Protecting your health from mosquito-borne diseases this rainy season
The pathogen (virus or parasite) is consumed by the female mosquito when it bites an infected human or animal. The pathogen grows and enters the mosquito's salivary glands, where it is spread by further bites. Some examples of viruses caused by mosquito bites are dengue, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile virus and yellow fever. Malaria is a parasitic disease spread by plasmodium through Anopheles mosquitoes. Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), is a parasitic worm disease spread by a number of genera of mosquito (e.g., Culex, Anopheles).
Studies show that over 7,00,000 people die each year from vector-borne illnesses, which make up around 17% of infectious diseases worldwide. About 80% of people are at risk, and the number of cases is increasing as a result of travel, urbanisation, climate change, and mosquito adaptation.
The Aedes mosquitoes are the primary cause of regular dengue and chikungunya outbreaks in India, particularly during the monsoon season. Vector control, diagnosis, and surveillance is spearheaded by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP).
Recognising symptoms
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Dengue virus symptoms include fever, headache, eye pain, muscle pain, and rash. If not treated promptly, it can lead to severe complications including dengue haemorrhagic fever, plasma leakage, and shock syndrome, which can be fatal.
The symptoms for Chikungunya virus include sudden high fever, severe joint pain, and rash. It can also lead to chronic joint pain lasting for months, with rare cases involving neurological complications..
Zika and Aedes virus symptoms are typically mild, including rash, fever, conjunctivitis, joint pain, and headache. However, it can cause serious complications including birth defects (microcephaly) in pregnant women and neurological syndromes in adults.
Most people infected with the West Nile Virus won't show symptoms. When symptoms occur, they can include fever, headache, muscle pain, and rash. In rare cases, it can cause severe diseases like encephalitis, meningitis, or paralysis.
Malaria symptoms include fever, chills, headache, vomiting, anaemia and jaundice. If it progresses to cerebral malaria, it can cause organ failure and even death, if left untreated. Lymphatic filariasis often doesn't show symptoms early on, but later it can cause lymph swelling, elephantiasis, and associated health risks, often followed by social stigmatisation.
Disease management and care
The majority of these illnesses are mainly managed with supportive care, which includes rest, fluids, and analgesics. Early detection to prevent major illness or death from developing (example -- dengue shock, cerebral malaria, neuro-invasive WNV) also enables supportive care and prompt interventions, lowers the viral load, which also prevents further transmission (e.g., dengue). To stay safe from these diseases we recommend using bed nets, sleeping in air-conditioned or screened rooms, and dressing in long-sleeved shirts and slacks. Lower the amount of standing water in homes.
At the level of public health and the community, In India, the NVBDCP encourages the following: fogging during outbreaks; larvicidal measures like Abate and the use of larvivorous fish; indoor residual spraying (DDT, IRS). Community mobilisation and public education; promoting community involvement through awareness campaigns, clean-up drives, and surveillance are also encouraged.
(Dr. Anu Preethi Dorai is a family physician at Apollo Medical Center, Anna Nagar, Chennai. preethivirgo91@gmail.com)
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