Mosquito virus fears in north Queensland HEALTH authorities fear a dengue-like mosquito-borne virus could spread through far north Queensland following a massive outbreak in Papua New Guinea. Since the start of the year, 11 people in Queensland have been diagnosed with chikungunya, which causes fever, rashes and prolonged joint pain. Ten of the people contracted the virus in PNG where more than 3000 people have been hit by the virus. Another person was bitten by a mosquito in Indonesia before flying to Queensland. The majority of the 11 affected are Australian citizens but almost half of them live outside far north Queensland. Tropical Public Health Services director Dr Richard Gair says the PNG outbreak is recent and could lead to an outbreak in far north Queensland. He says this is because the same type of mosquitoes that carry the virus live in both areas. "Every import is a potential outbreak," he said. If you get bitten when you're still infectious that mosquito can go and bite someone else. No one has been infected by chikungunya while in Australia. Those who have chikungunya experience the same symptoms as dengue fever and both diseases are spread by the same mosquitoes. "The difference between them is that with chikungunya we might well see the transmission happening quite a bit faster," Mr Gair said. There is less time between cases so it is harder to control. Since January there have been about 170 cases of dengue in the Cairns region. Chikungunya was first found in East Africa about 50 years ago but has only recently spread to countries close to Australia. Mr Gair says the best way to eliminate both chikungunya and dengue is to get rid of mosquito breeding sites, such as pots of water around properties.