Diseases Caused by Mosquitoes and their Prevention

1) What Is a Pathogen?

• Disease-causing organisms are called pathogens.
• It can be a fungus, a bacterium, a parasite etc.
• Pathogens can be treated with medicines.

2) What Is Epidemiology?

• Epidemiology is the scientific study of the patterns and distribution of contagious diseases among a group of people.
• Epidemiology is important as it is related to public health.
• This type of study helps us to analyse the basic health needs of a population.
• It also helps us to determine the efficacy of certain medicines given to a particular population exposed to a specific disease.

3) Write Five Basic Characteristics of Insects.

Five characteristic features of insects are:

• An insect's body is divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen.
• Insects have wings to fly.
• Insects have jointed body segments, and the legs of an insect are made up of several jointed parts.
• They have three pairs of legs and a pair of compound eyes.
• All insects have a pair of antennae at the top of their head.

4) Name a Few Vectors and Diseases Caused by Them, and Also Mention the Pathogens Responsible for Those Diseases.

5) State the Differences Between Anopheles, Aedes and Culex Mosquitoes.

The differences between Anopheles sp, Aedes sp and Culex sp mosquitoes are as follows:

6) What is Zika fever?

• Zika fever is an infectious disease caused by the zika virus.
• The primary carrier of this virus is Aedes spp. mosquitoes.
• A few common symptoms of Zika fever are muscle and joint pain, high fever with a headache, rashes all over the body, and conjunctivitis.
• Zika fever lasts for 7 to 10 days.
• Zika fever is an infectious disease caused by the zika virus.
• The primary carrier of this virus is Aedes spp. mosquitoes.
• A few common symptoms of Zika fever are muscle and joint pain, high fever with a headache, rashes all over the body, and conjunctivitis.
• Zika fever lasts for 7 to 10 days.

7) Name the Pathogens That Cause Malaria.

Some malaria-causing pathogens are:

• Plasmodium falciparum
• Plasmodium vivax
• Plasmodium malariae
• Plasmodium ovale
• Plasmodium knowlesi

8) What Is Filariasis, and Which Mosquitoes Spread This Disease?

• Filariasis is a tropical disease caused by a variant of thread-like roundworms.
• This disease causes swelling in the lymph nodes present under the arms and groin area. It also causes the thickening of the skin.
• Culex spmosquitoes carry the infectious parasites of this disease.

9) What Is West Nile Fever?

Some malaria-causing pathogens are:

• It is an infectious disease caused by Culex sp mosquitoes. West Nile virus pathogen causes this disease.
• This flu-like disease is characterised by high temperature, nausea, vomiting and digestive issues.
• Prolonged infection due to West Nile fever can cause severe damage to the brain.