ORD RIVER ARBOVIRUSES — THE STUDY SITE AND MOSQUITOES

Abstract

The Ord Valley of tropical Western Australia has been studied for arbovirus activity following the development of a man-made lake of considerable size, a diversion dam and an irrigation scheme. Kununurra, the largest town in the valley, is the focus for very large populations of birds and mosquitoes. The irrigation areas have not been important as mosquito breeding areas because of the excessive use of insecticides. Lake Argyle does not support high mosquito or bird populations at present. However, this may change as the ecosystem stabilizes. The mosquito fauna of the Ord Valley is dominated by Culex annulirostris.