What Diseases Are Caused By Mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes are not just the blood sucking bugs you once thought them to be. These days a growing number of people succumb to diseases spread by those little winged creatures. In fact an estimated 70 million people are inflicted by mosquito borne diseases and several millions die every year worldwide.
Here are a few diseases caused by mosquitoes:
Encephalitis
Encephalitis is a viral disease transferred by mosquitoes that can cause inflammation of the brain. In extreme cases, this inflammation eventually can lead the infected person to experience brain damage, fall into a coma, or even meet death. Brain damage, and death is the total extreme when it comes to these diseases. Most infected persons end up with less minor flu-like symptoms which include Headache, Muscle Aches, Fever, Stiff Neck and Back, Vomiting and other weakening symptoms.
Mosquito Malaria
While many might think that Malaria is not something that they have to worry about, that is not the case when it comes to mosquitoes. Hundreds of millions of people contract it each year and at least a million of those people die from it. This is especially true for children who are infected. Like Dengue Fever, there is no vaccine available to fight this disease causing it to be one of the most feared mosquito viruses in the world. The symptoms include simple fevers, body aches, and eventually seizures coma and worse. Though it was relatively uncommon in North America it is now becoming a common disease to be concerned about.
Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever is real trouble that is commonly associated with mosquitoes found in the tropics. It provides the infected with as little as a few days of sickness or a horrid, fatal blood disease. The mosquitoes that carry these diseases are known as Aedes Aegypti and find humans as their preferable targets. There is no vaccine for one whose contacted this disease. That is just one more reason to protect yourself and make sure you invest in the best mosquito repelling option money can buy.
West Nile Virus
First making an appearance in North America in 1999, the West Nile Virus came with reports of infected humans and horses; it claimed 18 lives in its first year. Reports show that there were 3,598 humans infected with the mosquito West Nile Virus by the year 2007. While not everyone who is infected by a diseased mosquito’s bite will meets death, at least 200 of those people are expected to develop some type of serious illness. Everyone should protect themselves from the possibility of the West Nile Virus. This is even truer for children and for those over 50. The older or younger one is, the more susceptible they are to this growing deadly disease.
Yellow Fever
In some instances, this disease may just cause a few days of unpleasantness, while in other instances, the infected do end up dying before their time. Found only in Africa and South America, travelers should definitely get their immunization shots before even thinking about coming into to contact with these crazed mosquitoes. There is much information knew about Yellow Fever mosquitoes. They have adapted to living amongst people in city and towns and breed wherever there is a cool place closes to human habitats. These city yellow fever mosquitoes have been the reason for the classification of Urban Yellow Fever, which is the yellow fever most commonly found today. It is not common for United States travelers to come back with reports of obtaining Yellow Fever, but that does not mean it cannot happen. It also does not mean that the disease will never travel. Like the West Nile Virus, there is the chance that Yellow Fever or any of the other mosquito diseases foreign to the United States will someday reach this, or any other area.
How do I protect myself?
How do I protect myself is a question that has probably been replaying over and over in your head since the beginning of this rush of information. You are already halfway there to keeping yourself safe. You have the information. Now all you have to do is make sure to keep you and your loved ones safe.