HEALTH authorities have urged North East residents to remain vigilant in limiting their exposure to mosquitoes this summer, following a detection of the Murray Valley encephalitis virus in an Indigo Shire mosquito last week.

First trapped on January 10, testing of the mosquito later identified the virus, following a number of other detections throughout northern Victoria earlier this month, particularly in Loddon and Mildura shires.

The detection follows a number of Barmah Forest Virus and Ross River Virus detections in mosquitoes across northern Victoria earlier this month, as well as the state's first detection of the rare Japanese encephalitis virus in Campaspe Shire in late December.

A Department of Health warning issued by deputy chief health officer Deborah Friedman indicated concern around the rise of Murray Valley encephalitis within the mosquito population, and said increased detections posed a "current and active" risk to people in northern Victoria.

The state's first detection of the virus in mosquitoes more than a decade occurred in Mildura on January 4, while a human has not reported being infected by the disease in Victoria since 1974.

Murray Valley encephalitis can cause a rare but potentially serious infection of the central nervous system, with symptoms characterised by fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle aches.

In most cases, infected people do not exhibit symptoms.

The alert issued by Ms Friedman urged anyone exhibiting symptoms to seek urgent medical care, while also calling on clinicians to test for mosquito–borne disease in patients with a compatible illness.

The virus is untreatable, with health officials urging local residents to limit their exposure to mosquitoes in the first instance, by wearing long, loose–fitting clothes and using mosquito repellents if outside during periods with large numbers of mosquitoes.

For more information on how to protect yourself against mosquito–borne illnesses, visit https://www.health.vic.gov.au/health–alerts/murray–valley–encephalitis–virus–detected–in–victoria.