Mosquito-borne diseases have been recorded in human history for thousands of years as major causes of disability and death. No one, however, realised mosquitoes were vectors of the diseases until the end of the 19th century. The first breakthrough came in 1877 when British doctor Patrick Manson discovered that a Culex species of mosquito could carry the human filarial roundworm.
Over the next two decades, he and other researchers from France, Italy, Russia, and the USA turned to malaria, a major killer in tropical and temperate countries. They slowly completed the complex jigsaw of malaria transmission and biology in humans and mosquitoes.
In 1894, Manson persuaded Ronald Ross, a medical officer in the Indian Medical Service, to study mosquitoes as the likely vector of the malaria parasite. After years of fruitless research, Ross finally proved in 1897 that Anopheles mosquitoes could carry the malaria parasite. He called the day of his discovery, 20 August 1897, “Mosquito Day.” The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine later named 20 August World Mosquito Day to mark the significance of his discovery, which is celebrated annually.
This critical link to the Anopheles mosquito also showed that practical measures to prevent mosquito bites and control mosquito populations — vector control — could be used to prevent malaria.
Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil Initial, discusses the threat from mosquitoes worldwide and Rentokil’s commitment to protecting people and enhancing lives through our vector control work.
Many mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, Zika, chikungunya and West Nile fever have been undergoing a resurgence in recent years. According to the WHO’s Communicable disease threats report dated February 2022 “Chikungunya virus disease and dengue are vector-borne diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya virus diseases have been reported globally in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe. Chikungunya virus disease and dengue are not endemic in mainland Europe, despite autochthonous outbreaks having been reported during the summer and autumn months in recent years.”
Rapid urbanisation, increases in international trade and travel and changing agricultural practises are all contributing to the increases in mosquito and other vector-borne diseases. History shows that vector control efforts need to be continuously supported by all countries to maintain expertise and capacity. This is essential to detect threats, prevent resurgence of deadly diseases and cope with new outbreaks of diseases.
More than one million people around the world die from mosquito-borne diseases every year, and hundreds of millions more experience pain and suffering from illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes.