Every year on August 20, World Mosquito Day is celebrated. But it is not carried out with the aim of honoring this very unloved insect by people.
Mosquito Day – initiative of Sir Ronald Ross (English. Ronald Ross, 1857-1932, a Scottish-born British physician and parasitologist who discovered that female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles carried malaria. After graduating from college, Ronald worked as a physician for the British organization «Medical Service of India». And it was the widespread spread of malaria in India that prompted Ross to study the causes of this disease. In 1897, he was able to experimentally prove that malaria is transmitted by mosquito bites. For this discovery, Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1902, and scientists around the world were able to better understand the deadly role of mosquitoes in disease transmission. In honor of this event and in order to draw attention to the dangerous disease, Ross proposed celebrating Mosquito Day.
The main task of Day – is to attract public attention to the problem of malaria, increase people's awareness of this disease and methods of its prevention, and find ways to combat it.
Vector-borne diseases or diseases carried by insects and small animals have plagued humanity for many centuries. The most common carriers are mosquitoes, mosquitoes, ticks, bedbugs, snails, but mosquitoes are the deadliest.
Malaria – is one of the vector-borne infectious diseases characterized by attacks of fever, anemia and enlarged spleen and liver. According to the World Health Organization, malaria threatens 40% of the world's population. Every year, 350-500 million cases of malaria are recorded in the world, and more than one million people die from this disease. The disease is most widespread in equatorial and subequatorial zones, especially widespread – in sub-Saharan Africa. But the disease also affects people in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even parts of Europe. There is no vaccine against malaria yet, but its development is actively underway.
As for the « culprit» holiday, the mosquito – is a dipteran blood-sucking insect, whose body length can reach 14 mm, and whose wingspan is – 30 mm. They live on all continents except Antarctica; the most common mosquito is the squeaker or common mosquito. By the way, these insects can fly tens of kilometers in search of food. Colour varies in mosquitoes and depends on the species. In the modern world there are about 3,600 species of mosquitoes belonging to 38 genera.
Mosquitoes are carriers of many diseases, so it is important to use protective equipment against these insects (Photo: Maridav, licensed by depositphotos.com)
It is important to remember that mosquitoes carry not only malaria, but also yellow fever, dengue, meningitis, encephalitis and West Nile Virus. In addition, mosquito saliva contains a strong allergen. Even in a person who has no predisposition to allergies, a mosquito bite can cause itching, swelling, and redness at the bite site. In some cases, a mosquito bite leads to a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylactic shock. In this case, to avoid death, assistance must be provided within an hour after the mosquito bite.
Only female mosquitoes pose a threat to humans, since they feed on blood (to continue offspring). To support life, mosquitoes feed on plant juice and flower nectar. Mosquitoes are very fertile, the female lays 50 – 170 eggs every day, and the average adult lifespan is – 20 days.
Mosquitoes smell human sweat very well and flock to it. Therefore, it is important to use protective equipment against these insects. In ancient times, people fought mosquitoes mainly with the help of pungent plant odors that mosquitoes cannot tolerate. For example, these are vanillin, essential oils of cloves, anise, eucalyptus, valerian and juniper, various types of chamomile, tomato foliage, cedar oil, wheatgrass decoction, etc. Currently, synthetic mosquito repellents (creams, aerosols, etc.) are more popular due to their ease of use, but when using them, it is important to remember that they are less safe. The toxic substances contained in repellents are not harmless to humans or pets.
Doctors advise people allergic to insect bites to treat their wound with an antiallergic gel or cream, apply a cold compress to the bite site and take an antihistamine.
Postcard «20 August — World Mosquito Day»