Understanding Mosquitoes - Their History With Us Humans, Why Are They So Attracted To Us?, Other Diseases Transmitted By Mosquitoes Other Than Malaria and so on ...

Hello steemians and friends, welcome to my blog again(smiles), today I'm gonna be discussing with you guys about the world deadliest creature, the blood sucking Mosquito. I know some of you, would be like, is that little creature really the deadliest creature in the world? The answer is yes !!! that little creature has claimed more human life than any other creature in the world, killing about 725,000 people every year, damn !!! 725,000 is really a massive number, isn't it?

In this article, I'm gonna be discussing about their(mosquitoes) history with us, why are they even more attacks to us, yeah they also suck the blood of other creatures, but it seems ours(humans) taste better to them(but why !!!), also we would be looking at why do they give us that scratching feeling and swell and after sucking our blood(that's just bad) and finally we would be looking at the types of mosquitoes and other diseases they can transmit apart from the well known malaria.

[A Mosquito Sucking Blood. Source: Pixabay. CCO Licensed]

Human History And Mosquito

These blood sucking demons(smiles) have been here before us, as it is known that the oldest modern mosquito is 79 million years old, and it was found trapped in Amber, Canada. We have been with these creatures from the beginning, making them our oldest natural enemies. These little creatures have affected human civilization in some way, quite shocking right? Yea, but that's the truth, this blood sucking creatures have played a role in human civilization. As we know it, the biggest disease which have affected humans straight from the dawn of time, is malaria. This malaria disease which have caused so much deaths and fever to us, humans is carried by mosquito, the female Anopheles mouth. I would throw more light on that later on, the question now is, How have mosquitoes affected human civilization?

Mosquitoes And Human Civilization?

The Great Roman Empire known as the largest city in the world then was plagued by these tiny winged pests, and some researchers believe that, these creatures played a role in the fall of the Roman Empire. The word Malaria is an Italian word which means Bad Air. The word was derived from two latin words which are; Malus which means Bad and Aer which means Air, and together they mean Bad Air. As we know, Rome is very close to marshes or swamps and it was observed that those people who were closest to the swamps or marshes became ill and died. So back then, they believed the air in those regions were bad, which caused illness and death, and that was how the name Malaria - Bad Air, was formed. These tiny creatures completely destabilized the Roman Empire as at that time, affecting their economy, as they were fewer people to farm for food stuffs, fewer people to take care of the soldiers, fewer soldiers, it made them very vulnerable to attack, and that is why researchers believed that mosquito must have played a role to the fall of the Roman Empire. These same researchers also believed that these mosquitoes might have saved so many Romans' life, as it was believed that Attila the Hun was on his way to attack Rome but stopped because of the rumors of the Bad Air fever Rome was battling with as at that time, so he didn't want to risk himself and his men, so in order words, Rome was saved by mosquitoes from Attila the Hun and his troops(smiles). To support the evidence, that mosquitoes plagued Rome, here is a quote by Varro in De Re Rustica Book I, XII.II:

To Italian readers;

Advertendum etiam, siqua erunt loca palustria, et propter easdem causas, et quod crescunt animalia quaedam minuta, quae non possunt oculi consequi, et per aera intus in corpus per os ac nares perveniunt atque efficiunt difficilis morbos. Source.

To English readers;

For attentiveness must be taken, if in anyway, in swampy places, and for the same reasons, and because there are bred certain small creatures, these things which the eyes cannot follow, and they travel through the air into the body through the mouth and nose and they produce perilous ailments. Source.

[The Fall Of The Roman Empire. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Thomas Cole. CC-PD-Mark]

Although Rome was not the only human history that mosquitoes played a part in, mosquitoes also played a role in the revolution war around 1780 - 1781 between America and the Great Britain. I didn't know that mosquitoes were great soldiers back then (hahaha). During the war, the British adopted a strategy called the Southern Strategy little did they know that, that strategy would lead to their defeat. The strategy was about spending large portion of their troops to the southern colonies, which had been occupied greatly by mosquitoes. The American soldiers grew up there, facing these ting winged pests every summer, were already highly resistant to malaria, unlike the British soldiers that had never faced these little creatures in their entire life, were vulnerable to these creatures. More than 51 % of soldiers were too sick to fight, which led to the troops led by Lord Cornwallis, to surrender themselves to the Americans. And that was how mosquitoes helped America to win her independence.(smiles).

Now we know that the deadliest creature in the world have in some way affected our civilization or history, although the two cases above, are not the only cases where these blood sucking creatures have played a role in our civilization, but this is no history article(hahaha), so this is where we draw the curtain on the question, How have mosquitoes affected human civilization? and move to Why are these creatures attracted to us and why are they more attracted to some people than others?

