Mosquito-borne disease

An infectious disease transmitted to humans or other animals through the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquito carries a pathogen between hosts, sometimes after the pathogen develops inside it.

Mosquito vector: A mosquito that transmits pathogens between hosts while feeding on blood. Its bite is the route by which these infections pass to a new host.
Malaria: A parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium species and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. It is a major mosquito-borne disease, but its pathogen is a parasite rather than a virus.
Pathogen: A biological agent that causes disease, including a virus, bacterium, fungus, or parasite. The mosquito carries a pathogen, not the disease itself.
Mosquito control: Methods for reducing mosquito populations or limiting their contact with people. Reducing bites can interrupt transmission without treating infected hosts.
Vector competence: A vector’s biological ability to acquire, maintain, and transmit a pathogen. It determines whether a mosquito species can carry a particular pathogen.
Dengue: A viral disease transmitted mainly by Aedes mosquitoes, with outcomes ranging from mild illness to severe disease. It illustrates how one mosquito-borne infection can cause sharply different levels of illness.
Mosquito: A family of two-winged insects whose females in many species feed on blood. Only particular mosquito species transmit particular pathogens.
Insecticide-treated net: A bed net treated with insecticide to repel or kill mosquitoes that contact it. It protects sleepers from bites and can reduce malaria transmission.
Extrinsic incubation period: The time a pathogen takes to develop inside a vector before it can be transmitted. Mosquitoes generally become infectious only after the pathogen completes this interval.
Yellow fever: A viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause jaundice, bleeding, and organ failure. Its vaccine shows how disease-specific immunization can prevent mosquito-borne infection.

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