Historical analysis of the economic cost of dengue in Australia

Abstract

When human colonization of Australia took place by sea in the late 1780’s, it unwittingly introduced a number of exotic invertebrate organisms. In modern times, traditional geographical barriers such as mountains, seas and deserts no longer limit pest population movement and global traffic has resulted in exotic insects becoming irretrievably established in foreign countries. The speed at which insect vectors and related diseases are emerging and re-emerging suggests that the development of less-developed countries is of primary importance. Vector-borne diseases are not just a health problem. They seriously hamper the development of less-developed nations by removing productive time from their populations and using up funds that could be better spent on development. This paper attempts to ascertain the economic cost of the invasion of Australia by a single mosquito species and the disease it vectors, dengue.