How Mosquitoes spread Malaria?
Mosquitoes are small, flying insects with six legs and long mouth parts — used to feed on blood and nectar. An article by Cleveland clinic writes that Aedes, Culex and Anopheles are the three different types of mosquitoes that exist in various parts of the world. Only the female Anopheles feed off of blood and it’s because they need the protein in blood to develop eggs. Mosquitoes bite and suck blood for reproduction. As much as mosquito bites don’t cause any lasting harm, they are dangerous because they spread diseases like Malaria which can be fatal.
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites that are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, called “malaria vectors.” A small amount of blood containing microscopic malaria parasites is taken in whenever an anopheles mosquito bites an infected person . After a week, when the mosquito takes its next blood meal, these parasites mix with the mosquito’s saliva and are injected into the person being bitten. The infected mosquito carries the disease from one human to another (acting as a “vector”), while infected humans transmit the parasite to the mosquito.
A Eurek Alert article reports that, In Africa malaria has traditionally been a rural disease with towns and cities associated with much lower levels or absence of malaria due to the fact that most African malaria mosquitoes breed in rural areas. In 2019, WHO reported that there were an estimated 229 million cases of malaria worldwide, with the WHO African Region carrying a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. The region was home to 94% of malaria cases and deaths.
WHO reports that there are more than 400 different species of Anopheles mosquito; around 30 are malaria vectors of major importance which bite between dusk and dawn. The intensity of transmission depends on factors related to the parasite, the vector, the human host, and the environment. The anopheles mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, which hatch into larvae, eventually emerging as adult mosquitoes. The female mosquitoes seek a blood meal to nurture their eggs. The species prefer aquatic habitat.