A Sunshine Coast father is fighting for his life after contracting a rare mosquito-borne virus while on holiday in Bali.

The popular hairdresser is now in and out of a coma, prompting an urgent health warning for travellers.

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Dez Ginns celebrated his 60th birthday attached to a ventilator with life-threatening swelling to his brain.

The Mooloolaba hairdresser - who is the father of 2014 Big Brother winner Ryan Ginns - has been diagnosed with Japanese encephalitis, a viral infection most likely to have been contracted via a mosquito bite in Bali.

Single bite

It takes just a single bite from an infected mosquito to transmit the disease.

"I think everyone's in a fair bit of disbelief Dezi could be so sick from a mozzie bite in Bali," friend Sami Muirhead told 7NEWS.

It's estimated that less than one in a million travellers will ever be infected by the virus.

Chevron Right Icon 'I think everyone's in a fair bit of disbelief Dezi could be so sick from a mozzie bite.'

Symptoms include fever, headache and vomiting.

Of those who do suffer severe illness, almost one-third will die, while up to half of those who survive are left will long-term neurological impairment.

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The advice to other Bali travellers is to sleep under a mosquito net and take precautions to avoid being bitten.

Because Dez is the sole earner for his family, friends have set up a Go Fund Me page.

"Dez is in a coma, supported by a ventilator to help him breathe," the Go Fund Me statement reads.

"He is being cared for by the incredible and compassionate ICU staff at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, where he is expected to remain for an extended period."

He is showing small but positive signs of improvement, and Dez's family says his recovery would be the best Christmas gift of all.