MAN'S GREATEST ENEMY
Few days ago, I noticed something very crucial to the well-being of the people living in my microenvironment (community).
I somehow discovered that the number of mosquitoes in our homes were just too much.. too much beyond how much you can even imagine. Then, I swung into passive action. I mean, trying to understand what they really are and the possible diseases they transmit.
My Readers, Lo and Behold.. these guys, I mean the mosquitoes are carriers of a whole lot of diseases. If you know the number of diseases and their detrimental effects, you will agree with me that Mosquitoes are actually Man's Greatest enemies.
In the next few weeks, begining from this post, I will be writing stuffs about Mosquitoes, their detrimental effects on Humans, the zoonotic disease they transmit and their control. Make sure to watch out for posts from this space as they promise to be entertaining and enlightening.
For today, Let's get the ball rolling and do some introduction.
Mosquitoes are actually slender flies with long legs. Both the the adult males and females have long antennae. They have wings and have a row of scales along some or all the veins. These scales are also present on the body and legs. They have mouthparts and are long and thin and adapted for piercing the skin and sucking the blood of their hosts. Also note that makes feed on plant juices.
Taxonomically, Mosquitoes have been classified in a family known as Culicidae, three sub families known as Anophelinae, Culicinae and Toxorhynchitinae.
The Genera are quite many but I will mention a few -Aedes, Anopheles, Bironella, Chagasia, Culex, Aedes, Mansonia, etc.
It takes few days for an egg to develop into an adult mosquito. The adult female lay eggs in containers that hold water. The Eggs hatch within a few days when covered with water and then develop into Larvae. The larvae live in water and develop into pupae in few days time. The pupae also live in water and develop into adults, flying mosquitoes.
Now this is the part I love most, Lol. The following are few of the diseases that are transmitted by Mosquitoes;
Chikungunya
Dengue
Lymphatic Filariasis
Yellow Fever
Zika
Fever of the Ross River
Barmah Forest Virus
La Crosse Encephalitis
Keystone Virus
Malaria
Japanese Encephalitis
West Nile Fever
Encephalitis of St. Louis
Western Equine Encephalitis Virus
Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus
Malaria
Dengue
Lymphatic Filariasis
Yellow Fever
Zika
Fever of the Ross River
Barmah Forest Virus
La Crosse Encephalitis
Keystone Virus
Malaria
Japanese Encephalitis
West Nile Fever
Encephalitis of St. Louis
Western Equine Encephalitis Virus
Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus
Malaria
The above diseases are just a few of the diseases these mosquitoes transmit. And then, worry not because subsequently, we will be discussing some of these diseases.
In my next post, we shall be discussing the distribution of Mosquitoes in the globe and the way their ecology.
Make sure to stay tuned.
Cheers to a Healthier You!
©Taiwo Emmanuel