Research has found if the Zika virus makes it to Queensland it would spread rapidly as a result of the resilient mosquito species that live here.
Queensland University of Technology undertook research in conjunction with QIMR Berghofer where two local mosquito species were tested for their ability to contract and spread the Zika virus.
Of the two tested, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can be found from the tip of Cape York to the state’s south-east, was a very effective carrier with 50 to 60 percent of the species being found to have the ability to transmit the virus 14 days after becoming infected, according to Francesca Frentiu from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation.
No Zika cases have been recorded in Queensland in 2019 so far, though over 50 cases have been recorded in the past.