The Department of Health confirmed late yesterday the North Victorian man died from the virus on February 28.

The virus has been detected at a piggery in Bendigo raising fears the virus could spread further throughout central Victoria.

It has now been confirmed at six piggeries in Victoria and 36 across Queensland, NSW and South Australia.

The mosquito-borne illness has previously been confined to tropical regions in Australia, but changing climate conditions and flooding throughout much of eastern Australia has raised fears about its spread.

Confirmation of the Victorian cases this month is the first time Japanese encephalitis has been detected in the state. It most commonly affects pigs and horses, but humans can be impacted if bitten by an infected mosquito.

Health authorities have urged people to avoid mosquito bites and urged doctors to be on the lookout for symptoms of JEV, which can cause a potentially serious infection of the brain.

"There are several current and recent cases of encephalitis in Victoria that are under investigation and are strongly suspected to be caused by JEV," Victoria's deputy chief health officer (communicable disease) Associate Professor Deborah Friedman wrote in an alert last week.

Most infections are asymptomatic, but those with severe infection (less than one per cent) may experience headache, vomiting, disorientation, seizures, coma, permanent neurological complications or death.

"Encephalitis is a code-red condition that remains under-recognised," said Encephalitis Society chief executive Ava Easton said.

"As Australia faces ongoing extreme weather conditions we are urging all Australians to equip themselves with knowledge about this very real disease and to not dismiss it as a low-risk probability or something too rare to talk about."

Dr Easton warned, given recent floods in Queensland and NSW, mosquito-borne viruses responsible for causing encephalitis "will be proliferating".

The six cases have been located in the shires of Loddon, Campaspe, Wangaratta, Gannawarra, Greater Shepparton and Greater Bendigo with the latter three detections being confirmed by the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness on the weekend.

Agriculture Victoria is conducting surveillance and providing information to farmers, but Victoria's chief veterinary officer Dr Graeme Cooke urged owners of pigs and horses to take steps to reduce exposure to mosquitoes.

"We encourage pig farmers and horse owners to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds near their animals, such as stagnant water, to reduce the chances of them being bitten," he said.

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He also urged people to protect themselves from mosquito bites by wearing long, loose fitting clothes outdoors and using effective mosquito repellents containing picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin and trying to limit outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are around.

Dr Ali Zaid, a viral immunologist at the Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, said rural areas were most at risk.

"The extent of JEV distribution needs to be assessed and confirmed through mosquito surveillance and mapping studies," he said. "Currently, reports indicate that rural areas (where commercial piggeries and cattle stations are located) are most at risk, but these mosquitoes can be found in peri-urban areas, which is why better and broader surveillance are needed."

JEV is in the same family as other mosquito-borne viruses like Ross River virus, which causes acute arthritis and fever, which is also seeing increased infection rates throughout Victoria.

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