Why Are They Attracted To humans

Haven't you ever wondered why are these little blood sucking pests are attracted to humans? And the most annoying question, why are they more attacks to some people than others, are their blood sweeter or what? Mosquitoes just love my blood, I didn't know why before, but the love for my blood by these creatures is too much. I would be in midst of five people and I would be the only one complaining of mosquitoes. When I was still in school my roommate would be without shirts and shorts, sleeping peacefully like a babies while I would put on long shirts, trousers, and I would even put on sockings just to prevent these pests from sucking my blood and yet they would leave my roommate opened body and still come for mine, very annoying. I know am not the only one facing this same issue, some of you are, or someone you know is. You are about to find out why this issue, I can feel the anxiety of some of you already. (smiles)

We humans produce about 400 different chemical scents which attracts mosquitoes to us. Mosquitoes doesn't just want to suck our blood for the fun of it but they do it in order to develop fertile eggs, and that's why it is only the female mosquitoes that feed on us, while the males feed off flower nectar. One thing researchers know for sure that attracts mosquitoes is Carbon dioxide (CO2), and that's what we humans exhale, making fatty people who exhale more Carbon dioxide more prone to mosquito bites. Mosquitoes can pick up signals of human presence from about 50 meters by using their maxillary palp to detect carbon dioxide exhaled by humans. They then trail the carbon dioxide, about 5 - 15 meters they can see their targets and after that they would use thermal sensory to detect the heat from the body, and if all is good(smiles), they try to locate a landing site(hahaha) in order for them feed and that's when you start hearing that annoying buzzing sound. According to a chemist, named Ulrich R. Bernier;

So far, we have found more than 340 different chemical scents produced by human skin, and some of these attract mosquitoes. Source.

[Carbon Dioxide. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Benjah-bmm27. Public Domain]

Why are they more attracted to some people

There are various reasons why the tiny vampires are more attracted to some people than others, let me start with the genetic composition. It is believed that the genetic composition of individuals attract mosquitoes. A research study was carried out to prove this, by exposing identical twins and non-identical twins to a mosquito feasted room in order to observe the amount of bites they were given. Identical twins normally share a large majority of their genetics, as result of this, it was observed that they had a consistent amount of mosquito bites while the non-identical twins that normally have different genes, had inconsistent amount of mosquito bites indicating that genetics play some part to why mosquitoes are more attracted to some people that others.

There are still other reasons for this partial attraction, like blood type. It has been observed that people with blood Type O, are prone to mosquito bites like me sadly (crying). Pregnant women are more attracted to mosquitoes because they exhale about 21% more carbon dioxide, and mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide. Other reasons include; people with high cholesterol, people with steroids in their system, people with high amount of uric acid, people who are drinking beer(damn !!!!) and more. Let's now move on to the Bites and Scratches

Bites And Scratches

Many of us have gotten bitten by these tiny vampires, at some point even today for some of us(smiles). But after you have been bitten you get this kind of itchy feeling right? that makes you want to scratch the area where you were bitten, do you know why it so and do you know how these tiny winged preys bites us?

After these creatures(females) have trailed our scent and landed on our body, they stick in their proboscis which is like a hypodermic needle or a straw, that she uses to search for blood vessels and ones she finds one, she releases her saliva which contains anti-coagulant and proteins, which stops our blood from coagulating, and and keeps our blood flowing for her to quickly get filled. And while she releases her saliva, the hypopharynx lays on the labrum, which helps in pulling our blood into her abdomen. The question would then be, why the scratching?

As soon as the mosquito's saliva is released into our blood, our immune system reacts to the presence of the saliva by producing a substance called histamine which helps to attack and destroy any foreign substance(saliva) left behind by the mosquito. As soon as the histamine reaches the area where the mosquito bit, it causes the blood vessels in that area to swell and look like red bump on the skin, which would trigger other receptors and then lead to itching. According to Dr. Debra Sullivan, when asked Why do mosquito bites itch more after you scratch them?

When you scratch a mosquito bite, this causes the skin to become even more inflamed. Since inflammation causes your skin to itch, you can get into a cycle where scratching will cause even more of an itchy sensation. In addition, by continuing to scratch you run the risk of breaking the skin and causing an infection, leading to even more of an itch. Source.

[Red Bumps On Skin After Mosquito Bites. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Renzoy16. CC-BY-SA-3.0]

Types Of Mosquitoes And Their Diseases

There are about 3,500 species of these blood-sucking pests and 41 different types of genera. Out of these different numbers of genera, there are 3 broad categories where majority of different types of mosquitoes fall under and they are; Anopheles, Aedes, and Culex.

Anopheles

These are the type of mosquitoes that breed in still waters such as ponds, marshes and swamps. These are the most dangerous mosquitoes which are accountable for most malaria cases. The Anopheles specie known as the Gambiae species transmits the most deadly form of malaria, which is known as Plasmodium falciparum. They are mostly found in the wild plant life.

[Anopheles Gambiae Mosquito. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: James D. Gathany. Public Domain]

Aedes

These mosquitoes are anthropophagic in nature i.e they feed mainly on human blood. They are responsible for transmitting diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever and also responsible for causing lymphatic filariasis, which is an illness that can trigger elephantiasis. They mostly found in sub-tropical to temperate zones.

