A new virus from one of the most common pest mosquitoes in Australia has been discovered. But the new virus, called Parramatta River virus, could lead to a new vaccine against harmful mosquitoes to stop disease transmission in thousands of Australians.

The new virus has been found to be safe for humans as it only infects mosquitoes. The discovery could lead to the development of a new approach to stop outbreaks of mosquito-borne disease in the country, according to a team of researchers from the University of Queensland and University of Sydney.

The Parramatta River virus could significantly protect humans from transmission of disease-causing viruses. A potential vaccine from the new virus may make it “harder for the human disease-causing 'bad' viruses to also infect that mosquito, thus stopping disease transmission,” according to Dr Jody Hobson-Peters, from UQ's Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences.

A new system, developed by Hobson-Peters and the team, has been used to identify the new virus from a “soup” of mosquitoes collected from the Parramatta River. The study was published in the journal Virology.

Viruses are commonly considered as harmful, and "rarely do we consider that some viruses may hold the key to fighting back against human disease,” she added. Discoveries about mosquito-borne viruses would help expert to better predict future outbreaks of a disease.

Parramatta River virus was discovered in saltmarsh mosquitoes in Sydney in 2007. The virus was just confirmed between 2014 and 2015 in Brisbane.

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