A potentially deadly disease is infecting vulnerable Townsville residents amid the flood clean-up, health authorities in the north Queensland city are warning.

Key points: The soil-based bacteria melioidosis has infected eight people in Townsville

The soil-based bacteria melioidosis has infected eight people in Townsville Immuno-suppressed people who are ill or on medication are most at risk

Immuno-suppressed people who are ill or on medication are most at risk Protective gear and airway protection from mud is recommended for the flood clean-up

Townsville public health unit acting director Dr Julie Mudd said eight people had so far been diagnosed with melioidosis, an environmental bacteria picked up from the soil.

She said most of those people have ended up in intensive care.

"We expect these cases with every wet season," Dr Mudd said.

"The wetter the season, the more cases we expect to get.

"It's not spread from person to person and it's something we see in people who have a vulnerability of their immune system."

This includes people on medication, diabetics, people with chronic airways disease and the elderly.

Health authorities are advising people cleaning up after the Townsville flood to wear protective equipment. ( ABC News: Bruce Atkinson )

Dr Mudd said the bacteria could be deadly for people lacking the immunity to fight it.

"People do get very sick so a lot of people with melioidosis will require ICU care," she said.

"It is quite a severe illness in this form so usually people will have quite high fevers and be very unwell."

Possible melioidosis symptoms: Lung infections, from mild bronchitis to severe pneumonia (fever, headache, chest pains, appetite loss)

Lung infections, from mild bronchitis to severe pneumonia (fever, headache, chest pains, appetite loss) Septicaemic pneumonia (infection in bloodstream and lungs) causing fever, headache, breathing difficulties, abdominal pain, joint pain and disorientation

Septicaemic pneumonia (infection in bloodstream and lungs) causing fever, headache, breathing difficulties, abdominal pain, joint pain and disorientation Localised infections can cause painful swelling, skin infection, ulceration, and abscesses

She said anyone concerned should seek medical attention.

People cleaning up after the floods are advised to wear protective equipment, cover any wounds and protect their airways if working around mud.

Dr Mudd also said health workers were on the look-out for anyone with leptospirosis — another bacterial infection commonly caused by contaminated soil or water.

But she said so far, no-one had been diagnosed with the condition.

The clean-up continues in earnest across flood-affected Townsville suburbs, aided by local soldiers who are picking up flood debris and taking it away to the tip.

Des Smith was cold and stranded in rising floodwaters. ( ABC News )

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said SES volunteers from across the state volunteered to travel to Townsville to help with the clean-up, as well as roof repairs.

Meanwhile, Queensland police released vision of authorities rescuing a 79-year-old man stranded in rising floodwaters at Maxwelton in north-western Queensland.

Des Smith could not walk and had water lapping the tops of his knees as he sat in his mobility chair.

A policeman had to carry Mr Smith out of his flooded home to a rescue chopper waiting on nearby rail tracks.

Meanwhile, as graziers across Queensland's north-west struggle with the extent of stock losses from flooding, one grazier has told the ABC the smell of death on her property was inescapable.

Werna Station grazier Emma Forster said kangaroos and emus had died along with livestock. ( Facebook: Rae Stretton )

Emma Forster from Werna Station, between Winton and Kynuna, has buried six horses in their front paddock.

"There is really not a lot left living of anything, just surrounded by death," she said.

"You just can't get away from it [the smell], it is going to get a lot worse, before it gets better.

"We have to be out and about in it, trying to save other stock."

She said it was not only livestock that had suffered.

"There is a ridge not far from our house and it is covered in dead kangaroos. The emus are all dead [and] we're not seeing much bird life," she said.