World Mosquito Day is observed every year on August 20. The day was established in honour of Sir Ronald Ross's discovery in 1897. Ross researched and found that Anopheles mosquitoes infect malaria to humans.
On this day, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has been organising events and awareness campaigns since the 1930s to mark the British doctor's work in healthcare. In 1902, Ross became the first British person to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine.
There are more than three thousand species of mosquitoes in the world today. Of those, only about three cause serious diseases.
Female Anopheles is the main vector of malaria, while, female Aedes aegypti transmits dengue, chikungunya, zika, and yellow fever. Culex can lead to Japanese encephalitis, lymphatic filariasis, West Nile fever.
Prevention is always better than cure; from long-sleeved clothes to insect repellents, people can try to escape the mosquito bites.
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