Ross River Virus (RRV), a zoonotic alpha virus, is spread by a wide range of mosquitoes, including the Culex and Aedes mosquitoes. Queensland seems to be the worst hit with this disease, with as many as 3292 cases being reported till the end of March 2015. New South Wales has also seen a surge in the number of RRV cases as over 320 cases were registered by the middle of March 2015. It has rapidly emerged to be the most important vector borne disease in Australis, as far as number of cases are concerned, with over 5000 cases being consistently reported annually.
RRV causes a disease which is rarely fatal and manifests primarily as acute polyarthralgia. However, the pain in the joints, which can sometimes be debilitating, may persist for weeks after the acute phase of the disease is over. This was the basis for its previous nomenclature, epidemic polyarthritis.
RRV transmission to human beings is associated with the rainy season, when there is an abundance of breeding opportunities for mosquitoes. The main methods to stave off the disease encompasses methods of vector control and vector avoidance.
The virus is named after the Ross river in Townsville, where it was first identified to be the causative organism behind the epidemic polyarthritis.
Scepticemia 