The infestation, which is being termed the worst in more than a decade, has been triggered by unusually heavy summer rainfall. The wheat belt of western Australia and the cereal crops in South Australia have already been ravaged by the insects. The region's wine industry is also seriously threatened by the voracious bugs. Controlling the locusts has proved difficult because they are hidden beneath the vast amount of lush vegetation that has sprung up since the rains. File conceded that locust-control spraying planned for next week could meet with limited success.
Locusts cluster together in dense formations, often flying at night.
After the West Nile Virus killed seven people in New York City last year, federal officials and 17 states are working together to prevent outbreaks in other parts of the country. The disease, a form of encephalitis transmitted by mosquitoes, may have been spread from the Northeast by birds migrating south for the winter. A dead bird was found in Baltimore, the only such infected animal to be found outside New York City. The Centers for Disease Control consider Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New York City, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia to be at risk for the disease. People with the disease often exhibit flu-like symptoms or no reaction at all.