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*Diseases Carried by Mosquitoes*Every year, over one million people worldwide die from mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquitoes can carry many different kinds of diseases including malaria, heartworm, dengue fever, encephalitis and yellow fever.
West Nile Virus: A Spreading Threatthe brain caused by bacterial or viral infections. It has been responsible for millions of human infections from the Western Mediterranean and Africa through the Middle East. In 1996 the West Nile virus spread into Europe and in 1999 it was found in New York City. Out of 62 confirmed cases in New York seven fatalities were reported. The following year, 21 cases, including two deaths, were reported in the area. In 2001, 56 people, 400 horses and thousands of wild birds were affected. At least eight people died.
Symptoms of the disease begin three to 12 days following a bite from an infected mosquito.
Young children, adults over the age of 50 and individuals with weak immune systems are more at risk for severe infections. Early symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, drowsiness, vomiting, a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. More severe cases can cause high fever, focal paralysis, disorientation, coma, convulsions and death.One of the most common mosquitoes, the Culex species, is known to carry the West Nile virus. Birds are the natural hosts for the West Nile virus, transmitting the disease to humans and other animals through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Analyzing and keeping track of wild bird mortality often provides early warning signs of the West Nile virus spreading into new locations. The U.S. Geological Survey continues to study how the virus moves between birds, mosquitoes and humans to predict future movement of the virus. To help scientists combat the spread of the virus, report dead birds (primarily crows) to your local or state West Nile virus hotline or state health departments.
St. Louis EncephalitisThe St. Louis encephalitis virus is found throughout North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean, but is a major public health problem in the United States. The virus is found throughout the country, but periodic outbreaks and epidemics have occurred in the Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast, the western states, and Florida. Named for the city where the first cases were recognized in 1933, it is the most common variety of viral encephalitis in the United States. Since 1964 there have been 4,478 reported human cases of St. Louis encephalitis, with an average of nearly 200 cases of the virus reported each year in the United States, making it the most commonly reported mosquito-borne disease in the country. The elderly and the young are most at risk.
As many as 30 percent of elderly patients infected with the virus will die.One of the species of mosquitoes known to carry the St. Louis encephalitis virus is the Culex species. It cannot be transmitted from person-to-person or animal-to-person. Symptoms of the disease begin five to fifteen days after being bit. Most individuals never show any outward symptoms.
Mild cases include flu-like symptoms, with fever, headaches and lethargy. Severe cases of the virus can cause seizures, double vision, paralysis and death.Dengue FeverAlthough dengue fever is found mostly in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, in the summer of 2001 four people on the island of Maui were confirmed to have contracted the disease. These were the first cases of the mosquito-borne disease in Hawaii in more than 50 years.
Dengue fever is found in infected Aedes mosquitoes and cannot be directly transmitted from person to person. About one million people are infected with the virus each year. The Aedes mosquito is usually most active in the early morning after daybreak, in the late afternoon before dark and anytime during the day when indoors or in shady areas. Symptoms of the disease begin four to seven days after being bit and include, fever, painful headaches, eye, joint and muscle pain and a rash on the arms or legs. Dengue fever is rarely fatal. Most treatment includes bed rest, fluids and common over-the-counter pain and fever medications are recommended. However, infected individuals should consult their physician immediately after systems occur.
Occasionally, the disease can progress into dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), a very serious illness with abnormal bleeding and very low blood pressure.Prior to 1981, dengue and DHF posed little or no threat to the Americas. However, the lapse in mosquito eradication programs and the increase of unplanned urbanization, resulting in large populations living with inadequate systems of water and solid waste management, allowed the Aedes species to find excellent breeding places. In 1981 Cuba experienced the first major DHF epidemic in the Americas. Sporadic cases of the disease appeared for the next ten years until 1990 when Venezuela experienced the second major epidemic in the region. These events clearly marked the emergence of dengue and DHF in the Americas.
From 1977 to 1994, a total of 2,248 suspected cases of imported dengue were reported in the United States.
Currently, according the World Health Organization, 2.5 billion people are at risk of dengue infection. The organization also estimates that annually, 20 million cases of dengue infection are reported, resulting in around 24,000 deaths.MalariaAccording to the World Health Organization, malaria infects between 300 and 500 million people every year in Africa, India, southeast Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and Central and South America. Over one million of the infected die each year.
There are about 1,200 malaria cases reported each year in the U.S., mostly by people who were infected abroad.Malaria is transmitted by Anopheline mosquitoes. These mosquitoes bite during the nighttime hours, from dusk to dawn. It cannot be casually transmitted from person to person but it is possible to spread malaria via contaminated needles or in blood transfusions. Symptoms of malaria include fever, shivering, pain in the joints, repeated vomiting, generalized convulsions and coma. In addition, as many as half a billion people worldwide are left with chronic anemia due to malaria infections. Symptoms of the disease usually begin eight to 12 day after being bit.
If traveling to a tropical country where Malaria is present, antibiotics should be taken at least two weeks prior to leaving to prevent malaria. In some parts of the world malaria has become resistant to the most frequently used antibiotics. Your doctor, in consultation with the CDC travel advisories, can make a recommendation specific to you.
