Mosquitoes are a nuisance that often ruin our enjoyment of the outdoors. Mosquitoes also spread deadly diseases between birds, animals and people. Spraying pesticides can be done with foggers to kill mosquitoes in your yard and community or with personal insect repellent to provide individuals with protection from mosquito bites. Both help prevent the dangers that mosquitoes pose to us and our families. Does this Spark an idea?
West Nile
West Nile virus, also known as West Nile fever and West Nile encephalitis, is a flavivrus that first appeared in North America in 1999. Birds, humans, mosquitoes, horses and other mammals can be infected by the virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, aches and a rash that may last a few days or several weeks. Most cases in the United States occur in July, August and September. In 2010, there was 1,021 cases of West Nile in the United States, resulting in 57 deaths, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Arboviral Encephalitis
Encephalitis is a viral disease that causes brain inflammation. The most common mosquito-transmitted forms include St. Louis, La Crosse, eastern equine, western equine and Japanese encephalitis. Symptoms of encephalitis start as nonspecific flu-like symptoms such as headache and fever. The number of encephalitis cases vary annually, but the number is usually between 150 and 3,000 cases.
Heartworm
Heartworm is a life-threatening disease that primarily affects canines, but is also found in cats, foxes and raccoons. This parasite clogs up the heart, resulting in cardiovascular problems. Cases have been reported in all 50 states. Death from heartworm is rare, but it is still important to control it with preventative pills or injections.
Malaria
Malaria is the most deadly of all the mosquito-borne diseases and the fifth leading cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide. In 2008, about 1 million people died of the disease, one-half to one-third the number infected. Even though DDT eradicated malaria in the United States in the early 1940s and 1950s, an average of 1,500 cases sill occur in the United States each year. According to the American Mosquito Control Association, a child dies from malaria every 40 seconds worldwide. Malaria symptoms vary but often include fever, body aches and coma.
Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is a disease caused by one of four dengue viruses and is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It is often described as a tropical disease, but cases have been reported in Hawaii, Texas and Florida. About 50 to 100 million cases of dengue occur worldwide each year, and of those cases 22,000 result in death. Signs of an infection include a high fever along with two of the following symptoms: headache, pain behind the eyes, join pain, muscle or bone pain, rash, low white cell count and mild bleeding manifestation.
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is found in 33 countries, primarily in South America and Africa. The last outbreak of it in North America was in New Orleans in 1905. About 200,000 cases of yellow fever occur each year along with 30,000 deaths, despite the fact that there is a vaccine to prevent it. People can have the virus in their blood for three to six days before they start showing symptoms. Initial symptoms include fever, chills, headache, back pain, muscle aches, nausea and fatigue.
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