Local health authorities have recorded 34 cases of the virus in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District in December, a five-fold increase on the norm for this time of year. 

Griffith is the epicentre of the latest outbreak, with seven reported cases in the last month. 

Insect expert Paul Weston from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga said the region’s wet winter was responsible for the influx of mosquitoes.

“I was actually expecting to see more of the virus in the spring after all the flooding,” Dr Weston said.

“There was a huge number of mosquitoes this spring – if you were out at dusk you’d be attacked –  but they didn't have the virus in their system.

“Female mosquitoes will carry mature eggs until she comes across standing water, say at the sides of a birdbath or a lagoon.

“The best way to control mosquito spread is to control the standing water.”

To pass the virus on to a human, the mosquito must first bite an infected mammal – like a wallaby or kangaroo – during the course of it’s two-week lifespan. 

“Things like wallabies and kangaroos can carry the virus and they have a lot more mobility than mozzies,” Dr Weston said. 

“Dozens of mosquitoes or more can feed off the one mammal and they all become infected.”

Leeton man Grant Fitzsimon endured debilitating pain in his joints after being infected with with Ross River virus.

“I'd have to roll out of bed on to the bedroom floor, crawl to my door and climb up the door just to stand up,” Mr Fitzsimon said.

“I was bed-ridden for three weeks; you’re in so much pain when you’re standing that you don’t stray far from the bed or couch.

“I could still get around a little bit, but it's like an arthritic pain in your hands, feet and joints.

“I went back to work after three weeks but I couldn't climb over a farm fence for quite a period of time after I got better.”

Mr Fitzsimon could not recall a before testing positive to the virus and presumed it “was just one mozzie that got me”. 

His 19-year-old daughter, Abbey, was also struck down with Ross River virus five years ago, experiencing pain in her wrist joints and fingers. In the majority of cases Ross River virus leaves the system within six weeks, but some people experience intermittent symptoms for as long as two years.

It’s estimated around 10 per cent of sufferers have lasting depression and fatigue. 

Experts recommend residents wear long, loose-fitting clothing, apply mosquito repellents containing DEET, install fly screens, empty children’s wading pools when not in use and limit outdoor activity at dawn and dusk.