Killer dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes are on the rise in Australia - as experts warn the country's population could be at risk
- Dengue fever-carrying mosquitos are on the rise in Australia and globally
- Country's wet weather has brought a spike in the number of mosquitoes
- More than two thirds of Australian people will be vulnerable for most of the year
Killer dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes are on the rise in Australia as the pesky population has exploded with recent rain.
Two thirds of Australian people will be at risk of the disease for most of the year while those in the north of the country will be threatened all year.
The disease can cause skin rashes, high fevers and even death.
Mosquitoes will spread with warmer and more humid weather from climate change, according to US researchers and a recent study.
Dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes are on the rise in Australia as the pesky population has exploded with recent rain (stock image)
The shocking study found that two thirds of the Australian population who live in the middle of the country, including Sydney and Brisbane, will be exposed for eight months of the year.
People in the north will be hardest hit and will suffer all year round.
Meanwhile, Melbourne and Perth will be susceptible for three months.
Dengue fever can reach Australia from mosquitoes that are carrying it, their eggs and infected travellers.
Zika virus and Dengue fever and are carried by mosquitoes from species Aedes aegypti which are currently only in Queensland along the northern coast.
The report comes during a spike in common mosquitoes that are thriving thanks to recent wet weather.
Arthropod expert Dr Cameron Webb said globalisation is just as much a threat as climate change.
'Climate change alone is not enough to spread diseases, you also need people to move them around,' he said.
'When you've got infected people and mosquitos next to a city, that's when you see these urban outbreaks.'
'We think there's a real risk.'
Dengue fever and Zika virus are carried by mosquitoes from species Aedes aegypti (pictured) which will thrive in warm and humid conditions from climate change (stock image)
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