The army captain now helping corporates fight the mental health crisis
The health, safety and wellbeing platform has cracked more than 1.1 million members – a remarkable 16 per cent of the Australian workforce – and provides support to employees at companies as diverse as McDonald's, Woolworths, Volvo, David Jones, Mirvac, Hoyts, IAG, Guzman y Gomez and Nine Entertainment (publisher of The Australian Financial Review).
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SHOULD AUSTRALIA BE CONCERNED? Chikungunya is recognised as a nationally notifiable mosquito-borne disease in Australia, but there are no local reports of transmission, according to a Department of Health, Disability and Ageing spokesperson. They also stated: *Human cases of mosquito-borne illness are monitored using the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). *The infection is regularly reported in travellers returning from overseas. *Chikungunya is primarily transmitted by vectors Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti established in some parts of the Torres Strait and Australia. Ongoing public health and vector control measures by state and territory jurisdictions include follow-up of notifications in humans, surveillance and control of Ae. Albopictus and Ae. Aegypti in parts of the Torres Strait and mainland Australia. *The interim Australian CDC continues to monitor mosquito-borne diseases in countries geographically close to Australia and those frequently visited by Australian residents. *It also actively tracks current international outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya in China. While assuring that the chance of an outbreak in Australia was 'low', ANU infectious diseases specialist Dr Sanjaya Senanayake said there were concerns around the Aedes mosquito in northern Australia. 'It is possible for someone carrying the Chikungunya virus in their blood to arrive in central or northern Queensland from overseas, get bitten by an Aedes mosquito here, which in turn causes a case of Chikungunya in a local, who hasn't left Australia,' Dr Senanayake told 'This happens sometimes with dengue outbreaks (another virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, where the virus itself isn't endemic to Australia).' HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE THE VIRUS? If you feel unwell and have a fever after travelling to a tropical area, it is best to see your doctor if you have symptoms of chikungunya or if you are concerned, according to healthdirect. Your doctor can then examine you and perform a blood test to confirm if you have the disease. Symptoms can be similar to many other mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus – so the blood test is key to diagnosis. WHAT IS THE TRAVEL ADVICE FOR CHINA? The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 2 travel notice for those going to China. The notice advices travellers to 'practice enhanced precautions' and urged them to get vaccinated before going. While a vaccine called Ixchiq has been approved in the United States, it is not yet available in Australia. The main preventive measure for Australians is to avoid mosquito bites when travelling to regions where chikungunya is prevalent. HOW IS CHINA ADDRESSING THE OUTBREAK? Chinese soldiers are treating public spaces with insecticides and 'elephant mosquitoes' who's larvae can eat the infected mosquitoes larvae have been released. Mosquito-eating fish have also been released into Foshan's public ponds to address the mosquito population. Originally published as Chikungunya virus: Alarming surge in Chinese cases sparks global concern
