An outbreak of a deadly tropical disease, Japanese encephalitis, overtook Australia. Its appearance on the continent was explained by climate change, according to The Washington Post.
The first people and animals affected by the outbreak appeared in the country in March 2022. At the moment, 34 cases of infection in Australians and three deaths are known. The infection also hit agriculture due to the fact that a large number of pigs died from it.
The outbreak has swept four states – Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The climate of almost the entire country is not typical for the spread of a tropical disease, so that the authorities and the rest of the population were not prepared for the possible occurrence of such a problem. Now the government in a hurry began to deal with the costly import of a vaccine against the disease. The only case of Japanese encephalitis in Australia until March 2022 was recorded 20 years ago and ended without a fatal outcome.
