Urban sprawl could see more Australians exposed to the deadly Hendra virus, a new study suggests.

Australian researchers have found that as humans settle in new areas, bat colonies move in too.

The black flying fox sheds the virus readily and is found in the existing Hendra zone, but is not yet common in places such as Sydney. Credit:Wayne Taylor

And that means more people could be at greater risk of exposure to the virus, which bats carry and shed, infecting horses, which can in turn infect people.

Michael Walsh, from the University of Sydney, led a study that mapped human population changes over three decades and found that as people settled in new locations and established gardens with fruit trees and other vegetation bats like, colonies followed them.