A population explosion of cockroaches in the southern Italian city of Naples has pest control teams spraying sewers round the clock in an attempt to avert a further spread of the insects.

Local health agency director Maurizio Scoppa told Agence France Presse that the hot weather and garbage being left out overnight were major factors.

Warnings from some health experts of increased risks of typhoid and hepatitis A have been discounted by city hall.

The red roaches common around Naples are also known in Italian as the “cockroach of the ship,” and have been carried to tropical climates around the world by global shipping.

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