sick.