Concerned community members turned up to Corowa District Hospital yesterday to donate blood in support of the NSW government's ongoing vaccination efforts against the Japanese encephalitis virus.
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North Corowa resident Dianne Kerr was one of at least 30 people who turned up to The Barkman Centre clinic to donate blood samples.
The test works like a normal blood test, and requires the patient to complete a short survey that includes questions on locations they have travelled to for recreational activities.
Like many in town, Mrs Kerr is worried about the spread of the virus by the time spring comes around. She has actively raised awareness of the testing clinic and encouraged fellow community members to take part in the testing.
"You've got to have people volunteer their time to help the researchers work," she said. "If you don't have anyone that fronts up, they can't help you."
Mrs Kerr, who lives on a small farm, said they get "an awful lot" of mosquitoes and "they are ferocious".
"We jokingly say that they'd carry you off to the river," she said.
Corowa man David Kiefel, 61, died at Albury Base Hospital on May 20 after being diagnosed with Japanese encephalitis in early March.
Having learned about Mr Kiefel's case through the news and a social media awareness campaign by Mr Kiefel's partner Jackie Monk, Mrs Kerr said "it's a worry" when a life has been lost.
"It's a known fact this Japanese encephalitis has hit Corowa," she said.
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Murrumbidgee Local Health District director of public health Tracey Oakman said the program aimed to test up to 2000 residents from areas where there have been a known case.
The aim is to help the NSW health department develop a vaccine strategy by collecting a cross-section of samples.
"It's really important that people step forward," Ms Oakman said.
NSW health protection officer Sarah Davies, who is overseeing the testing, said the state health department is working with scientists who designed a study for collecting samples.
"We need to have about 1000 people overall across the five sites, and when they run the statistical analysis, we can be fairly confident in the results," she said.
The virus stays in the blood "forever", so researchers will look for an antibody that shows people have been exposed.
Ms Oakman said the community response so far has been positive on the first day of testing.
"We've had people at the door at 9am when we opened, so that was pretty good," she said.
Next week, testing will take place at Temora Hospital, followed by Balranald, Griffith and Dubbo.
Testing at the Corowa District Hospital will continue Wednesday between 10 am-7pm and Thursday from 7am-2:30pm.
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