Mosquitoes are found all over the world. They are known to spread quite a number of diseases around the world. The most affected areas are found in Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Some of the diseases have vaccines while others will involve taking medicine before visiting such areas so as to be on the safer side. The following are mosquito-borne diseases that one should know.
Chikungunya
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease. It is spread when one is bitten by an infected female Aedes mosquito. These mosquitoes are found in Asia, America, Africa and Europe. These mosquitoes are known to bite even during the day but their peak biting hours are dawn and dusk.
Symptoms
The symptoms may manifest after four to eight days after the bite of the mosquito.
Major symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea, rash and fatigue among others. The symptoms may range from mild to severe. Other complications that arise in rare cases are the heart, neurological, and gastrointestinal. In older people, the disease may be fatal in some instances.
Treatment
There is no specific treatment of Chikungunya. Treatment is meant to help in relieving the symptoms for the joints using anti-pyretic, analgesics and fluids. There is also no vaccine for this disease.
Zika virus
There have been reports of breakouts of this virus in Africa, Asia, and America. It is spread by the female Aedes virus. The mosquito transmits the virus into humans. However, human to human transmission is through sex. It is also transmitted by coming into contact with infected blood, semen, and other body fluids. There have also been cases of mother to child transmission during pregnancy.
Symptoms
The general symptoms include muscle and joint pain, fever, rash and inflammation of conjunctivitis among others. The symptoms may last up to seven days. If a pregnant mother is infected, they may give birth to babies with small brains and other brain malformations. Zika virus is also known to cause Guillain-Barre syndrome which causes paralysis and even death.
Yellow fever
This fever is common in Africa, Latin America and in forest areas. Its transmission is by a female Aedes mosquito. These mosquitoes carry the disease from monkeys to human beings.
Symptoms
The symptoms manifest from three days after one has been bitten. They include shivers, appetite loss, nausea, vomiting, fever and muscle pains among others. Other symptoms of a toxic phase of this fever are jaundice, high fever, and vomiting. Patients in this phase may die within fourteen days if proper treatment is not sought. It is always confused with the other mosquito-borne diseases like Zika Virus and Dengue.
Malaria
Malaria is the most common disease in the tropics. It is a killer disease of treatment is not sought immediately. It is spread by the female Anopheles mosquito. The mainly affected people are pregnant women and children below the age of five. Symptoms are more similar to the above-mentioned diseases.
Prevention of mosquito-borne diseases
For prevention purposes, one should use repellents on exposed skin. Use of mosquito nets is also encouraged. One is also encouraged to destroy all mosquito breeding grounds around the home as a major move to prevent them from breeding.