Word: mosquito
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...Number of people in India infected with chikungunya fever?a mosquito-borne illness similar to dengue fever?since its re-emergence there in 2005. The disease reached Italy last summer, and recently Singapore has reported outbreaks...
...first time ever, UNICEF has reported that the number of child deaths for the year has fallen below 10 million. Fifteen of the least developed countries have reduced the under-5 mortality rate 40% or more since 1990, thanks to vaccines, health education, mosquito nets and a little vitamin A. Global progress at a glance...
...funding goes to controlling avian flu, a disease that affects far fewer people but has a higher fear factor worldwide. Health organizations such as the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are stressing the link between climate change and disease, hoping to get more money to fight mosquito-borne illnesses. "This is a critical moment," says Dr. Maria Neira, director of the WHO's program on public health and the environment. "If the public pressure is maintained, the politicians will act accordingly." Waiting for dengue fever to burn itself out may be the only option for individuals...
...That's because the mosquito that infects most people with dengue, the striped Aedes aegypti, does better in warm, wet weather. Regions experiencing rising temperatures and longer rainy seasons are seeing large outbreaks year after year, and what has previously been thought of as a tropical disease is popping up in more temperate regions. Nepal and Bhutan saw their first cases in recent years, as did isolated spots such as Easter Island. Today, an estimated 2.5 billion people live in areas where dengue is endemic. The WHO expects millions more will be added in coming years. "Dengue is an evolving...
...Weather isn't doing the job alone. As more and more people migrate to cities, they create additional opportunities for the mosquito to spread the virus. The problem is particularly acute in developing countries, where inadequate utilities mean residents must store water in jars and tanks - prime breeding grounds for the Aedes aegypti. Increasing air travel is also a factor as infected fliers spread the disease quickly worldwide. "It's simplistic to suggest that the increasing outbreak is solely caused by climate change," says Simon Hales, a senior research fellow at New Zealand's University of Otago. "But those...