In October 2013, a locally-acquired case of dengue virus (DENV) infection was reported in Western Australia (WA) where local dengue transmission has not occurred for over 70 years. Laboratory testing confirmed recent DENV infection and the case demonstrated a clinically compatible illness. The infection was most likely acquired in the Pilbara region in the northwest of WA. Follow up investigations did not detect any other locally-acquired dengue cases or any known dengue vector species in the local region, despite intensive adult and larval mosquito surveillance, both immediately after the case was notified in October 2013 and after the start of the wet season in January 2014. The mechanism of infection with DENV in this case cannot be confirmed. However, it most likely followed a bite from a single infected mosquito vector that was transiently introduced into the Pilbara region but failed to establish a local breeding population. This case highlights the public health importance of maintaining surveillance efforts to ensure that any incursions of dengue vectors into WA are promptly identified and do not become established, particularly given the large numbers of viraemic dengue fever cases imported into WA by travellers returning from dengue-endemic regions.

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Inhumation burials are recorded in Britain and Europe during excavations in a standardized way, especially graves of early medieval date. Just a limited number of attributes are usually foregrounded and these mainly concern skeletal identification, the grave plan and, when a burial is furnished, a list of objects, particularly metalwork, as well as occasional reference to burial structures, if present. In this paper, we argue that concealed within these recorded details are attributes that often receive little attention, but which can provide evidence for community investment in the individual funerary rite. These include grave orientation, grave morphology, the body position and the empty spaces in the grave, as well as categories of material culture. We argue here that these factors enable us to define communal burial profiles and can facilitate the identification of group perceptions and actions in dealing with death. By capitalizing on these additional aspects of funerary ritual, archaeologists can move away from a general dependency on well-furnished burials as the main stepping-off point for discussion of social and cultural issues. This has particular relevance for regions where unfurnished burial rites are the norm and where furnished rites do not rely on a wealth of metalwork.

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