[ Aedes Albopicts. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: James Gathany. Public Domain]

Culex

These mosquitoes are the least dangerous as they prefer feeding on birds rather than us, humans. Although they are also responsible for transmitting diseases such as the West Nile virus, malaria, filariasis, and encephalitis. Unlike the Anopheles mosquitoes that breeds on still water surrounded by plant wild life, they breed in outdoor objects that are capable of carrying stagnant water, such as barrels, cans, used tires, etc.

[Culex Quinquefasciatus. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Author: Jim Gathany. Public Domain]

Other Diseases Transmitted By Mosquitoes Other Than Malaria

Most of us think that mosquitoes only transmit malaria, because that's what we know them for. I used to think that way sometime ago, that mosquitoes only transmit malaria, I didn't even conceive the idea that they could transmit other disease such as Dengue Fever, West Nile Virus and the new superstar virus that is gaining global recognition, Zika Virus. I know some of you guys haven't heard of some of these diseases I just mentioned, don't worry guys I gat you, I would briefly explain them to you guys. So let's go;

Dengue Fever

Dengue virus are transmitted by the female Aedes mosquitoes, to be more specific by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Unlike most mosquitoes these blood sucking pests are day time feeders and that's why I gave them a nickname Daywalkers Mosquitoes. These fever affects about 500 million people yearly and killing about 20,000 people. It has a low mortality rate because it can be easily treated. The signs or symptoms that someone may be infected by these mosquitoes are like that of malaria, which is divided into two, the uncomplicated and severe fever. For the uncomplicated fever symptoms may include; flu-like illness, skin rash, nausea and vomiting, headaches usually located behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains. While for the severe fever symptoms may include; there would be leakage of blood plasma from the blood vessels, there could be reduced white blood cells, which in turn reduces your immunity system and makes you vulnerable to other diseases, and there may also be severe bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract. Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for the dengue fever.

West Nile Virus

The West Nile Virus are transmitted by the female Culex mosquitoes, to be more specific the Culex pipiens, Culex tarsalis and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. Research studies have it that about 80% of those infected show no sign of infection and the other 20% usually show symptoms such as fever, headaches, tiredness, skin rash, swollen lymph glands, and nausea and vomiting. Among these 20% that show signs of infection, very few about 1% experience severe symptoms such as neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, stupor, tremors, convulsions, paralysis and may also experience neurological conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis. Unfortunately again, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for the West Nile Virus.

Zika Virus

Zika Virus are usually transmitted by the female Aedes mosquitoes, to be more specific by the Aedes aegypti, yes, the same blood sucking pests that transmits Dengue virus. The reason I said new superstar virus earlier on is that, it is gaining so much recognition that the World Health Organization (W.H.O) declared Zika Virus a public health emergency of International concern. They are just like the West Nile Virus, most people infected show no signs/symptoms of infection, making it very easy to spread to different places around the world. Although Zika Virus are mostly affecting people in tropical regions like in the Latin America and the Caribbean countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Haiti, Paraguay, El Salvador and many more. The signs/symptoms are like that of the Dengue fever such as high fever, skin rash, joint and muscle pain, red eyes, headaches behind the eyes and nausea and vomiting. It is however very very rare for people to die from Zika virus but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have some devastating effects. These devastating effects or complication affects women that are pregnant, as their unborn children may develop brain defects such as microcephaly which is a very rare neurological condition that mainly affects the head and brain size of a child, making it smaller as compared to children of same age. Unlike the other viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, the Zika virus can be transmitted sexually and also through blood transfusion. Yea, sexually and that is why it is advised that people who travel to Zika Virus infected places should make use of condoms and also make use of condoms six months after their trip in order not to spread the Virus.

[Image Of A Child With Microcephaly. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC-BY-SA-2.0]

Why Can't Mosquitoes Transmit HIV/AIDS

These tiny winged blood sucking pests can't transmit HIV/AIDS because it only sucks blood out of us and release saliva into us, it doesn't release blood into us but saliva, reason being that, the tube that injects saliva into blood in order to stop our blood from clotting while sucking our blood is separate from the tube that sucks up our blood into their guts, so only blood flows into the mosquito and not both ways. And also mosquitoes don't have the T cells like us humans, which is required for HIV to survive and replicate in it's host, so as soon as the HIV infected blood enters the mosquito's gut there are no T cells for survival and replication of the HIV virus, so it would be broken down by the mosquito's digestive system and hence, can't be transmitted.

As we have read, mosquitoes have lived with us from the beginning and would most likely continue to live with us, so it's best to prevent them by staying away from them by covering your body with long shirts and trousers, by using mosquito nets, by using insect repellent, and by always preventing standing water around your environment. Final thoughts Should Mosquitoes be completely wiped out?(smiles)

Till I Come Your Way Next Time, Stay Safe

Thanks For Reading

References

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All images used in this article are free source licensed under the Creative Commons and are liable for commercial use.

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