They’re one of the deadliest animals in the world, and there was hope that mosquitoes could soon be wiped out from an unlikely source.

Joe Rwamirama, 48, from Kampala, Uganda, this week was said to have farts so deadly they could kill mosquitoes up to six metres away.

It was further claimed he’d been hired by a manufacturing company to help develop a new ,mosquito repellent.

Unfortunately, the story has since been exposed as untrue, having originated from a satirical website, Ihlayanews.com.

The 'Joe' seen in the accompanying photo was actually an unnamed man in the Democratic Republic of Congo being checked by a doctor in July.

Unsurprisingly, the news had sparked a series of jokes online.

On a Reddit thread, one user joked: “This is how real life X-Men begins," while another added: "I can make my dog get off the couch. Nobody's writing articles about me.”

Show more

And one joked: “Imagine having a beer with your mate, and a mosquito lands on you, and he just gets up and rips a fat one on your arm and it dies instantly.”

* This article has been updated to reflect the fact that it was a hoax.