Spotlight On

Mozzies

As a result of the warm and wet weather conditions in many parts of the state, the prevalence of mosquitoes in some areas has increased recently. Mosquitoes aren’t just a nuisance, in some circumstances they can transmit mosquito-borne diseases such as Japanese encephalitis (JE). JE is a rare but serious disease spread to humans by infected mosquitoes and has been on the rise across the state. 

NSW Health is currently monitoring the evolving situation in NSW concerning JE and notes that the best protection against mosquitoes and the diseases they carry is to avoid mosquito bites.

To help you and your family in preventing mosquito bites, the NSW Department of Education is distributing free mosquito repellent, either as spray bottles or roll-ons, to our school students and staff over the coming days/weeks. We will be arranging to distribute mosquito repellent for each student in the coming weeks.

We will also be providing this brochure from NSW Health on keeping mozzies away to share further information with you on how to protect against mosquito bites and mosquito-borne diseases this summer.

Note that if repellent is used at school, school staff may assist in the application of repellent only where parent consent has been provided to the school. Schools have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to ensure the application of mosquito repellent is carried out safely during school hours.

NSW Health also announced that they will be providing free vaccinations against JE for eligible people in LGAs of high concern for the virus. I encourage you to refer to NSW Health’s Japanese encephalitis vaccination for further information and to see if you and your family are eligible for the vaccine.

For more information on JE and mosquitoes refer to NSW Health’s mosquito-borne diseases .

Thank you and please stay safe as we head into the warmer months.

Melanie Meers

Principal