Despite their tough exterior, mosquitoes can bite crocodiles and transmit viruses! Infection of Australian saltwater crocodiles with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) causes skin lesions.
PhD Student Gervais Habarugira aims to develop control measures for West Nile virus-induced skin lesions in crocodiles through understanding how the skin lesions develop, developing vaccines, and detecting infections early.
He demonstrated protection of the crocodiles against West Nile virus through vaccination and produced world-first anti-crocodile monoclonal antibodies used to detect WNV infection using highly sensitive and specific diagnostics.