Amid a growing interest in infectious viruses in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the world shed a special focus on this year’s World Mosquito Day. Celebrated every year on 20 August, this Day aims to raise awareness about the causes of malaria and how it can be prevented, as well as fundraising for research into the cure of malaria.
As the COVID-19 outbreak reminded, seafarers are not immune to infectious diseases and, due to the nature of their job, can transmit diseases from one part of the world to another.
World Mosquito Day was first established in 1897, when the link between mosquitoes and malaria transmission was discovered by Sir Ronald Ross. Due to this transmission, mosquito is considered the world’s deadliest animal.
Malaria is endemic to large areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the South Pacific. According to WHO data, there were about 228 million malaria cases in 2018 and an estimated 405,000 malaria deaths.
Key facts on malaria
- Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.
- Malaria is an acute febrile illness. In a non-immune individual, symptoms usually appear 10–15 days after the infective mosquito bite. The first symptoms – fever, headache, and chills – may be mild and difficult to recognize as malaria. If not treated within 24 hours, P. falciparum malaria can progress to severe illness, often leading to death.
- Children aged under 5 years are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria; in 2018, they accounted for 67% (272 000) of all malaria deaths worldwide.
- The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2018, the region was home to 93% of malaria cases and 94% of malaria deaths.
- Total funding for malaria control and elimination reached an estimated US$ 2.7 billion in 2018. Contributions from governments of endemic countries amounted to US$ 900 million, representing 30% of total funding.
Prevention
Vector control is the main way to prevent and reduce malaria transmission. If coverage of vector control interventions within a specific area is high enough, then a measure of protection will be conferred across the community.
WHO recommends protection for all people at risk of malaria with effective malaria vector control. Two forms of vector control – insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying – are effective in a wide range of circumstances.
However, malaria is not the only mosquito-borne disease. On the occasion of World Mosquito Day, the US CDC also drew attention to lymphatic filariasis (LF), one of the world’s most stigmatizing and debilitating diseases, which is also spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. More than 120 million people have LF worldwide, and another 1.3 billion live in areas where they are at risk of acquiring the infection.
Like malaria, LF is preventable with timely and targeted interventions. Some countries in Africa have observed an association between scale up of insecticide-treated bed nets for malaria control and a decline in LF cases.
This supports the strategy of integrated mosquito control in certain areas: what we do to combat one mosquito-borne disease can help in the fight with others.
Other mosquito-borne diseases are Yellow Fever, Zika virus, West Nile, as well as dengue fever. Find a table with most common Symptoms of Mosquito borne / transferred diseases herebelow: