NT Health eradicates dengue carrying mosquito

The Northern Territory Health Department says it has managed to eradicate all traces of a disease carrying mosquito found on Groote Eylandt.

The alarm was raised when dengue mosquito larvae was found in a trap at Alyangula in October 2006.

Two months later, 50 properties were infested.

But Centre for Disease Control director Dr Vicki Krause says an eradication program has destroyed all signs of the mosquito.

"This was a world class program and actually a world class outcome," she said.

"It involved visiting each residence on the island of Groote and checking out many areas around the mine site to look for places where this specific mosquito would breed and either getting rid of areas that might pool water or treat them with chemicals to prevent their breeding.

"[It] was like a barrier, and if it got on Groote and had spread widely then it could have been an easy next step for coming into Darwin."

The mosquito can carry the virus that causes the debilitating and sometimes fatal dengue disease.

The Health Department says surveillance programs will continue on the island.