The 2016-2017 arbovirus season has been one of the biggest seasons experienced in Victoria since the major flood events seen in 1974 and 2011. Agriculture Victoria coordinates the vector and arbovirus surveillance component of the Victorian Arbovirus Disease Control Program (VADCP), funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. The surveillance program utilises a three point approach for the detection of arboviruses through, monitoring mosquito numbers and species composition, processing adult mosquitoes for virus isolations and veterinary surveillance (via sentinel chicken flocks). A total of 14 Barmah Forest virus and 2,011 Ross River virus human cases were reported throughout the 2016-2017 season, and no confirmed cases of Murray Valley Encephalitis. A record number of mosquitoes were received through the nine primary regional councils involved in the program, with two weeks of trapping alone in October equating to double what was trapped in an entire 26 week 2015/16 season.
These higher mosquito numbers also resulted in record numbers of virus isolations with over 140 arboviruses detected through the current VADCP, including Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Sindbis virus, numerous orbiviruses and the first isolation of Kokobera virus and Trubanaman virus in Victoria. In recent years, Agriculture Victoria has been investing to evolve its mosquito identification and virus detection techniques to handle boom years of mosquito numbers and virus detection, this year provide a platform to investigate these techniques further.