West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes. About 80 per cent of infected people have no symptoms, but the virus can cause encephalitis and can be life-threatening.
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
West Nile virus arrived in North America in 1999 and spread across the continent by 2005. Here’s what you need to know about this mosquito-borne pathogen.
People catch La Crosse disease primarily from the bite of the eastern tree-hole mosquito – although two other species may also carry the virus.
Nipol Plobmuang/EyeEm via Getty Images
Mosquitoes are commonplace in summer but where do they go once the weather cools? They don’t completely disappear but find fascinating ways to survive the winter.
Tracking mosquitoes in our backyards, such as Aedes notoscriptus, helps authorities work out future health risks.
Cameron Webb (NSW Health Pathology)
Shüné Oliver, National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Jaishree Raman, National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Mosquitoes are among the deadliest animals in the world. Half of the deaths attributed to them are associated with malaria. But they carry other parasites and viruses that threaten human health.
Researchers discovered a cream could stop the spread of deadly viruses from mosquitoes.
frank60/ Shutterstock
The cream was found to boost the body’s anti-viral immune response, stopping mosquito-borne viruses in their tracks.
Although yellow fever does not currently exist in Australia, the species Aedes aegypti - which can transmit the disease - is found widely across northern Queensland. The virus remains a global health concern, but citizen scientists could help prevent its spread.
Simon Kutcher/flickr
Nuisance-biting and mosquito-borne disease are ongoing concerns for health authorities. But an effective citizen science program is now showing how all of us can help beat the bite of mozzies.
Set to land in mid 2018, the new mosquito emoji will give people a new way to talk about mozzies.
Cameron Webb
The mozzies are coming! A mosquito emoji will be available on your devices in mid 2018, providing a new angle for communicating the science and health implications of these very dangerous insects.
Aedes aegypti: bringing you Zika, dengue and Chikungunya.
Ian Jacobs/Flickr
Zika had already reached 46,000 probable cases by the end of May 2016 and is transmitted by the same mosquito species as dengue and Chikungunya.
A patient with symptoms of the Chikungunya virus in a Dominican hospital. Outbreaks have been reported in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Reuters/Ricardo Rojas
There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat the chikungunya virus infection. The only available method of prevention is through shielding people from mosquito bites.
A human-dependent mosquito, the range of the disease-carrying Aedes aegypti is projected to grow in the U.S. and affect more people globally.
sanofi-pasteur/flickr
Andrew Monaghan, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
More people in the U.S. and world will be exposed to the disease-carrying mosquito Aedes aegypti, not just because of warmer temperatures but global population changes as well.
Cidade maravilhosa.
Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock.com
Academics have sent an open letter to the World Health Organisation calling for the Olympics to be postponed or moved because of the Zika threat. They’re overreacting.
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are at the center of Zika virus’ spread.
Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters
Look beyond transgenic techniques that add new genes to a species. People have used selective breeding techniques to change plants and animals for millennia – why not try them on mosquitoes?
A new arrival in Australian backyards may increase the risks of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks.