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Mosquito
Related Diseases
WEST
NILE FEVER
For information
on West Nile Fever see...
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
Rhode
Island Department of Health
DENGUE
FEVER
Dengue fever is primarily a disease of the tropics that is transmitted
by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Aedes aegypti is a day-biting mosquito
that prefers to feed on humans. It is also transmitted by the
Aedes albopictus (also called the "tiger mosquito"). Those infected
with dengue can suffer from a spectrum of illnesses ranging from
a viral flu to severe and fatal hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
The dengue
virus is passed back and forth between mosquitoes and humans and
causes an extraordinarily painful ailment that exists in four
known strains or serotypes. Dengue is especially dangerous to
children, who generally have one infection, but if bitten again
can get a more serious infection that can lead to dengue hemorrhagic
fever (DHF). DHF causes severe internal bleeding, shock, and circulatory
collapse, and is usually fatal to children.
Until recently,
dengue was relatively unknown in the Western Hemisphere. In the
1970's, a dengue epidemic swept through Cuba and other parts of
the Caribbean. In 1981 a second strain broke out in Cuba, accompanied
by hemorrhagic fever. The second epidemic resulted in more than
300,000 hemorrhagic fever cases, and more than 1,000 deaths. Most
were children. In the summer of 1998 an epidemic broke out on
the island of Barbados.
Dengue is
increasingly becoming a plague of global proportions and may soon
eclipse malaria as the most significant mosquito-borne viral disease
affecting humans.
For more
information on Dengue Fever...
WHO
Division of Control of Tropical Diseases
CDC Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases
ENCEPHALITIS
Encephalitis in various forms such as St. Louis, Western Equine,
La Crosse, Eastern Equine, and West Nile, which was recently discovered
in the Northeast is endemic to the United States and increasing
in incidence. Although extremely rare, Eastern Equine Encephalitis
has a 30% - 60% mortality rate once contracted. Severe damage
to the central nervous system occurs in those that survive the
illness.
Eastern equine
encephalitis is maintained in nature through a cycle between the
Culiseta melanura mosquito and birds that live in freshwater swamps.
Although Culiseta melanura do not bite humans, some mosquitoes
will "cross bite"; i.e., bite an infected bird and then bite a
human or animal (horse, emu, and other exotic birds), thereby
spreading the disease. These mosquitoes are also known as "bridge
vectors". A vector is a species that transmits a disease from
one host to another. These bridge vectors may take a meal from
a bird and later take another meal from a mammal.
Symptoms
usually occur within two to ten days after being bitten by an
infected mosquito. These symptoms include high fever, stiff neck,
headache, confusion, and lethargy. Encephalitis, swelling of the
brain, is the most dangerous symptom. Rhode Island has confirmed
five cases of EEE with two deaths in the last thirteen years.
The last death was reported in 1993.
For more
information on EEE...
University
of Rhode Island EEE Facts
University
of Rhode Island
State of Connecticut
Department of Public Health
For more
information on St. Louis Encephalitis...
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
MALARIA
Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transmitted from person
to person by the bite of an Anopheles mosquito. Anopheles bite
during the nighttime and are present in almost all countries in
the tropics and subtropics.
Symptoms of
malaria include fever, chills, headache, muscle ache, and malaise.
In its early stages it can resemble the onset of the flu. These
symptoms can develop 6-8 days after being bitten by an infected
mosquito or as late as several months after the traveler has left
the area.
Malaria can
sometimes be prevented by the use of antimalarial drugs and protection
against mosquito bites. Some estimates place 40% of the world's
population at risk for malaria. It is estimated that worldwide,
malaria claims over one million lives annually. (World Health
Organization 1989)
For more
information on malaria...
World
Health Organization Control for Tropical Diseases.
YELLOW
FEVER
Yellow fever is a disease caused by the bite of the Aedes aegypti
mosquito. It does not occur in the U.S. but is common in parts
of Africa and South America. The symptoms of yellow fever include
fever, chills, headache, backache, nausea, and vomiting; jaundice
can also occur. More serious cases may affect the blood, liver,
and kidneys. The disease can be fatal.
The disease
is spread when an infected mosquito bites a person with yellow
fever and then transmits it by biting another person.
There is no
specific treatment for yellow fever, other than to relieve the
symptoms. Once a person has had yellow fever, they are immune
to further infection. The best way to prevent the disease is through
vaccination and mosquito control.
For more
information on yellow fever...
Virginia
Department of Health
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