NT Local Hero
Peter Whelan AM
Medical entomologist
Peter Whelan has been at the front line of community health for 33 years as a medical entomologist with the Territory's health department conducting mosquito surveillance and control across the NT.
He runs numerous programs including protecting against exotic mosquitoes; filling and draining to eliminate mosquito breeding sites around urban areas; providing early warning of Murray Valley encephalitis activity; controlling mosquito breeding sites by helicopter spraying after disaster incidents and provides advice on urban planning and many development projects to prevent new biting insect problems.
His advice has lead to the introduction of buffer zones from large biting insect problems around Darwin and Palmerston.
His community based approach lead to the eradication of the dengue mosquito in Tennant Creek in 2006.
A recognised expert, Peter advises on similar programs elsewhere, including Queensland and East Timor. Peter is also a member of a multi-disciplined team using long-term mosquito data to tackle the increasing threat of mosquito-borne diseases.
As a public face of the Centre for Disease Control, people listen when Peter issues warnings and advice about how to avoid mosquito-borne diseases as the seasons come and go.