Introduction: Mosquito-borne diseases, including Murray Valley encephalitis virus, Kunjin virus, and the recently introduced Japanese encephalitis virus, present a significant risk in regional and remote communities in northern Western Australia (WA). Aboriginal children are a particularly vulnerable cohort. During the wet season, flooding frequently isolates communities, increasing disease risk and restricting effective mosquito management.
Aim: To assess the feasibility of expanding mosquito-borne disease surveillance in remote communities through collaboration with Aboriginal Environmental Health Service Providers, and to evaluate the provision of free mosquito repellent as a primary prevention measure.
Methods: A pilot surveillance program was undertaken in partnership with Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Environmental Health and Services. Training was provided to conduct adult mosquito trapping during routine overnight visits to communities and collected mosquitoes were transported to Perth for virus testing. Concurrently, a state-wide Repellent Dispenser Initiative was implemented, providing eligible community organisations up to three dispensers to facilitate free access to mosquito repellent as a primary bite prevention strategy.
Results: The pilot demonstrated that community-based mosquito collection integrated into existing service delivery is operationally feasible and enabled the extension of surveillance into geographically remote areas with minimal additional resource requirements, increasing both the spatial coverage and frequency of sampling. Engagement with the repellent initiative by Aboriginal community service providers and community organisations was also strong, indicating clear demand for accessible primary prevention measures.
Conclusion: Integrating mosquito surveillance into existing Aboriginal environmental health service activities represents a practical and scalable strategy to enhance monitoring of mosquito-borne virus activity in remote northern WA. This model strengthens the capacity for timely detection of virus activity to inform public health responses in high-risk communities. When paired with accessible bite prevention measures, these strategies have the potential to substantially mitigate mosquito-borne disease risk in regional and remote settings.