Mosquitoes are notorious disease-carriers.
Diseases transmitted by flies are a major world health concern. Biting flies are prime carriers of disease because they are difficult to detect and they can cover a lot of territory. The mobility of the fly allows it to travel and spread whatever diseases or parasites dwell within it to a human host.
Sleeping Sickness
This disease carried by the African tsetse fly affects upward of 50 million people a year in Africa. Also called trypanosomiasis, sleeping sickness causes fever, headaches, joint pain and extreme exhaustion. If untreated, people infected with this disease will see their physical functions deteriorate, and they can die in six to nine months.
Malaria
Malaria is one of the top five leading causes of death for children under 5 years of age. It is carried by the Anopheles mosquito, a type of mosquito that feeds at night. Although the symptoms of malaria vary from person to person, the most common are fever, headaches, nausea and diarrhea. Malaria is often treated with the drugs quinine or chloroquine, but it can be fatal if untreated.
Leishmaniasis
This nasty parasitic disease, spread by the female sand fly, is found in more than 85 countries, from the tropics to southern Europe. The sand fly spreads the parasite when it feeds on human blood to nourish its eggs, transferring the parasites to the human host. Two types of leishmaniasis exist: cutaneous, which affects the outside of the body and causes sores, and visceral, which can cause fever, anemia, and swelling of the internal organs. Visceral leishmaniasis can cause death if untreated, while cutaneous leishmaniasis can cause permanent scarring.
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever was eradicated from the United States in the beginning of the 20th century, but it is still a problem in many parts of Africa and Latin America. The disease is spread by mosquitoes through their saliva, and causes severe fever. If untreated, this fever can lead to disruption of the vital organs, including the liver, which leads to jaundice. The yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes caused by jaundice gives the disease its name.
Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, which tend to bite during the day and thrive in dirty, unsanitary conditions. For this reason, the fever is especially rampant in urban areas, where mosquitoes can breed in dirty water and garbage. Dengue fever causes acute fever that can sometimes result in death, and sometimes hemorrhaging of the gums or nose. Dengue fever doesn't have a cure, partly because up to four viruses cause it, which makes it difficult to isolate a vaccine.
Tags: Dengue fever, disease spread, fever headaches, human host, leishmaniasis cause