Overview
- The first detection of the 2025–26 season was confirmed in a monitoring trap in the Horsham local government area under the Victorian Arbovirus Disease Control Program.
- The Victorian Department of Health is working with Horsham Rural City Council to treat breeding sites and reduce local mosquito numbers.
- Health advice includes wearing long, loose, light‑coloured clothing, using repellents containing picaridin or DEET, limiting time outdoors at dawn and dusk, and removing stagnant water around homes.
- A free Japanese encephalitis vaccine is available for eligible people at increased risk, and boosters may be recommended every one to two years after the initial course.
- People spending time outdoors in northern Victoria, especially near rivers, face higher exposure risk, with authorities noting JEV’s ongoing presence in Australia since the 2022 outbreak and sporadic cases reported since, including in Brisbane in March.