Shots Heard Round the World
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A Continued Fight
Observed annually on August 20, World Mosquito Day draws attention to the global health threats posed by mosquitoes. These insects spread a host of dangerous diseases—including malaria, yellow fever, dengue, Zika fever, chikungunya fever, filariasis, and West Nile virus—and are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal on Earth.
World Mosquito Day was established in honor of British doctor Sir Ronald Ross. In 1897 he discovered that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit the malarial parasite between humans, laying the foundation for combating the deadly disease. Ross received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his groundbreaking work in 1902.
Meet the skeetersOf the more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes worldwide, only some members of three genera are most significant to humans: Anopheles (malaria), Aedes (yellow fever, dengue, Zika, chikungunya), and Culex (West Nile virus and filariasis). Though notorious as vectors of disease, mosquitoes also play many ecological roles, serving as pollinators and as a vital food source for countless animals.
Mosquito control?Efforts to curb mosquito-borne diseases face growing obstacles. Anthropogenic climate change is expanding mosquito habitats and breeding seasons, pushing diseases into new regions and populations. At the same time many mosquito species are developing resistance to common insecticides, weakening a long-relied-upon line of defense. Public health strategies include distributing insecticide-treated bed nets, fumigation, and vaccine development—such as those now available for malaria and dengue. New genetic approaches, including genetically engineered mosquitoes that reduce breeding or block disease transmission, also show promise.
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