Other Mosquito-Borne Diseases
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease, which is now largely confined to Equatorial Africa and Central South America. There are 200,000 estimated cases – with 30,000 deaths – per year. Thirty-three African countries are affected, with a total human population at risk of around 500 million.
Dengue Fever
Dengue is an epidemic-prone disease that thrives in crowded urban slums or poor urban conurbations. It now ranks as the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. In the past five decades, its incidence has increased 30-fold and is still rising.
Japanese Encephalitis
This is a viral disease that infects both animals and humans. The infection is transmitted by Culicine mosquitoes, and in humans can cause inflammation of the membranes around the brain.
West Nile Virus
This disease has hit the headlines over the past few years, especially with its arrival in the USA and its very rapid dispersal to almost all North American states.
Rift Valley Fever
Rift Valley Fever is a fever-causing viral disease that affects both livestock and humans in Africa and the Middle East. It is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito, but can also be disseminated through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected animal.