Anopheles mosquitoes are the most important disease vectors in the world. They carry and transmit malaria, lymphatic filariasis, and other diseases.
Dengue is a serious illness that can cause severe flu-like symptoms and even death. In tropical areas, it is a major public health problem.
They Bite
When a mosquito bites, it not only pierces your skin but also sucks blood and secretes saliva into your bloodstream. This exchange of fluids helps the mosquito carry disease particles from one organism to another.
A female Anopheles Mosquito needs a blood meal to reproduce and lay eggs. It can only do this if it eats someone or something that is infected with the Dengue virus, such as a bird, insect, or human. Males do not eat blood.
Female Anopheles Mosquitoes lay their eggs in a shallow, stagnant water spot, such as marshes, lakes, ponds, children’s pools, the inside of tires, and other containers with shallow water. The eggs hatch in a few days, and the larvae grow into adult Anopheles Mosquitoes that can survive on blood, nectar from flowers and other foods.
Infected Anopheles Mosquitoes can spread a variety of diseases, such as West Nile virus, dengue fever, malaria and Barmah Forest virus. These viruses can cause symptoms similar to the flu, including fever, headache and joint pain.
The most severe forms of dengue fever – dengue haemorrhagic fever – can be fatal. People infected with this form of dengue develop a high fever, vomiting and severe pain in their joints and muscles. They may have a pink rash that covers their entire body.
Symptoms of dengue fever usually start within a few days of the bite and last for about 7 days. Symptoms can include a sudden onset of a high fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, a rash, and mild bleeding of the nose or gums.
Anopheles Mosquitoes have long, curved mouthparts that look like tiny needles (proboscis). These mouthparts allow them to pierce your skin and suck blood.
After a blood meal, the mosquito injects saliva into your skin that causes your body to react with itching and swelling. Some people have only a mild reaction, while others experience itching and a large area of redness and swelling.
If you get bitten by an Anopheles Mosquito, use a gentle soap to clean the bite and apply an ice pack for about 10 minutes to help reduce swelling and itching. If you experience intense itching, try using a product that has natural anti-itch properties, such as honey.
They Infect
Anopheles mosquitoes are important vectors of disease agents such as malaria and dengue fever. The genus Anopheles contains more than 460 species, but only 30-40 species are known to transmit the parasites that cause malaria.
Mosquitoes feed on a variety of things, including blood, sugar and plant nectar. Female Anopheles mosquitoes need a blood meal before they can lay eggs or produce Anopheles larvae.
Male mosquitoes get their nutrients from plant nectar and other sources of sugar, but they also eat blood. Anopheles mosquitoes are able to digest blood because of the bacteria in their gut microbiome.
The bacteria in the mosquitoes’ gut microbiome are important for the longevity and fecundity of Anopheles mosquitoes. This is because the bacteria in their gut help them to absorb protein, sugar and fat.
However, the bacteria in their gut microbiome are not well understood. Some researchers have discovered that certain fungi in the fungus family Beauveria bassiana are able to infect Anopheles mosquitoes and decrease their lifespan.
Infection by these fungi is believed to be triggered by an insect bite because the microbes are exposed to the blood in the mosquito’s mouth. The spores then travel to the mosquito’s body and are ingested by the mosquito through their salivary glands.
When the spores are ingested, they enter the mosquitoes’ bloodstream and begin to replicate in the mosquitoes. This allows the virus to spread within the mosquitoes and to their hosts.
Dengue is an infection that can cause fever, headache and joint pain. It is a disease that can be mild or severe and can sometimes cause death.
The symptoms of dengue usually start with a high fever and a rash. This rash is usually a red, flat patch of skin. It can appear anywhere on the body, but it is most commonly found on the arms, legs and feet.
A patient who is diagnosed with dengue may have other symptoms, such as a loss of appetite, muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting and headache. They should drink plenty of fluids and take acetaminophen to relieve the fever.
They Lay Eggs
During their short life span, Anopheles Mosquito females can lay thousands of eggs. Most mosquitoes require a blood meal before they can lay their eggs, although some species are able to produce their eggs without taking a blood meal (Aedes taeniorhynchus, the black salt marsh mosquito).
Aedes aegypti are the primary dengue vectors and live near people in tropical and subtropical regions. They transmit the virus through a cycle of blood feeding, mating and egg laying.
The male and female Anopheles Mosquito are similar in size but can be distinguished by the body shape. Adults are dark brown to black in color and have 3 sections: head, thorax and abdomen. Their legs are also distinct and have white markings.
They live in moist, warm environments and can thrive in a wide variety of habitats. They breed in stagnant water within which they lay their eggs. Aedes aegypti can hatch in containers of any size, but they prefer water with low salt content and temperatures between 25 and 50 degrees.
When they need to mate, mosquitoes look for a place where there is water, such as ponds, clogged drains or even under the ground. They will ‘taste’ the water, a process that involves dipping in their legs and mouthparts to activate sensory neurons and send signals to their brains.
Female Anopheles Mosquitoes can mate several times in their short lifespan. They can mate multiple times in the same season, and may mate several thousand times during their lifetime.
Some Anopheles Mosquitoes have a special gene called ppk301 that allows them to properly lay their eggs in fresh water. This gene is needed for the mosquitoes to find the right habitat in which to lay their eggs, a critical step in their reproductive cycle.
They can ‘taste’ the water, putting them at risk for exposure to contaminated or salty waters in which they could die. They can also be infected with the dengue virus while they are still laying their eggs, which can lead to disease later in life.
The Eliminate Dengue program aims to kill the wild mosquito population while also helping the community thrive. Instead of poisoning a local area with the chemical Oxitec, which would need to be reapplied every year, Eliminate Dengue releases Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacterium that can prevent the mosquito from developing into a dengue or chikungunya carrier. The program has been in operation for over 10 years and is now expanding into more countries.
They Spread the Virus
Dengue fever is a virus that is spread to people by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes that carry dengue are called Anopheles Mosquito, and they are found in tropical and subtropical areas around the world.
When a mosquito bites someone who has dengue, it transfers the virus from the infected person’s blood to its own bloodstream. Then, the mosquito can pass the virus to other uninfected humans after each blood meal. This cycle is repeated several times over the course of the mosquito’s life, until it dies from the dengue virus.
The mosquitoes that carry dengue are Aedes aegypti, which live in and around houses and are especially common during rainy seasons when there’s lots of standing water for them to breed in. They lay their eggs in containers filled with water, such as birdbaths, discarded tires, dog bowls and flower vases.
Once the Aedes aegypti bites someone infected with dengue, it transfers the virus from its blood to its own bloodstream. Then, it can pass the virus to other uninfected adults and children who are bitten by the mosquito.
These viruses are different from the ones that cause yellow fever and West Nile virus, but they all come from the same family of viruses, called Flaviviruses. They are all asymptomatic in most people, but sometimes they can cause serious illness, including dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome.
Symptoms of dengue usually start with high fever, headache and body aches, followed by a rash and a swollen gland. Often the symptoms go away after a few days. But a small percentage of people will develop severe, flu-like symptoms, called dengue hemorrhagic fever.
If these symptoms don’t go away, or if the patient develops other signs of complications, such as internal bleeding, shock and death, then the case should be treated in an emergency room. The care for these cases is supportive, with fluids, acetaminophen for fever and blood transfusions for bleeding.
The risk of getting dengue is relatively low for international travelers if they take preventive measures like wearing insect repellent, covering their sleep areas with netting and avoiding the outdoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active. But it’s best to avoid areas with ongoing dengue outbreaks if possible.
