MOSQUITOES ALERT!

Mosquitoes are on the march and we have reasons to be concerned. But, why should we be bothered by such a seemingly innocuous creature? As described by Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia, a mosquito is a small two-winged fly with a slender body, long legs, and narrow wings bearing scales along the veins. In fact, it is much smaller than the common housefly. Size alone, however, can be deceiving. 

The pesky mosquitoes are the females, which bite and suck blood from animals and people. Surprisingly, their male counterparts hold a different diet of plant saplings. The protein drawn from the blood goes to feed mosquito eggs before they hatch and turn into larvae. Perhaps it is this maternal instinct, which has somewhat affirm our belief that female mosquitoes love the taste of human blood so much so that they will not relent in their aerial attacks of targeted hosts. (They are known to take in two to three times their own weight in blood. Yikes!)

It may not be as devastating as Pearl Harbour, but a mosquito-attack can be rather irritating. Those who go trekking in the Amazon rainforest where mosquitoes abound, would be descended upon you at every juncture with their jabs. They come noisy too as the vibration of their wings produces a high-pitched, droning sound. True to form, these flying aces can hover past, around and/or about one’s ears where they can make the most impact. This is especially bothersome when one is trying to get a good night's sleep. Don’t adult mosquitoes ever sleep? 

Not only do they disrupt our peace and rob us of sleep (and blood as well), but they make are determined to inflict us with this one-of-a-kind itchiness after they have bitten and drawn whatever blood they can from us. While feeding on us, mosquitoes release their saliva which contains vessel dilators and blood thinners to prevent blood clots. An allergic reaction to these anti-coagulants may then cause the red, itchy swellings on our skin. Unfairly, mosquitoes are not known to bite each other and would therefore be unable to get a taste of their own ‘medicine’.   

But, how do they track us down? Aside from skin chemicals, mosquitoes can smell both carbon dioxide and lactic acid (as produced by metabolism in our muscles) in our breath. Their sense of smell is keen enough to allow them to sniff out their victims up to 35 meters away. Besides, they have the sophistication to detect the infra-red light which our body emits. Such findings do lend support to the phenomenon that some people find themselves more unfavourably disposed to the reconnaissance of female mosquitoes.

Alas, the mosquito story does not end here. They are sometime given the nasty name of “natural born-killers”. Yes, certain species of mosquitoes can kill; albeit in an indirect manner. A female anopheles mosquito, for example, works together with four blood-borne  parasites, all in the genus Plasmodium family, to spread various forms of malaria. The parasites infect and then destroy red blood cells of the hosts. Consequently, malaria victims can suffer repeated episodes of fever, anemia and/or death. The female aedes mosquito can pass on dengue fever. This viral infection causes fever, chills, and break-bone pain. After World War II, a more serious form of the disease -- dengue hemorrhagic fever -- emerged in Southeast Asia, inflicting symptoms reminiscent of Ebola virus infection: bleeding from the nose, mouth, and gums, excessive thirst and difficulty breathing.

Malaria is on the rise due to a combination of factors, including the evolved resistance of the Plasmodium parasites to existing and successive insecticides and antidotes, and the increase in international travel spreading the parasites far across the globe. Dengue fever is on the rise too due to reasons such as the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes on stagnant water, and the increase in international travel.

How can we fight back? Perhaps we cannot eradicate the disease-spreading mosquitoes altogether. But we can reduce and manage their population below the threshold that would cause disease through a combination of:

Public education - explaining that some disease-carrying mosquitoes breed in tires and other artificial containers, including flower pots and drains around the house.

Behavioral controls - for example: sleeping under mosquito nnets, burning mosquito coil and applying mosquito repellants on our limbs.

Chemical controls - smarter, more focused use of less hazaardous insecticides.

Biological controls - deploying organisms that eat or otherwwise harm mosquitoes.

So-called brave people are not afraid of mosquito bites. Smart people, who may also be brave, know a thing or two about these flying-and-biting menaces, and would take all necessary precautions to avoid them. Better still, go on the offensive to prevent them from breeding on stagnant water. Till a permanent solution is established, the war against mosquitoes wages on.

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