Mosquitoes are the world's deadliest animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A warmer planet could see a rise in mosquito populations and the harmful diseases they spread.
What's happening?
ABC11 reported on the awful impact a mosquito-borne disease had on a young boy in North Carolina. Granger Horney was just 5 years old when he was infected with La Crosse virus, although health care providers thought it was only a viral illness. His parents said, "We took him to the emergency room probably three times."
People get La Crosse virus when they are bitten by an infected mosquito. Most cases occur in the upper Midwestern, mid-Atlantic, and Southeastern states, according to the CDC.
Symptoms can include fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Some people go on to develop much more serious diseases, such as encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the brain.
Luckily, Horney went on to make a full recovery, but this virus most often impacts children. Vector-borne disease expert Ross Boyce said: "You can get brain damage when inflammation happens with the infection. Twenty percent of kids can end up with learning disabilities, migraines, epilepsy, behavioral problems."
Why are mosquito-borne diseases important?
According to the World Mosquito Program, mosquito-borne diseases impact around 700 million people each year.
These vector-borne diseases have been around for thousands of years, but there is evidence that the planet's rising temperatures and changing weather could be creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes to flourish.
An increase in storms and heavy rains creates the perfect conditions for mosquitoes to breed and spread to new locations where they may not usually be found.
As Katie Anders, director of impact assessment at the World Mosquito Program, said: "Rising global temperatures are causing an expansion in the areas in which mosquitoes thrive. This puts more communities at risk and makes more months each year favourable to disease transmission in places already prone to mosquito-borne disease."
What's being done about mosquito-borne diseases?
A sustainable new technique to make mosquitoes safer is introducing the bacteria Wolbachia to mosquito populations and letting them spread through breeding. The bacteria don't harm the mosquitoes but prevent the insects from transmitting diseases.
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Do you worry about getting diseases from bug bites?
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Absolutely 👍 To keep yourself safe from mosquitoes and the diseases they spread, you can make your own repellent spray using vanilla extract or plant herbs and flowers in your garden that keep mosquitoes away, such as lavender, peppermint, and thyme.
As for Horney, he and his family turned his scary infection into an opportunity to increase awareness of vector-borne diseases by participating in a study.
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