FACTS

Mosquitoes Have Benefitted Science

1. Only the female bites to obtain a blood meal and that the male feeds on plant juices.
2. Female mosquitos may live as long as three weeks during the summer and many months in the winter.
3. All mosquitoes must have water in which to complete their life cycle.
4. There are about 2,800 different species of mosquitoes.
5. Most mosquitoes remain within 1 mile of their breeding site. A few species may range up to 20 miles or more.
6. There are over 150 described species of mosquitoes from North America. Several species have been accidentally introduced from other parts of the world.
7. Presently, the cues used by mosquitoes to find their hosts are poorly understood. Carbon dioxide (CO2), heat, octenol and light have been shown to be attractants. Other compounds tested such as lactic acid also have proved to attract certain species of biting insects.
8. Mosquitoes and the disease they carry readily transported through global commerce and travel, and changes in climate create ideal habitats for mosquito species to flourish in new areas of the U.S., more people in the states will be living in areas at risk for mosquito-borne disease transmission.

STATS

• Mosquitos are by far the deadliest creature in the world when it comes to annual human deaths, causing around 750,000 deaths per year, compared to 100,000 deaths from snakes and only six from sharks.
• While the mosquito may not be affected, these mosquito-borne diseases can cause immense suffering for humans. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, causing more than one million deaths.
• Common types of mosquito-borne diseases include malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika.
• In June 2018, University of Florida researchers announced that the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases had confirmed the first human case of the mosquito-borne Keystone virus. The case stemmed back to August 2016, when a teenage boy presented with a fever and severe rash. Initial tests did not confirm Zika virus or other pathogens. While an isolated case, it may indicate that other mosquito-borne viruses are present and not reported in the U.S.
• 49 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes in 2018. Overall, 2,647 cases of WNV were reported in humans, and there were 167 (6.3%) confirmed deaths in 2018. This data shows an increase from the number of human cases reported in 2017 (2,097). It also brings attention to the increase in lives lost, when compared to the 146 (7%) confirmed deaths in 2017 and the 106 (4.9%) confirmed deaths from WNV in 2016.