Widow of man killed by Murray Valley encephalitis warns of mosquito bite danger
When Sonia Blackaby set out caravanning with her husband across Western Australia's far north, she never thought a mosquito bite would make it their last trip together.
Travelling from Tom Price, 1,450 kilometres north-east of Perth, to the Kimberley two years ago, her husband, Peter, contracted a rare mosquito-borne illness.
"We returned home and, within a week of that, he started showing symptoms, which I thought at the beginning was a stroke," she said.
Peter Blackaby had contracted Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE), a rare but serious mosquito-borne disease that can cause brain inflammation, coma and death.
There is no treatment or vaccine for it.
Mr Blackaby was flown to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment, but his condition worsened in the following hours.
"He went from showing signs [of life] to being in a coma, non-verbal, unresponsive, quadriplegic, and basically in a vegetative state," Ms Blackaby said.
Ms Blackaby's story struck a chord with the West Australian government, which is now offering free insect repellent kits to community groups in areas deemed at high risk of a mosquito-borne illness.
"So sporting clubs, caravan parks, other places in the community will always have insect repellent available," WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat said.
"There were 12 cases of Murray Valley encephalitis reported since 2023, and five of those have resulted in deaths.
"It is serious."
Part of the reason Ms Blackaby is speaking out now is that she does not think the existing messaging about mosquito-borne illnesses is cutting through.
For years, the government has backed a campaign called "Fight the Bite".
But Ms Blackaby said most people she talked to had not heard of MVE.
"I still travel with my caravan and I make it my public duty to talk to people and ask if they've heard of MVE," she said.
"If I can stop one family from going through what my family went through, it's worth it."
The initiative comes as Kimberley residents report increased mosquito activity following recent unseasonal rains.
Mosquito traps detected MVE in the West Kimberley earlier this month.
Broome resident Robyn Maher said the mosquitoes were "out in force".
"On this morning's walk through Minyirr I had a black T-shirt on, and my husband said, 'Your whole back is covered in mosquitoes,'" she said.
Ms Maher said free mosquito repellent was a "really good idea".
"It's ridiculously expensive. Not everyone can afford food, let alone a can of Aerogard, so that's a really good initiative," she said.
Ms Blackaby said everyone living in high-risk mosquito regions like the Pilbara and Kimberley should be applying insect repellent as part of their daily routine.
"It just has to become ingrained a bit like 'slip, slop, slap' with sunscreen," she said.
"It needs to become something that we're just aware of on the regular, not just a news article that pops up every now and again."
The government said it was planning a statewide rollout of the initiative next year.
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