There is an increasing awareness worldwide of the threat posed by emerging infectious diseases, in particular arboviral diseases. The situation in New Zealand is relatively unique due to its geographical isolation, and there is therefore a privileged situation of being a country with no recorded cases of indigenously acquired mosquito-borne disease. However, due to the rapid modern movement of people, the routine arrival of infected humans, and exotic mosquitoes already present in New Zealand, this blissful state is likely to end, and it seems that it is just a matter of time before an arboviral outbreak occurs. In our article we aimed at analyzing the current situation, especially the factors that make an arboviral outbreak likely to occur, and making recommendations to mitigate the existing risks. The issues raised in the article are current and likely to be relevant for other countries, which may therefore explain the resulting interest.

The issues we raised are not new, but they are timely. With the spread of emerging infectious disease worldwide, analyzing the potential threat posed by exotic diseases and a country’s preparedness to prevent their arrival are certainly topics of worldwide interest.

In brief, we discussed the factors that may lead to an outbreak of exotic mosquito-borne diseases in humans in New Zealand. We aimed to encourage those responsible for human and animal health in New Zealand to ask themselves whether all is being done that can be done.

This study was part of José Derraik’s Ph.D. research, which examined a number of aspects relating to the ecology of mosquitoes in New Zealand, in particular the threat posed by exotic species to public health. However, to adequately assess the risks of future mosquito-borne disease outbreaks, it was necessary to evaluate the current scenario in New Zealand, which would encourage the country to be proactive in this area. The input of Charles Calisher was fundamental for this study, since he is an acknowledged authority on arboviruses, and, being a world away, also capable of assessing the situation in New Zealand without bias.

We believe that our recommendations are being taken into consideration by relevant biosecurity and public health authorities in New Zealand, to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity controls. We sincerely hope that our study will assist New Zealand authorities to minimize the likelihood of an arboviral outbreak from occurring, and preventing human suffering.