Jack and Angie Beat the Bite is a new children’s book launched by MLHD to educate families about mosquito safety. Photo: Supplied.
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District has released a children’s book to demonstrate the importance of being mosquito-safe.
Titled Jack & Angie Beat the Bite, the book follows two youngsters who love playing in and exploring the great outdoors while staying safe from mosquito bites.
As part of the Beat the Bite campaign, MLHD has been backed by the NSW Government to launch the book statewide by printing more than 77,000 copies to be delivered to 30 public and independent schools, 103 early childhood and education centres and 66 councils.
Author and MLHD senior environment officer Tony Burns said he was excited that Jack and Angie would be helping to spread the message about mosquito bite prevention to a much wider audience.
“We know mosquitoes can transmit a range of diseases, so we want to make sure as many people as possible get this important message,” he said.
“We’re keen to see youngsters get the message early so they can develop good habits around taking precautions against mosquito bites.”
MLHD senior environment officer Tony Burns hopes the Beat the Bite campaign becomes as well known as the famous Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide promotion. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Mr Burns said the idea for the book followed the outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in 2022.
“We [MLHD] were lucky that following the Japanese encephalitis virus epidemic that came a couple of years ago, the government put a lot of money into spreading the ‘Beat the Bite’ message,” he said.
“We were lucky to get a small amount of funding down here. We thought, well, it’s probably a good way to spend that money to help educate children.
”We’ve had the program around many, many years ago: Slip, Slop, Slap. Kids know that message. So we thought, let’s get something similar to young people so they get that message, and it might really hit home.”
Mr Burns initially wrote the book to appeal more to the Murrumbidgee region but after tweaking it, Minister for Health Ryan Park agreed to spread the story statewide.
Mr Park said: “This is a fun and informative way of helping youngsters understand the risk mosquitoes pose and ways to protect themselves and their families.
“The best way to avoid infection by mosquito-borne diseases is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, and this creative children’s book explains to children and their families four simple steps to take to stay bite-free: spray up, cover up, screen up and clean up.
“Through this story, we hope children can encourage their families, peers, and even the community to take simple actions to protect themselves from mosquito-borne diseases.”
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