A new threat surfaces as the waters recede

Concerns have been voiced about the influx of mosquitoes in the far north of Queensland after several days of heavy rains and floods.

Queensland Health has warned residents to use an insect repellent while cleaning and emptying all containers that could be filled with floodwater.

"Mosquitoes, capable of transmitting disease, may be more common after a natural disaster, so be sure to cover yourself with long, loose clothing and use an insect repellent," said a spokesman for Queensland Health.

"Once cleaning is started, it is also important to act and eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

"Rain or floodwater could accumulate in containers around the yards, providing a great place for mosquito breeding."

It comes after Australian scientists developed a mosquito resistant to the spread of the devastating Zika virus.

CSIRO scientists, in collaboration with the University of California at San Diego, designed mosquitoes resistant to the spread of the virus, which caused more than 4,000 cases of severe birth defects in 2015.

Dr. Prasad Paradkar, principal investigator at CSIRO, said the new study could one day halve the spread of Zika.

"Our study found that mosquitoes carrying the anti-Zika gene were unable to contract Zika when they were feeding, so they were unable to transmit the virus to anyone," he said.

"Thanks to further research, this mosquito could potentially one day be used to replace wild populations of Aedes aegypti, adding to the arsenal of control strategies of this mosquito to stop the spread of the virus in the world."

Authorities warned that there had been an increase in the number of cases of soil-borne diseases in the far north of Queensland last year, and warned people to walk in puddles. .

According to Richard Gair, director of the Tropical Public Health Services (Cairns), six cases of melioidosis have been confirmed in the region since the beginning of last year, including one fatal.

Nine cases of leptospirosis have been confirmed since the beginning of the year.

Dr. Gair explained that both were caused by bacteria generally present in the soil and muddy surface water.

He warned that heavy rains increased the risk of melioidosis and leptospirosis and avoided playing in puddles.

The warning about the disease came when Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill revealed that the city's flood had been five times higher than expected.

Ms. Hill said that a team of experts was badyzing flood data, but "it's clear that the flood level in the Ross River was greater than one. a 500 year event"- up from the original estimate of one year out of 100.

Hill added that total precipitation over the Ross River Dam over the past week was "above a rainy event from one year to 2000 years ago".

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford announced yesterday that he would ask the Inspector General to conduct a flood review to badess also the operation of the affected dams, including the Ross River Dam.

"There are always lessons to be learned from events like this," he said.

It comes after the Burdekin MP Dale Last claimed that the Bureau of Meteorology had the forecasts had been "dismal", and that Alligator Creek south of Townsville received lower than expected precipitation on Monday.

Yesterday, the bureau rejected Mr. Last's comments, saying the area south of Townsville had received 45 mm in 24 hours from 9 am Monday.

Townsville should receive between 10 and 20 mm today, with sunnier conditions for tomorrow.

As the cleanup continued yesterday, Townsville residents were told that if water entered the walls and caused the formation of mold, they would be eligible for the $ 1,000 grant from the federal government to cover disaster victims.

More than 250 houses were found to be completely uninhabitable, while more than 730 were badly damaged.

Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk visited Cloncurry yesterday, where drought-stricken pastoralists were losing livestock due to extreme rainfall.

"The conditions here are unprecedented," she said.

"They (pastoralists) have just come out of the drought and have fallen into a natural disaster."