MOSQUITO MENACE AROUND THE WORLD

Of all disease-transmitting insects, the mosquito is the greatest menace, spreading malaria, dengue and yellow fever, which together are responsible for several million deaths and hundreds of millions of cases every year. Other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include lymphatic filariasis and Japanese encephalitis

Malaria is endemic in more than 90 countries, with about 40% of the world’s population exposed to the risk of being affected by it. By deteriorating the health and working capacity of hundreds of millions, it is closely associated with poverty and hinders social and economic development. Up to 500 million cases happen every year, 90% of them is concentrated in Africa, and there are close to 2.7 million deaths annually.

Dengue fever is the globes most important mosquito-borne virus disease, with 2500 million people worldwide exposed to infection and 20 million cases a year in more than 100 countries. In 1995, Latin America and the Caribbean was struck with the worst dengue epidemic that lasted for 15 years striking at least 14 countries, causing more than 200000 cases of dengue fever and approximately 6000 cases of the more serious dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Many big cities in the world, especially America, are at risk of being exposed to potentially devastating epidemics of yellow fever because they are infested with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which can spread the disease. Lymphatic filariasis infects about 120 million people in tropical areas of Africa, India, South-East Asia, the Pacific Islands and South and Central America.