Mosquito Diseases

• Introduction
• Malaria
• How do people get afflicted with malaria?
• What are its symptoms?
• What are the dangers of malaria?
• Why are treatments not so effective?
• How can I reduce the risk?
• Treatment of Malaria
• Dengue
• What is dengue?
• Recognition of Dengue Fever
• How does Dengue spread?
• Where does this mosquito live?
• Where does the mosquito breed?
• Prevention of Dengue mosquito bites ?
• What is Filaria?
• Allethrin is safe
• Yellow Fever
• Symptoms for Yellow Fever ?
• Treatment for Yellow Fever ?
• Prevention for Yellow Fever ?
• Useful tips for better usage of repellent products to keep away mosquitoes ?
• More Valuable Information about Mosquito Disease ?

Dengue

Dengue or dengue-like epidemics were reported throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the Americas, southern Europe, North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, Asia and Australia an don various islands in the Indian Ocean, the south and central Pacific and the Carribbean. It has steadily increased in both incidence and distribution over the past 40 years. Annually, it is estimated that there are 20 million cases of dengue infection, resulting in around 24,000 deaths.

What is Dengue?

Dengue is an acute flu like fever caused by virus. It occurs in two forms:
* Dengue fever (DF)
* Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF)
Dengue fever is marked by an onset of sudden high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes and in the muscles and joints.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is an acute infectious viral disease usually affecting infants and young children.

It is characterised by fever during the initial phase and other symptoms like headache, pain in the eye, joint pain and muscle pain, followed by signs of bleeding such as petechiae (red tiny spots on the skin), nosebleed and gum-bleed. If there is blood in the stoold and/or blood in the vomit and accompanied by shock, this is called Dengue Shock Syndrome and is often fatal. Aedes Aegypti, the transmitter of the disease is a day-bitting mosquito that lays eggs in clear water containers, such as flower vases, cans, rain barrels, old rubber tyres, etc. The adult mosquitoes rest in dark places of the house.

Recognition of Dengue Fever

The Dengue fever has a number of distinct symptoms and can be recognised with:
1.  Sudden onset of high fever, which may last two to nine
     days.
2.  Severe headache mostly in the forehead
3.  Joint and muscle pain, and body aches
4.  Pain behind the eyes which worsens with eye movement
5.  Nausea or vomiting of coffee coloured matter
 
Recognition of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and shock
Symptoms similar to Dengue fever, plus any one or a combination of the following:

1.  Severe and continuous pain in the abdomen
2.  Bleeding from the nose, mouth, skin bruising
3.  Frequent vomiting with or without blood
4.  Black stools like coal tar
5.  Excessive thirst (dry mouth)
6.  Pale, cold skin
7.  Weakness
8.  Skin rashes maculopapular rash or red tiny spots on the
    skin, called Petechiae.

How does Dengue spread?

Dengue is spread through the bite of an infected Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The mosquito gets the virus by biting an infected person. The first symptoms of the disease occur about 5-7 days after the infected bite.

There is no way to tell if a mosquito is carrying the dengue virus. Therefore people must protect themselves from all mosquito bite.

Where does this mosquito live?

This mosquito rests indoors, in closets and other dark places. Outside, it rests where it is cool and shaded. The female mosquito lays her eggs in water containers, in and around homes, schools and other areas in towns or villages. These eggs become adults in about 10 days.

Where does the mosquito breed?

Dengue mosquitoes breed in stored, exposed water collection systems.
The favoured breeding places are:
Barrels, drums, jars, pots, buckets, flower vases, plant-pots, tanks, discarded bottles, tins, tyres, water coolers and a lot more places where rain water is collected or is stored.

The styles (needle-like structures) and proboscis (elongated mouth) of an Aedes aegypti feeding. Dengue viruses are transmitted during the feeding process.

Prevention of Dengue mosquito bites ?

Dengue mosquitoes bite during daytime. Protect yourself from the bite. 
Wear full-sleeve clothes or long dresses to cover the hands and legs.
Use repellents.
Use mosquito coils and electric vapour mats during the day to prevent dengue.
Use mosquito nets to protect babies and old people and others who may rest during the day.
Make sure that water storage containers are covered to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. 
You can also clean the house gutters to prevent stagnation of rainwater.
Patients suffering from dengue H-fever must be isolated for at least 5 days.
Please report to the nearest health centre if any suspected case of dengue H-fever is in the neighborhood.

Break the cycle of mosquito - human - mosquito infection.
Mosquitoes become infected when they bite people who are sick with dengue. Mosquito nets and mosquito repellents effectively prevent more mosquitoes from biting sick people and help stop the spread of dengue.

What is Filaria?

Filaria is a long, thread-like roundworm called Wuchereria Bancrofti that lives as a parasite in the bodies of human beings and animals. The male worm is shorter than the female and it has a curved tail. This is mainly found in Central Africa, Asia and the Southwest Pacific.
 
The young worms can be seen in the blood near the body surface of the host or the animal in which the larvae live. When a mosquito bites an infected person at night, it takes up the larvae with the blood. These larvae develop in the mosquito, near the mouth. Then when the insect bites a man or another animal the larvae enter the wound and infect a new host.
 
The adult worms live in the lymph - a body fluid. When the worms block the flow of lymph, a disease called Elephantiasis results. This disease is characterised by severe swelling of the limbs, usually the legs. Sometimes it even can affect the breast or the scrotum.

This gross swelling in the legs and other parts of the body and the thickening of the skin due to blockage fo the vessels of the lymphatic system is called Elephantiasis.
 
While medicines are available to treat filaria, the gross swelling of the leg makes a person look noticeable and ugly. Hence, it is better to protect oneself from the bites of filaria mosquitoes. Use aerosols, mosquito repellenets, creams, mats coils, nets and prevent breeding of mosquitoes with better practice of hygiene and sanitation.
 
Please do no get offended. These rare pictures have been collected to show, as part of education, how filaria can play havoc in a normal human life.