Mosquitos, spreading Dengue Fever and other tropical diseases throughout Airlie Beach. Health authority warnings say insect borne disease is spreading through the tropics.

You can read a PDF of Whitsunday Regional Council warnings about mosquito disease threats on the council web site. They warn about Dengue Fever, Ross River Virus, Barmah Forest Virus and Encephalitis. Basically stay indoors, use insect repellent and insect sprays, wear long loose clothing, and swelter. Right, real likely.

Which reminds me, the insane quest for home water tanks encourages mosquitos and similar insect vectors for tropical diseases. I would expect any competent health department in the tropics (or any warm area) to outright ban the sale and installation of home water tanks in built up areas. Instead we have government subsidies! This is insane, and I fully expect after the next disease outbreak, that the governments involved will be sued.

Unless there is a competent, regularly scheduled inspection of insect control measures built into water tanks, they are a health menace. Tanks should only be permitted where the nearest neighbour is at a distance greater than 200 metres (the approximate maximum flight range of a mosquito). I notice tanks sold by local hardware stores essentially have no insect control filters. They also lack first flush diverters. Leave water tanks to farmers who are used to operating them safely. Water tanks are dangerous in suburban areas.