The Most Common Mosquito-Borne Diseases

Yellow Fever

Yellow fever is yet another disease transmitted by mosquitoes in the Aedes genus, especially A. aegypti. Another mosquito genus, Haemagogus, can infect individuals in South and Central America. It can be transmitted from monkeys to humans and from humans to humans. The “yellow” part of the name refers to the fact it can cause jaundice. There is a vaccine available, and a large initiative began in 2017 to vaccinate and treat individuals.

While many don’t develop symptoms, those who do get them about three to six days after being bitten. Symptoms include fever, backache, headache, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. In most cases, the symptoms fade after three to four days, but some unfortunate patients enter a toxic phase after they seem to be recovering. In this phase, their fever returns and the virus attacks their kidneys, liver, and possibly other organs or systems. The patient develops jaundice, vomiting, stomach pains, and dark urine, and can also start bleeding from the stomach, nose, eyes, or mouth. About fifty percent of patients who develop the toxic phase die within a week to ten days.