Thursday 24 December

Christmas Warning to maintain a Dengue free region

Cairns region continues as a Dengue free zone with Council encouraging residents to maintain the status all year round.

Acting Mayor Councillor Margaret Cochrane said as many people would be away over Christmas it was important for neighbourhoods to maintain constant vigilance in preventing a re-occurrence of the dreaded disease.

“The Cairns region has not a single case of the disease active at the moment, however community efforts to keep Cairns Dengue free should be kept alive and well,” Cr Cochrane said.

“Everyone is encouraged to keep up with all the Dengue preventative measures Council has outlined over the last year including emptying and cleaning dog bowls, pot plant trays and other water holding containers, cleaning out gutters and using insecticide spray around the home” she said.

Manager of Environmental Assessment, Laurie Phipps said it is critical that resident be vigilant as wet season weather conditions approach.

“We have had an extended dry period which adversely affected the breeding cycle of the mosquitoes that carry dengue, but the community is required to remain watchful in order to stay Dengue free as intermittent rainfall creates conditions for mosquito breeding,” he said.

Mr Phipps recommends that residents planning to travel away over Christmas make arrangements with neighbours to ensure any backyard water containers or reservoirs are emptied regularly.

For further information on Dengue prevention methods visit Council’s website www.cairns.qld.gov.au or Queensland Health website www.health.qld.gov.au/dengue

Editors Comments: This current hot humid weather we're are currently experiencing is the perfect breeding conditions for these little 'buggers', so make sure you follow the advice above and watch out for any places or containers that water can be accidentally held and let's do our bit to keep the Douglas Region dengue free.