Stinger season is in full swing in the state's north, prompting warnings from surf life savers and health authorities of an "influx" of potentially deadly irukandji.

And a respected toxinologist warned it was only a matter of time before the south-east corner was forced to deal with the problem.

Six marine stings along the Queensland coast in the past few days have been attributed to deadly irukandji.

Irukandji jellyfish were thought to be responsible for six stings just this week with the most recent on Wednesday in waters off a Great Barrier Reef Island popular with tourists.

A 12-year-old boy had to be rushed to the Hamilton Island medical centre after being stung on his upper left thigh by what was thought to be one of the 12 irukandji-syndrome-inducing species.