World Mosquito Day 2022: History, Significance and Facts

World Mosquito Day 2022 : History

It was on 20 August 1897 that a British doctor Sir Ronald Ross discovered the culprit - female Anopheles mosquitoes - solely responsible for spreading malaria and death across the globe. Just so you know, mosquito doesn't cause malaria. Malaria parasite does! but the parasite can't infect human unless someone transmit it into the human body. And that mosquito - female Anopheles mosquitoes - becomes its carrier.

Malaria was treatable even back then as its medicine - quinine - had already been discovered. But the lack of its availability everywhere was killing thousands of people every year. It still does, even in 21st century.

World Mosquito Day 2022: Significance

Over 7.6 million lives have been saved, and 1.5 billion malaria cases have been prevented, through the global fight against mosquitoes since 2000.

World Mosquito Day 2022: Facts

• Mosquito can make you sick, disable, and in extreme cases dead.
• Elephantiasis - one of the world's biggest causes of disability - is caused by mosquito. Yes, they are the ones who carry the parasite 'Lymphatic Filariasis' responsible for this disability.
• As per one WHO report, mosquitoes kill nearly 7-10 lakh people annually by transmitting diseases. And malaria is responsible for almost 90% of those fatalities.
• So we can say that mosquito has killed more human in the last century (almost a million every year) than both of the world wars (60-70 millions) did together.

How the World Mosquito Day is celebrated?

Seminars and exhibitions are organized to raise awareness about, and to salute scientists and other people who have contributed towards fighting, malaria.

Why do we hate mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes suck our blood and we hate them for it. But believe me, it should be the least of our worries as they can be far more deadlier. They are deadly because they carry and transmit diseases that can kill us.

How to get rid of mosquitoes forever?

Well, we can't! At least with the technological advances we have made thus far. But even if we do reach that stage some day, eliminating them might tilt the ecological balance for the worse. Mosquitoes do play an essential role in the ecosystem by being a food source for many organisms.

10 Interesting facts about mosquito:

• Only female mosquitoes bite; male mosquito quite comfortably lives off plants.
• Human blood help them in reproduction. It contains the protein that female mosquito needs to develop eggs.
• There are humongous 110 trillion mosquitoes in the world, spread across close to 3000 species.
• Mosquitoes detect us by the temperature and smell emitted by us.
• Their eyes are worthless. They don't see us but rather detect us by the infra-red radiation our warm bodies emit. This is why, come night or day, they continue to feed on us.
• Mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide and lactic acid. The more you produce these, the more attractive target you become. That's why some people are more attacked by mosquitoes than other.
• Bigger and more active/fidgety people invite more mosquitoes. Being still can help you avoid few mosquito bites.
• Mosquitoes can drink a lot of blood; almost 3 times their weight. And it will take almost 12 lakh mosquito bites to drain you out of blood.
• Mosquito is the deadliest creature for us humans, still killing close to a million people every year.
• Mosquitoes can detect carbon dioxide - that you keep breathing out - from as far as 75 feet.

Diseases caused by mosquito

• Dengue
• Chikungunya
• Cholera
• Influenza
• Zika Virus
• Yellow Fever

How to avoid mosquitoes?

• There are many ways to avoid mosquitoes. Using mosquito-net is perhaps the oldest and the best one.
• Use mosquito repellent when you are on the move. They are available in variety of forms: cream, lotion, spray, gas (smoke), gel.

Mosquito repellents work in two ways:

• By crippling the sensory perception of mosquitoes. Now the mosquito can't detect its prey which is you and me.
• By masking the distinctive body odour that human skin emits