Mosquito-borne diseases are the diseases that are caused by the bite of mosquitoes. Not only the persons that suffer from the illness but the cats and dogs also suffer from such diseases that the mosquito causes.
Unfortunately, the virus that the mosquito carries does not cause any damage to the insect itself, wish it could! Yet once they transmit the virus through the bite, it can cause severe harm to the people that can lead to death as well. Worldwide there are between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people who die from mosquito-borne diseases each year.
Most of these occur in or near the equator regions, Asia, and in the southern hemisphere. According to WHO (World Health Organization), Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease coming from a mosquito bite. In the United States of America, West Nile virus is the most common and occurrences have exploded in 2017.
Hence, in this write, I’ll be putting light on those diseases that our dear mosquitoes present us. There are several diseases that you will find as a result of insect bites. We can only wish these diseases could kill the mosquitoes instead of ruining us! So, here are the names and symptoms of the diseases that are caused by the bite of mosquitoes.
Listed below are the most common Mosquito-Borne diseases:
Found in the US & North America
- West Niles Virus a strain of Japanese encephalitis
- Eastern equine encephalitis
- Western equine encephalitis
- La Crosse encephalitis
- St. Louis encephalitis,
- Malaria
Exotic vector-borne diseases most common outside North America
- Dengue fever
- Chikungunya fever
- Yellow fever virus
- Rift Valley Fever
- Filarial nematodes such as Dirofilaria immitis. Heartworms affect animals and rarely humans.
US Mosquitoes Cases Study
In the US malaria is almost nonexistent except for a few cases which are most likely transmitted by foreign travelers who are infected by the disease.
How likely am I to get sick from a mosquito bite?
I wish I could give you a clear answer but it depends on a number of factors. This includes your location, the types of mosquitoes in that location, and how many people birds, or animals are infected with a virus within a short distance of wherever you may be due to the following factors.
- A mosquito must be infected with a disease before it can be passed onto the human population.
- Not all types of mosquitoes carry mosquito-borne diseases.
- Not every person will have a reaction to a mosquito bite even if the mosquito or the person is infected.
In the US, though it is a real possibility to be infected with a disease there is a very low percentage of people who will actually get sick from a mosquito-borne disease. West Nile Virus is the most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States and Canada.
There are less than 5000 cases reported each year in North America. This being a low percentage of the total population makes it most likely you will not get a disease from a mosquito bite in the US.
However, you should take precautions because serious problems from mosquito-borne disease including death can occur if you are infected and have a reaction to the disease. If you are traveling or live in an area where vector diseases are very common your chances increase exponentially over areas where these diseases are not so common. In heavily infested areas it is imperative that precautions be taken.
Mosquito-Borne Diseases Symptoms And Treatment
1. ARBOVIRAL ENCEPHALITIDES
Mosquitos take the virus from the birds and this virus reproduces inside the insect. The mosquito carries it around and once that mosquito bites you, you get infected. ARBOVIRAL ENCEPHALITIDES mostly do not transmit from person to person.
Symptoms
- Inflammation of the brain.
- Hemorrhagic fevers that cause harm to blood vessels, bleeding out of leaky blood vessels, and yes fever.
- Febrile diseases include a fever accompanied by rashes sometimes.
- Headache
- Weakness
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- General body aches
- Sleepiness
Treatment
- Drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration
- Get plenty of rest.
- Follow the food chart that the doctor will suggest.
2. DENGUE FEVER
Mild dengue illness can lead to a high fever with joint and muscle pain and rashes. Dengue hemorrhagic fever which is a severe form of fever causes a sudden drop in blood pressure, severe bleeding, and death.
Symptoms of the mild one
- Dengue fever causes a high fever that reaches up to 104 F degrees.
- Blood vessels often become damaged and leaky.
- Headache.
- Rash
- Muscle, bone and joint pain
- Pain behind the eyes
- Nausea
- Swollen glands
- Vomiting.
Symptoms of the severe one
- Persistent vomiting
- Severe abdominal pain
- Blood in your urine, stools, or vomit
- Bleeding from your gums or nose
- Fatigue
- Difficult or rapid breathing
- Bleeding under the skin, which might look like bruising
- Irritability or restlessness
- Cold or clammy skin (shock).
