North Queensland public health medical officer Dr Steven Donohue said people still needed to be vigilant in removing mosquito breeding sites over the coming months.

“We are expecting to see dengue mosquitoes breeding around homes and businesses,” Dr Donohue said.

Common dengue mozzie breeding sites include tyres, buckets, toys and pot plant bases.

The experimental dengue mosquitoes released on trial have been infected with the Wolbachia bacteria which is believed to make them unable to transmit the dengue virus, but Dr Donohue said people should not assume mosquitoes would now be harmless.

“The dengue-resistant mosquito trials are wonderful science and may work in the future but we are still in the early stages of this research, so it is important people do not become complacent in removing breeding sites around homes and businesses.”

Dengue mosquitoes only bred around homes and in urban areas, not in swamps and creeks so it was important for residents and businesses to take urgent action to prevent any outbreaks of dengue fever this wet season, Dr Donohue said.

Mount Isa was not a high risk area for dengue fever, but there was some risk, according to Queensland Health.

Dengue fever caused sudden fever with headaches, which could be severe, muscle and joint pains, a rash and in some cases, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Dr Donohue said it was important that people with dengue symptoms were seen by their doctor.