Theofilis Maglis, 58, died of Murray Valley encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that kills one in four of its victims after contracting Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) froma mosquito bite at his home in Batchelor in rural Darwin. A member of his family says Mr Maglis was admitted to Royal Darwin Hospital three weeks ago. He died on Friday. He went into a coma two weeks before his death but the Northern Territory Health Department issued a warning only on the day that his wife made the gut-wrenching decision to turn off his life support.
There is tremor and seizures especially in young children, with the virus in some cases progressing to delirium and coma, leading to paralysis or brain damage.
“He was pouring sweat off him, just terribly unwell. He didn’t really know what he was doing,” his wife Jude Maglis said.
“He was incredibly fit and healthy and strong – a little ball of energy.”
“I don’t know why they didn’t do it earlier,” said Ms. Maglis.
“I’m quite confused and a bit sort of angry. I think people should be told when it happens rather than after his death … We need to get the message out, it’s deadly.”
Theofilis Maglis’ funeral was held on March 24th – the same day he was due to celebrate his 59th birthday.
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