Flesh-eating bug bites back

Andrew Mathieson
TEACHERS have been forced to keep St Leonards kids indoors away from mosquitoes during school breaks amid fears of a flesh-eating bug.
The student lock-ins come 12 months after Geelong’s council announced plans to cover drains near the primary school amid fears mozzies could be carriers of the Bairnsdale ulcer on the Bellarine Peninsula.
St Leonards Progress Association pressured Geelong’s council last year to cover the open drains in the town’s main street.
City Hall built new pipeworks at the end of the school year but had not carried out plans for further channel works prior to the peak mosquito breeding season between July and September.
Department of Human Services confirmed the Bairnsdale ulcer had infected four people this year on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Three victims were visitors to Point Lonsdale.
The first reported Bairnsdale ulcer case on the Bellarine Peninsula was discovered at St Leonards in 1998.
Infection rates reached an all-time high last year, with the bug infecting 49 victims.
St Leonards also suffered from several attacks on school children.
The bug can lead to large, gaping ulcers that destroy flesh, cells and blood vessels.
Victims need surgery for treatment if their infection goes undetected for more than three months.
Researchers believe mosquitoes might carry the bug.
Association president Graeme Collins said stagnant water in drains near St Leonards Lake were providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mr Collins said he had discussed the “threat from the mozzies” with the school after hearing that teachers were keeping children inside classrooms during recent outbreaks.
“The school is certainly conscious of the mosquito problem,” he said.
Mr Collins believed council had only put in a “half-done job” in covering the town’s drains.
City Hall said it has was aware of some mozzie infestations at St Leonards but they had been “successfully treated”.
Council’s environmental portfolio-holder, Tom O’Connor, has warned residents to remain vigilant around breeding sites.
The association was set to discuss its mosquito concerns at a meeting last night.
“The threat is certainly still there to the children of St Leonards from the stagnant water,” Mr Collins said.