Authorities told The Border Mail this week there had been at least 36 probable cases of the mosquito-borne disease in Albury and 15 confirmed cases in Wodonga since December.

The spike has prompted Murrumbidgee Local Health District’s director Tracey Oakman to issue a blunt warning to those on the Border.

“My message is to not get bitten, because there is no cure,” she said.

“And I’m anticipating we’ll see more human cases. Historically, we usually see most of our cases in February, March and April.

“There’s a huge risk people will get it, it’s something we’re very concerned about.”

Murrumbidgee Local Health District, which oversees healthcare services in Albury, had previously said only four people had contracted the virus in the city.

But Ms Oakman said this low figure could be explained by what data was assessed.

Test results for Ross River virus are classified as “confirmed” or “probable”.

Confirmed cases consist of two consecutive blood tests showing an increase in virus antibodies, while a probable case occurs where only one positive blood test is returned.

Ms Oakman said in the last two months there had been a significant spike in the number of people presenting to their GP with Ross River virus symptoms on the Border.

Mosquito larvae began to hatch back in November after spring’s big wet had created ideal breeding conditions in stagnant floodwaters.

Twelve people returned positive tests in Albury in December and this jumped to 24 people in January, Ms Oakman said.

She said mosquito numbers in traps had been high in the last few weeks but were not as great as in spring.

A spokesman for Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services said there were 15 confirmed cases in Wodonga but he would not release the amount of probable cases.

In the entire Murrumbidgee health district, which covers much of the Riverina, there has been more than 275 probable cases.

Lavington builder Daniel “DJ” Binding started to feel a bit off before Christmas.

Doing work on construction sites then got harder as he became relentlessly tired.

“At first I thought I was just going too hard,” he said.

“My ankles, knees and wrists were really sore.”

Confused, he then read reports from January in The Border Mail of several Ovens and Murray footy players contracting Ross River virus, including Wodonga Raiders’ midfielder Steve Jolliffe and Albury premiership star Jay Koehler.

It was after reading their symptoms that Mr Binding thought he better have a test and, sure enough, a blood analysis returned a positive reading for Ross River virus.

“I was put on anti-inflammatory tablets that I’m still taking,” he said.

“Months on and I’m still getting pain but I’m back at work.

“It’s been difficult because of my job, I need to keep the money coming in.”

For young Albury mum Matilda Star-Hossack, the symptoms were much different.

In early December she suddenly got a red rash all over her body and then her joints started to swell.

“Everything was swollen from head to toe including my fingers, elbows, knees and toes,” she said.

“It feels like your circulation’s cutting off, and then some of the pain feels like someone stabbing behind my knee.”

As she became concerned, she saw a doctor around Christmas.

After an anxious wait, the positive result didn’t come back until mid-January.

“There’s nothing they can do pretty much,” she said.

“They gave me Panadeine Forte to help with the pain. I’ve had it for a few months, and I still have swelling and pain.

“I can imagine what older people feel like with arthritis, it feels like I’m 60-years-old when I’m only 23.”

It comes as Murrumbidgee Local Health District urged Border residents to take extra precautions and protect themselves against mosquitoes.

Its spokeswoman Alison Nikitas reminded people to cover up as much as possible when outside with light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing and covered footwear.

“There is no specific treatment for these viruses,” she said. 

“The best way to avoid infection is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. 

“While the weather stays warm, mosquitoes will continue to breed.”

Other diseases in Riverina mosquitoes may be around such as Barmah Forest virus and the more serious viruses such as Kunjin and Murray Valley encephalitis.

Scientists have said mosquitoes could pick up the virus from kangaroos and other wild rodents.

The Border’s ground zero in the fight against Ross River virus is on the banks of the Murray along Albury-Wodonga, where council workers lay mosquito traps amid the deafening drone of summer cicadas. 

A response to the emergency fell upon the councils of the twin cities after the disease was first detected back in November just before people started to get sick in December.

Lindsay Mack, who is an environmental health officer with Albury council, regularly deploys two traps set up in riverside bushland in the eastern and western ends of the town.

As for how a mosquito trap works, dry ice is put in a canister that breaks down to create carbon dioxide, essentially imitating a human or animal to attract mosquitoes.

A fan then sucks the pests down into a net, which is then detached and sent off to an entomology department at NSW Health in Sydney for testing.

Traps are placed on a Monday night and collected the following morning on a weekly basis, usually running from early November until April.

After the spring’s big wet several hundred mosquitoes were netted each night, but that’s now dropped to an average of 150 insects.

But more mosquitoes are bound to stick around longer into the season if there’s a repeat of 2016’s unusually hot Indian summer in April.