Can Mosquitoes Carry Diseases?
WouterUnlike most other organisms, mosquitoes are highly evolved, blood-sucking insects. They can carry many different diseases, as well as parasites that they pick up from an infected bird. This makes mosquitoes some of the most formidable disease transmitters in the animal kingdom.
One of the most deadly diseases in the world, malaria, is transmitted by mosquitoes. It is caused by a parasite that attacks the human red blood cells. It is a life-threatening disease that infects about 2.7 million people each year.
Another very serious mosquito-borne disease is dengue. It is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that transmit the chikungunya virus. It causes a wide range of symptoms, from no symptoms to extremely severe cases that can kill.
Some of the other common mosquito-transmitted diseases include yellow fever, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and Zika. Vaccines have helped keep a few of these diseases under control.
A more recent disease, Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, is a life-threatening virus. It has been reported to affect around 50 to 100 million people worldwide. Its spread is directly linked to the proliferation of mosquitoes.
A similar, less-severe viral disease is called LaCrosse encephalitis. It is a disease that is most common in children, with only a small percentage of people infected being adults. It is a mosquito-borne disease that can be prevented by vaccination. It is not commonly diagnosed in the United States, but it is found in all 13 states east of the Mississippi River.
