Hey crew,I went on a road trip recently kiteing,surfing,fishing and camping.I spent most of my time at old bar,foster and hawks nest and at one of these spots I managed to get bitten by a dirty rotten mossie that was carring ross river fever.
Just a warning to crew around those areas to watch out for the little blood suckers late arvos.
And thanks to all the kiters I met on the way that helped me out with some local info and hospitality,you know who you are,cheers
Has anyone out there had ross river?How long am I going to feel like CRAP for?

Thanx,anyone got any better news for me,like they got better and were back in the water in 2 days

i got an electric fence at work and a video camera

No, he's being serious about the electric fence.

Although its unofficial, its supposed to give enormous relief to arthritis sufferers and the symptoms of ross river are similar.

Never been more serious in my life. Grab straight onto the fence near the charger for 2 -4 charges for a couple of sessions. Being a sparky you should know high volts and low amps and have a mate with a wood pole to belt you of it in case you cramp up. As in kiting use at your own risk

Do you want the good news or the bad......ok lets start with the bad.
I copped a dose of RR after getting attacked on a surfing trip at Gnarloo a couple of years back, had the symtoms for months mainly tiredness and aching joints, I was living on Rottnest Island at the time but couldn't surf for a couple of months due to severe pain in my shoulders. Then for the next 12-18 months every time I thought I was over it it would suddenly come back, each time a bit less severe (mainly in the hot weather).
Now the good news.....if you can call it that ....its true I too am a sparky (used to run the islands power station)and a few months after I got it I copped a good boot, 240 volts.... instant relief for a few weeks at least.
Not sure if I recommend shaking hands with the power station on purpose but I swear it worked for me!!

Before this gets out of hand ...

remember we are talking about the type of electric fence found at farms, to keep animals inside paddocks. NOT the electricity coming out of your household power socket that'll kill ya

I need the work and am willing to travel puppet , but at the moment RR is f#@king me up.Still looking for an electric fence to piss on.

why not try...... Electroconvulsive therapy: A procedure in which an electric current is passed through the brain to produce controlled convulsions (seizures) that might help.

Apparently all the kids are doing it

My experience isn't quite as bad...got RRF jan 1st 2000, felt arthritic for most of jan and feb, wallowed around in misery, until an african friend told me to get my joints moving. I said "I can't, you don't understand, this isn't found in africa...". He just repeated it again...MOVE!

Mid march, went on a field trip for 2 weeks. Snorkelling all day, walking in sand, forced myself to swim a km a day.....at the end of 2 weeks my symptoms were almost gone.

I'm sure had a stayed in town and sat around doing nothing, it would have gone on for months.

others have reported the same, IF the symptoms were mainly arthritis and not too much of the fatigue, then daily activity got rid of it. Makes some sense, as the more you move, the better blood flow to the joints and the faster the body can eliminate the virus.

My symptoms were pretty much gone 6mo later and have never recurred.

The interesting thing is so many people tell you "rest, do nothing" I think this actuallly makes things a lot worse in many cases.

That is my 5 cents worth....might do you less damage than electrocuting yourself??

much later I found out that there are many similar diseases in africa...the jungle brother wasn't far from the mark after all!

Andy

yes, that much is true, although the docs don't want to tell you that.

The ross rivver got me into yoga, and I haven't looked back...feel fitter now than i did at 20.

The only time exercise and stretching didn't help was right in the middle of a dengue fever outbreak....that is even less fun than Ross River. Helped the recovery though. Gotta love life in NQ!

A couple of other tthings about RRF - marsupials are the vector, esp kangaroos and wallabies, and the mossie flies at night, not in the day, so avoid being bitten at night in places with lots of roos. No stripes on the legs of tthe mossie.

Dengue is the opposite....the mossie flies at dawn and dusk, has stripes on its legs, and it has to have bitten another person with the diesase. Wet season is the worst time.

Andy