Mosquito-Borne Diseases
Mosquitos are more than a nuisance. Just one mosquito bite may ruin your holiday and some mosquito-borne diseases can have health impacts that last years.
The impact of climate change: The rise of the mosquito-borne diseases
A bite from an infected mosquito can lead to diseases like dengue and malaria, as well as viruses people may find less familiar like Chikungunya, which has been reported in more than 110 countries.
Currently, mosquito-borne diseases infect up to 700 million people each year.4 If current climate change trends persist, projections suggest that as many as 8.4 billion people could be at risk of contracting these diseases by the end of the century5 as climate change boosts mosquito-borne diseases.6
These diseases are being spread by mosquitoes
Chikungunya
This nasty little virus infects its victims through mosquito bites. It causes fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain, headaches, and skin rashes.
Dengue Fever
This unpleasant virus is spread through mosquito bites; it’s usually mild but it can be fatal. Symptoms include fever, severe headache, pain behind th ...
Japanese Encephalitis
A deadly virus which infects travellers across Asia and in Australia through mosquito bites. It can cause long term mental and physical disab ...
Malaria
A deadly disease which can infect travellers through mosquito bite. It causes fever, headache and chills. People travelling to Africa, Asia, the Middle Eas ...
What do I need to know about mosquito-borne diseases?
How are mosquito-borne diseases transmitted?
Hosts include domestic or wild animals and people. The virus develops and multiplies inside the mosquito. The infected mosquito then transmits the virus through its saliva when it bites another, uninfected host. By passing on the virus, the mosquito acts as a “vector” of the disease.
Why is the risk higher than before?
Climate change increases the spread of Aedes mosquitoes. Infected Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can transmit various arboviruses. This is why there is an increased incidence of mosquito-borne disease (like Dengue fever, Malaria, Japanese Encephalitis, Yellow fever, Chikungunya fever, Zika). Travelers to endemic areas are therefore exposed to the risk of infection.1
Can I also be infected in non-tropical climate?
Historically, these mosquitoes predominantly inhabited tropical and subtropical regions like South America and Southeast Asia.2 However, due to rising global temperatures and increased rainfall, these disease-carrying mosquitoes have expanded their reach. In recent years, they’ve infiltrated previously unaffected areas, such as Southern Europe.3
- Staples JE, et al. Center for Disease Control Yellow Book 2024. Travel-Associated Infections & Diseases. Chikungunya. Online verfügbar: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/infections-diseases/chikungunya.
- Kraemer MU, et al (2015). The global distribution of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Elife. pp.4.
- APHA Science Blog. Johnson, N (2023). What is all the buzz about mosquitoes? Available at: https://aphascience.blog.gov.uk/2023/08/20/world-mosquito-day-2023/.
- Qureshi, A (2018). Chapter 2 – Mosquito-Borne Diseases. Academic Press. pp.27–45
- World Economic Forum (2023)
- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/health-risk-climate-change-demands-collective-action-davos23/
AT-MBD-2500003
13-Feb-2025