Publications

west nile virus finds a new ecological niche in queens, new york.		2000	10920778
the emergence of west nile virus: the australian connection.		2000	11192291
dengue and other emerging flaviviruses.	flaviviruses are among the most important emerging viruses known to man. most are arboviruses (arthropod-borne) being transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks. they derived from a common ancestor 10-20000 years ago and are evolving rapidly to fill new ecological niches. many are spreading to new geographical areas and causing increased numbers of infections. traditionally, three clinical syndromes are recognized: fever-arthralgia-rash, viral haemorrhagic fever, and neurological disease, though for som ...	2001	11531316
the relationships between west nile and kunjin viruses.	until recently, west nile (wn) and kunjin (kun) viruses were classified as distinct types in the flavivirus genus. however, genetic and antigenic studies on isolates of these two viruses indicate that the relationship between them is more complex. to better define this relationship, we performed sequence analyses on 32 isolates of kun virus and 28 isolates of wn virus from different geographic areas, including a wn isolate from the recent outbreak in new york. sequence comparisons showed that th ...	2001	11585535
kunjin virus: an australian variant of west nile?	kunjin (kun) is a flavivirus in the japanese encephalitis antigenic complex that was first isolated from culex annulirostris mosquitoes captured in northern australia in 1960. it is the etiological agent of a human disease characterized by febrile illness with rash or mild encephalitis and, occasionally, of a neurological disease in horses. kun virus shares a similar epidemiology and ecology with the closely related murray valley encephalitis (mve) virus, the major causative agent of arboviral e ...	2001	11797773
emerging viral infections in australia.	hendra virus infection should be suspected in someone with close association with horses or bats who presents acutely with pneumonia or encephalitis (potentially after a prolonged incubation period). australian bat lyssavirus infection should be suspected in a patient with a progressive neurological illness and a history of exposure to a bat. rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin should be strongly considered after a bite, scratch or mucous membrane exposure to a bat. japanese encephalitis vaccine s ...	2002	12088481
isolation of arboviruses from mosquitoes (diptera: culicidae) collected from the gulf plains region of northwest queensland, australia.	as part of investigations into japanese encephalitis (je) virus and related flaviviruses in northern australia, 153,529 mosquitoes were collected and processed for virus isolation from the gulf plains region of northwest queensland. collections from within 30 km of each of the townships of croydon, normanton and karumba yielded 3,087 (2.0%), 66,009 (43.0%), and 84,433 (55.0%) mosquitoes, respectively, from which 16 viruses were isolated. four isolates of murray valley encephalitis (mve), two of ...	2002	12349863
reappearance of human cases due to murray valley encephalitis virus and kunjin virus in central australia after an absence of 26 years.	murray valley encephalitis (mve) and kunjin virus disease are endemic in the tropical parts of the northern territory and western australia, but have been absent from central australia since 1974. in 2000, 5 laboratory-confirmed cases of encephalitis occurred over a short period in the normally dry inland region of central australia. the sudden occurrence of cases in march and april 2000 followed unusually high rainfall in the preceding months and evidence of flavivirus activity in the endemic a ...	2002	11950201
sentinel chicken surveillance program in australia, july 2002 to june 2003.	detection of flavivirus seroconversions in sentinel chicken flocks located throughout australia is used to provide an early warning of increased levels of murray valley encephalitis (mve) and kunjin (kun) virus activity in the region. during the 2002-2003 season low levels of flavivirus activity were detected in northern australia compared to previous years. mve and kun virus activity was detected in the kimberley and pilbara regions of western australia and the northern territory but not in nor ...	2003	14510063
epizootic activity of murray valley encephalitis and kunjin viruses in an aboriginal community in the southeast kimberley region of western australia: results of mosquito fauna and virus isolation studies.	we undertook annual surveys of flavivirus activity in the community of billiluna in the southeast kimberley region of western australia between 1989 and 2001 [corrected]. culex annulirostris was the dominant mosquito species, particularly in years of above average rains and flooding. murray valley encephalitis (mve) virus was isolated in 8 of the 13 years of the study from seven mosquito species, but more than 90% of the isolates were from cx. annulirostris. the results suggest that mve virus is ...	2003	14628944
flavivirus isolations from mosquitoes collected from western cape york peninsula, australia, 1999-2000.	after the 1st appearance of japanese encephalitis virus (je) on mainland australia in 1998, a study was undertaken to investigate whether je had become established in enzootic transmission cycles on western cape york peninsula. adult mosquitoes were collected during the late wet season from kowanyama and pormpuraaw in april 1999, and pormpuraaw and barr's yard in april 2000. despite processing 269,270 mosquitoes for virus isolation, no isolates of je were obtained. however, other flaviviruses co ...	2003	14710742
vector competence of australian mosquito species for a north american strain of west nile virus.	since the establishment of west nile virus (wnv) into the united states, concern has arisen that this virus may also pose a serious threat to australian biosecurity. the vector competence of 19 australian mosquito species for a north american strain of wnv was evaluated. mosquitoes collected from cairns, brisbane, and sydney were exposed to blood containing 10(4.0+/-0.3) cell culture infectious dose(50)/mosquito wnv that was isolated from a crow during the 1999 new york outbreak. mosquitoes were ...	2008	18973445
application of satellite precipitation data to analyse and model arbovirus activity in the tropics.	murray valley encephalitis virus (mvev) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus (flaviviridae: flavivirus) which is closely related to japanese encephalitis virus, west nile virus and st. louis encephalitis virus. mvev is enzootic in northern australia and papua new guinea and epizootic in other parts of australia. activity of mvev in western australia (wa) is monitored by detection of seroconversions in flocks of sentinel chickens at selected sample sites throughout wa. rainfall is a major environmental ...	2011	21255449
the viruses of australia and the risk to tourists.	australia is a climatically diverse country varying from a tropical climate in the north to arid central desert and grassland regions, and to temperate climates in the south. there are many viral infections found in australia that are common to developed countries worldwide, but this article will focus on those that pose a special risk for travellers to australia, especially the mosquito-borne viruses. the commonest are the members of the alphavirus genus, particularly ross river virus and barma ...	2011	21679887
west nile virus (kunjin subtype) disease in the northern territory of australia--a case of encephalitis and review of all reported cases.	west nile virus kunjin subtype (wnv/kunv) is enzootic across the tropical north of australia, with epizootic spread into other jurisdictions. the clinical spectrum of illness in humans is poorly described. we report a clinical case of wnv/kunv encephalitis and performed a retrospective chart audit of all cases of wnv/kunv notified in the northern territory from 1992 to 2010. thirteen cases of wnv/kunv disease were identified; case notes were available for 10 of these presentations. six of these ...	2011	22049056
deployable molecular detection of arboviruses in the australian outback.	the most common causes of human infection from the arboviruses that are endemic in australia are the arthritogenic alphaviruses: ross river virus (rrv) and barmah forest virus (bfv). the most serious infections are caused by the neurotropic flaviviruses, murray valley encephalitis virus (mvev) and the kunjin subtype of west nile virus. the greatest individual risk of arbovirus infection occurs in tropical/subtropical northern australia because of the warm, wet summer conditions from december to ...	2016	27402516