What diseases do mosquitoes carry?
Mosquitoes kill more than one million people each year with the deadly diseases they transmit. These diseases include malaria, filariasis, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis (mainly the St. Louis and Eastern Equine strains). They can also transmit heartworm to dogs and cats. However, not all mosquitoes carry diseases. Each disease is transmitted by only a few species of mosquito. Here in Florida and Charlotte county, we mainly focus on St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) and to a lesser extent, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). We have not yet seen the West Nile Virus in Florida, but our Department is cooperating with the Florida Department of Health in monitoring for any activity.
A. Mosquitoes kill more than one million people each year with the deadly diseases they transmit. These diseases include malaria, filariasis, dengue fever, yellow fever and viruses that can cause encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEE) and West Nile virus (WNV).Mosquitoes can also vector (transmit) dog heartworm. It is important to note that not all mosquitoes carry diseases. Each of the diseases is mainly transmitted by only a few species of mosquito. Malaria is a single-celled parasite (Plasmodium spp.) that is transmitted by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. An infected person feels tired, has muscle pain, headaches and loss of appetite, much like the onset of flu symptoms. This is followed by chills and high fever which usually reoccur every few days. Lab tests are required to confirm malaria infection. Yellow fever, (so named because the infected person turns yellow from jaundice) is caused by a virus that is carried by an
Mosquitoes kill more than one million people each year with the deadly diseases they transmit. These diseases include malaria, filariasis, dengue fever, yellow fever and encephalitis (mostly St. Louis and eastern equine). Mosquitoes can also vector (transmit) dog heartworm. It is important to note that not all mosquitoes carry diseases. Each of the diseases is transmitted by only a few species of mosquito. Malaria is a single-celled parasite that is transmitted by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. An infected person fells tired, has muscle pain, headaches and loss of appetite, much like the onset of flu symptoms. This is followed by chills and high fever, which usually reoccur every few days. Lab tests are required to confirm malaria infection. Yellow fever, (so named because the infected person turns yellow from jaundice) is caused by a virus that is carried by an infected mosquito. Encephalitis is difficult to determine because laboratory confirmation is required, a costly
