Death ‘suspect’

By BRUCE RUSSELL
THE Health Department’s claim last week that a Kimberley man had died from the mosquito-borne Murray Valley encephalitis appears to be shaky to say the least.

The Echo was told the department could not reveal which town or the identity of the victim.
Well, the Echo can and there are serious doubts whether the virus was the cause of his death.

He was Dave (Wobbly) Gertau, 49, and he died in Royal Darwin Hospital on April 26.

Although a blood test showed he had either the virus or antibodies to it, what led up to his death requires more examination.

Three independent sources, who wish to remain anonymous for professional reasons, have expressed concerns over the Health Department’s knee-jerk warning to people visiting the Kimberley or Pilbara.

Although not reported to police at the time, it appears Gertau had been enjoying karaoke (of which he was a fan, but not a participant) at the Hotel Kununurra before Easter.

After leaving the hotel he was bashed and ended up in Kununurra District Hospital with head injuries.

He discharged himself and went back to doing his gardening job around the Waringarri offices.

There are then unconfirmed reports that he was seen with splinters protruding from a gash in his head and another that he may have fallen from Kelly’s Knob.

Whatever happened in the intervening period, he was noticed missing and concerned friends went to the shed where he lived at the Waringarri workshop.

They found him in a comatose state and he was taken, by ambulance, to Kununurra District Hospital and then flown on to Darwin.

MRI scans showed he had either a blood clot or puss on his brain and it was decided to operate to relieve pressure.

Surgeons removed a blood clot, but he did not regain consciousness.

Members of his family travelled from interstate to be by his bedside.

The next thing his friends were told was that his life support system had been turned off and he was dead.

The question remains why Health Minister McGinty’s media people refused to name the town and the health department issued a warning based on what at best is flimsy evidence of a death caused by the virus.

Like many other long term residents of the Kimberley, Gertau would have been exposed to the virus, especially in his recent comatose state.

As it only manifests itself clinically in relatively few people, many may be infected or carrying antibodies at times of the year when mosquitoes are actively carrying it. Gertau has been around Kununurra for several years.

When he first came to town he used to busk outside Coles with a guitar and his two dogs.
He was a tall slim man with grey hair tied back in a ponytail.