Mosquito vectors

The value of insecticides in controlling human and animal diseases spread by insects has been dramatic. It has been shown that between 1942 and 1952, the use of DDT in pubHc health measures to control the mosquito vectors of malaria and the human body louse vector of typhus saved five million hves and prevented 100 million illnesses (4). Insecticides have provided the means to control such important human diseases as filariasis transmitted by Culex mosquitoes and onchocerciasis transmitted by Simulium blackflies. 

Katsuda Y, Leemingsawat S, Thongrungkiat S, Komalamisara N, Kanzaki T, Watanabe T, Kahara T (2008) Control of mosquito vectors of tropical infectious diseases (1) bioefficacy of mosquito coils containing several pyrethroids and a synergist. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 39(l) 48-54... 

India also used the pesticide to great effect. When India started its malaria-control program in 1953, almost the entire country was malarial, except for the mountainous areas, and there were, and still are, six different species of Anopheline mosquito vectors. Using DDT, India managed to bring the number of cases down from an estimated 75 million in 1951 to around 50,000 in 1961 and to reduce the annual mortality from malaria from about 800,000 to a few thousand. The achievement of reducing the number of infections to this degree cannot be overstated. India s success persists today because the country continues to use DDT. Reductions in malaria in many other countries were short-lived when they discontinued its use. 

The timing of Muller s discovery insured its early application in the Mediterranean and South Pacific theaters of World War II to eliminate mosquito-vectored diseases malaria, filariasis, dengue fever also typhoid fever, carried by lice and fleas. 

Malaria is a devastating disease caused by protozoan parasites from the genus Plasmodium. While reported cases of malaria decreased by 50% between 2000 and 2010, 216 million cases and almost 700,000 malaria-related deaths were reported in 2010 (1). In addition, 86% of these malaria deaths claimed the lives of children under 5 years of age. The African Region continues to bear the brunt of the malaria burden with an estimated 81% of all reported malaria cases. In general, tropical and subtropical regions have the greatest rates of malaria transmission as the climate in these regions supports development of the mosquito vector. 

The presence of competent mosquito vectors [Ae. aegypti and Anopheles quadrimacalatus) and of recent immigrants from the Caribbean Islands and Latin America raised the possibility of dengue and malaria transmission in Florida. Because mosquito-based surveillance for St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) is unable to detect these diseases, fliers with information on identification and reporting of dengue and malaria were distributed to health care workers in the area. No dengue or malaria cases were reported to the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. 

A JEV like virus, Murray Valley Encephalitis Virus (MVE), has been responsible for several sporadic epidemics of encephalitis in southern Australia (Burke and Monath, 2001, Doherty, 1977). Like SLE and JEV, MVE appears to be spread by mosquito vectors. Isolation of MEV from brain tissue or serologic tests is used for diagnosis. There is no specific treatment or vaccine that has been designed for MEV. As vdth JEV or SLE, treatment is supportive. 

---