MAJOR DISEASES – MOSQUITOES

MAJOR DISEASES – MOSQUITOES

A) MALARIA – Anopheles Spp

• Malaria the worlds most important parasitic infectious disease is transmitted by mosquitoes which breed in fresh or occasionally brackish water.
• Malaria is caused by 4 sp of Plasmodium (P.faciparum, P.vivas, P.ovale, P.malariae) which is transmitted via the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
• Some female mosquitoes take their blood - meal at dusk and early evening, but others bite during the night or in the early hours of the morning.
• In the human body, the infective forms (sporozoito) multiply in the liver and then infect red blood cells.
• Most people begin feeling sick 10 days to 4 weeks fitter being infected.
• Symptoms of malaria include fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, tiredness, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, anemia and jaundice Convulsions, coma, severe anemia and kidney failure can also occur.

• Without prompt and effective treatment, malaria can evolve into a severe cerebral form followed by death, can quickly become life threatening by disrupting the blood supply to viral organs.
• In certain types, the infection can remain inactive for up to 5 yrs and then recur. In areas with intense malaria transmission, people can develop protective immunity after repeated infections.
• In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines.

B) CHIKUNGUNYA :Aedesspp

• Chikungunya is a mosquito – borne viral disease first described during an outbreak in sounthernTanzania in 1952. It is an alphavirus of the family Togaviridae. The name Chikungunya derives from a root verb in the Kimbarkonde language, meaning to become contorted and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain.
• The virus is transmitted from human to human by the bites of infected female mosquitoes – aedesaegypti and aedesalbopictus, two species which can also transmit other mosquito borne viruses, including dengue.
• These mosquitoes can be found biting throughout daylight hours,  although there may be peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon. Both species are found outdoors, but aedesaegypti will also readily feed indoors.
• After the bite of an infected mosquito, onset os.f illness occurs usually between 4 & 8 days but can range from 2 to 12 day.

Key facts of Chikungunya

• Chikungunya is a viral disease that is spread by mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.
• The disease share some clinical signs with dengue, and can be misdiagnosed in areas where dengue is common.
• There is no cure for the disease. Treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms, including the joint pain.
• The proximity of mosquito breeding sites to human habitation is a significant risk factor for chikungunya.
• The disease occurs in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In recent decades mosquito vectors of chikungunya have spread to Europe and the Americans. In 2007, disease transmission was reported for the first time in Europe, in a localized outbreak in north eastern Italy.

C) DENGUE – AEDES SPP

• Dengue is transmitted by the bits of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the 4 dengue viruses.
• Dengue level is a ____ illness that affects infants, young children and adults.
• Symptoms range from a mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain and rash. There are no specific antiviral medicines for dengue.
• Dengue hemorrhagic fever (Fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding) is a potentially lethal complication, affecting mainly children.
• Early clinical diagnosis and careful clinical management by experienced physicians and nurses increase survival of patients.

D) ELYMPHATIC FILARIASIS – CULEX SPP

• Commonly known as Elephantasis, is neglected tropical disease. It is caused by infection with Nematode parasites (Roundworms) of the family Filariodidea transmitted to humans through Mansonia mosquitoes, culex mosquitoes, widespread across urban and semi-urban areas Anopheles mainly in rural areas, and Aedes, mainly in endemic islands in the Pacific.
• It’s caused by 3 sp of Nematode parasite
• When a mosquito with infective stage large larvae bites a person, the parasites are deposited on the persons skin from where they enter the body. The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adult worms in the human lymphantic system
• Adult worms lodge in the lymphatic system and disrupt the immune system. They live for 6 – 8 years and during their life time, produce millions of microfilariae that circulate in the blood.
• Lymphatic filarasis can result in an altered lymphatic system and the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain and severe disability.
• To interrupt transmission WHO recommends an annual mass drug administration of single doses of two medicines to all eligible people in endemic areas – Albendazole (400mg) plus either lvermectin (150-200 mcg/kg) in areas where Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is also endemic or Diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) (6mg/kg) in areas where Onchocerciasis is not endemic.