Category: Mosquito Bourne Diseases
Illinois confirms first 2025 human case of West Nile virus
Chicago Sun Times The case this year is the earliest detection in nearly a decade. The virus carried by mosquitoes poses the greatest risk to people over 65 and the immunocompromised. A downstate resident has tested positive for West Nile virus, marking the first detection of the mosquito-transmitted disease in humans in Illinois this year […]
Jun 25, 2025
We finally may be able to rid the world of mosquitoes. But should we?
Washington Post Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical questions. They buzz, they bite, and they cause some of the deadliest diseases known to humanity. Mosquitoes are perhaps the planet’s most universally reviled animals. If we could zap them off the face of the Earth, […]
Jun 3, 2025
Yellow fever cases spike in South America and near Caribbean
CNW The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued a new Rapid Risk Assessment (RRA) highlighting a sharp increase in yellow fever cases across the Americas, warning that the public health threat remains high in 2025. According to the report, released on May 23, confirmed human cases of yellow fever have surged to 221 so […]
May 28, 2025
DOH investigating travel-related Zika case on Oʻahu
Maui Now The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) is investigating a confirmed travel-related case of Zika virus on Oʻahu, along with two individuals who may have been exposed. The DOH asks for support in reducing the potential for the spread of Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes. Vector control teams are responding and will continue […]
May 28, 2025
Yellow Fever Resurgence Could Make COVID Look ‘Pale’ by Comparison
Science Alert Yellow fever is a dangerous mosquito-borne virus that, for hundreds of years, has caused sporadic, deadly outbreaks in the tropics of South America, Central America, and Africa. According to a new perspective from infectious disease specialists and the Yellow Fever Advisory Group, the chances of the virus going global have only increased with each passing decade. A recent resurgence in yellow fever […]
May 21, 2025
Panama’s Malaria Outbreak Produces Two Fatalities
VAX Before Travel In 1904, the Isthmus of Panama reported that tropical diseases such as malaria led to the death of an estimated 12,000 workers during the Panama Canal project. Over 100 years later, the mosquito-transmitted malaria continues to impact the health of the Republic of Panama. On May 9, 2025, Panama’s Ministry of Health […]
May 14, 2025
The deadly riddle of blackwater fever: the search for answers over illness killing Uganda’s children
The Guardian A dangerous complication of malaria turns urine dark with blood – but only affects some young patients in rural areas and not others. Puzzled experts are trying to find out why. By the age of six, Babirye Zainab had already contracted malaria several times. Her grandmother did not see it as a big […]
May 14, 2025
The virus that stalks urban neighborhoods
Yale Climate Connections West Nile sickened hundreds in the most affluent residential area in Dallas in 2012. Chicago, Los Angeles, and Sacramento suffer from hot spots, too. What’s helping it thrive in cities? Each summer, as mosquitoes begin to buzz, the risk of West Nile virus quietly rises — and cities aren’t immune. In 2012, […]
May 7, 2025
Scientists say global conditions are ripe for a yellow fever pandemic
Medical News A recent study published in the journal npj Viruses proposed that global trends, including unprecedented urbanization, increased international travel, and the expansion of mosquito habitats, increase the odds of the geographic spread of the yellow fever (YF) virus (YFV). YF, caused by YFV, is an acute viral illness in humans and several nonhuman primates. Unlike […]
Apr 30, 2025
Japanese encephalitis has claimed a second life in NSW and been detected in Brisbane. What is it?
The Conversation A second man has died from Japanese encephalitis virus in New South Wales on March 6, the state’s health authorities confirmed on Friday. Aged in his 70s, the man was infected while holidaying in the Murrumbidgee region. This follows the death of another man in his 70s in Sydney last month, after holidaying in the same region […]
Mar 18, 2025