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Dreadful diseases caused by mosquitoes
Dengue fever & Dengue Haemorrhagic fever
- Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (a more severe form) are mosquito-borne viral disease.
- Caused by infection with dengue virus transmitted by Aedes
- The virus are passed on to humans through the bites of an infective female mosquito, which mainly acquires the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person.
- Four (04) serotypes virus (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4).
- Each episode of infection is known to induce a life-long protective immunity to the homologous serotype but confers only partial protection against subsequent infection by other serotype.
- Symptoms of having Dengue Fever: fever, swollen glands, red rash, nausea, vomiting, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, and intensively painful joints and muscle.
- Symptoms of having Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever: bleeding from nose, gums, and mouth, difficulty in breathing, excessive thirst, rapid and weak pulse, pale, cold, and clammy skin, skin bruising, severe stomach pains, frequent vomiting, dizziness, insomnia, and restlessness.
- Symptoms appear 2 to 7 days after the infective bite.
Chikungunya
- Caused by infection with Alphavirus transmitted by the Aedes
- The virus are passed on to humans through the bites of an infective female mosquito, which mainly acquires the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person.
- Causes fever and severe joint paint, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and red rash.
- Symptoms appear 2 to 12 days after the infective bite.
- No vaccine or drugs for chikungunya fever. Treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms.
- The proximity of mosquito breeding sites to human habitation is a significant risk factor for Chikungunya.
Zika
- Caused by infection with a Zika virus transmitted by the Aedes
- The virus are passed on to humans through the bites of an infective female mosquito, which mainly acquires the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person.
- Sexual transmission of Zika virus is possible, while blood transfusion as a mode of transmission is being investigated.
- Causes mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms usually last for 2 to 7 days.
- The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) of Zika virus disease is not clear, but it is likely to be a few days.
- There is scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Links to other neurological complications are also being investigated.