Queensland Government
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Environmental Health2019-08-28T03:19:06+00:00

Environmental Health

Environmental Health is a key component of ‘public health’ and encompasses those aspects of human health determined by physical, chemical, biological and social factors in the environment.

Functions

Environmental Health practice is defined as the assessment, correction, control and prevention of environmental factors and hazards that can adversely affect health, as well as the enhancement of those aspects of the environment that can improve human health.

Services

We protect and promote the health and wellbeing of individuals and the community by preventing illness and injury arising from environmental health hazards. The scope of the environmental health services largely falls within the following key areas;

  • Food Safety and Standards
  • Water Quality
  • Mosquito Borne Diseases
  • Tobacco Control
  • Medicines Regulation and Quality
  • Environmental Hazards

The Environmental Health team is responsible for administering, monitoring, enforcing and promoting compliance with the following public health legislation (and subordinate legislation):

  • Food Act 2006
  • Health Act 1937
  • Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996
  • Pest Management Act 2001
  • Public Health Act 2005
  • Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998
  • Water Fluoridation Act 2008

Medical Entomology is the study of arthropods and insects (particularly mosquitoes) that cause human disease.  Diseases of relevance to Queensland include malaria, chikungunya, dengue fever, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Japanese encephalitis, Kunjin and Murray Valley encephalitis.

Queensland Health has partnered with Local Government Association of Queensland to formulate the Queensland Joint Strategic Framework for Mosquito Management (JSFMM) 2010-2015.  A priority topic is the threat of exotic mosquito incursion posed by Aedes aegypti into South East Queensland and Ae. Albopictus onto mainland Australia.

Services:

  • Provide expert advice regarding arthropod vectors and the associated diseases to inform strategic direction and operational outcomes.
  • Advocate, liaise, mentor and assist local government in the development, implementation, evaluation and review of local mosquito management plans, particularly domestic mosquito breeding, surveillance and control, and emergency response.
  • Identify, analyse and collaborate in the development and implementation of novel evidence-based methodologies to provide stakeholders with a toolbox of mosquito/virus surveillance and control.
Resources

Contact us

Phone: (07) 3624 1111
Fax: (07) 3624 1159
Postal Address: Locked Bag 2, Stafford DC 4053
Email: MNPHU_BusinessServices@
health.qld.gov.au

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