3. MALARIA
Malaria is one of the life-threatening diseases. It is basically transferred through the bite of the infected Anopheles mosquito. The infected mosquito carries the Plasmodium parasite and when it bites you, the parasite gets into your bloodstream and then to the liver. Then it starts to infect red blood cells, which eventually causes malaria disease.
Symptoms
- Shaking chills that range from moderate to severe.
- profuse sweating
- high fever
- nausea
- headache
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- abdominal pain
- muscle pain
- anemia
- coma
- convulsions
- bloody stools
The life-threatening symptoms are
- organ failure of the kidneys, liver, or spleen
- swelling of the blood vessels of the brain, or cerebral malaria
- a buildup of fluid in the lungs that causes pulmonary edema or breathing problems.
- low blood sugar
- anemia due to the destruction of red blood cells
4. WEST NILE VIRUS
This one is a viral infection basically spread by mosquitoes. The majority of the people who are infected with West Nile virus either do not develop signs or symptoms or have only minor ones, like fever or mild headache. Many people develop serious illness that includes inflammation of the spinal cord or brain.
Symptoms of the mild one
- Fever
- Body aches
- Headache.
- Diarrhea
- Skin rash
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
Symptoms of the severe one
- Partial paralysis or muscle weakness.
- Seizures.
- Tremors or muscle jerking.
- High fever.
- Stupor or coma.
- Disorientation or confusion.
- Severe headache.
- Stiff neck.
5. CHIKUNGUNYA
Chikungunya is a disease caused by the bite of an Aedes mosquito and the mosquito will mainly bite during the day. The symptoms usually start to exhibit within 3 to 7 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. There are no vaccines for this disease.
Symptoms
- Fever
- joint pain.
- Headache.
- rash
- joint swelling.
- Vomit.
Treatment
- Drink fluids to prevent dehydration
- Get plenty of rest.
- Take medicine like paracetamol to reduce pain.
- Don’t take aspirin or other anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs.
6. HEARTWORM
This is a parasitic roundworm that is spread from one host to another via the bite of a mosquito that carries the infective heartworm larvae. It’s a type of small thread-like worm which is a filarial worm that causes filariasis. They cause severe problems, especially for dogs. A mature heartworm can grow up to 12 inches long.
Heartworm disease is categorized into three classes.
- Class I heartworm disease is often asymptomatic, which means that it exhibits no visible symptoms.
- Class II patients basically suffer from coughing and unusual intolerance to exercise.
- Class III shows symptoms of anemia, fainting spells, exercise intolerance, and even right-sided chronic heart failure.
7. Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is another viral infection caused by mosquitoes. This illness is most common in the Southern regions of South America, and Africa. Like most diseases, children and older people are more susceptible. Fever
Symptoms
Those who contract this disease will experience symptoms around four days later. Yellow fever causes fever, nausea, and pain. Jaundice and liver damage can also occur, which is where the virus gets its name from. This initial phase lasts 3 days.
Then there is usually remission. Sometimes a third toxic phase starts after this. This can result in failure of the heart, liver, and kidneys. People may also experience hemorrhaging, seizures, delirium or comas, and sometimes death. There is no real treatment for Yellow Fever. However, blood can be replaced when hemorrhaging, or dialysis for kidney failure.
8. ZIKA
Zika fever is usually spread by the bite of Aedes-type mosquitoes. It can also be transmitted to the infected person. If a mosquito takes the blood of an infected person, it can pass those viruses to other people through the bites. Infections of the pregnant women can spread to the baby.
Symptoms
People who get this virus suffer from a fever, muscle or joint pain, rash, or pink eye initially. The virus causes more serious problems like in the case of Guillain-Barre syndrome and microcephaly which is like a birth defect. If one gets Guillain-Barre, it will lead him to paralysis. And if one gets Microcephaly disorder it will cause a baby’s head to be small and not fully developed.
Wrapping up!
So these are the mosquito-borne diseases that are quite popular throughout the world just because of the bite of blood-sucking mosquitoes. These diseases sometimes can be mild and sometimes they can lead to severe levels. Although many treatments have been discovered to get rid of the disease easily, if you stay under a doctor’s observation, it will go away.
But I would rather suggest you keep yourself away from the mosquito bite. If you take all the precautions that will keep the mosquitoes at bay, there are marginal chances of getting infected.
Related resources
Give home remedies to cure all above fevers
Incredible! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a totally different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!