How to Avoid Mosquito-Borne Illness
As warmer weather approaches, it’s time to start worrying about that most irritating of common insects: the mosquito. Whether you’re traveling to a place where mosquitoes – and the resulting mosquito-borne illnesses – are rampant or you just want to make sure your kids are safe in your own backyard, it’s important to take steps to avoid pesky and potentially dangerous bites.
To get the best tips on stopping mosquitoes and mosquito viruses in their tracks, we sat down with Dr. Deborah Mulligan, MDLIVE’s Chief Medical Affairs Officer and an accomplished pediatric emergency medicine physician. She gave us all the information you’ll need to keep mosquito bites at bay.
First Things First: What diseases are spread by mosquitoes?
Everyone has probably heard about the dreaded Zika virus in the news lately, but Zika is just one virus spread primarily by mosquito bites. Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Chikungunya, and West Nile are all transmitted by mosquitoes, and all can produce harmful symptoms.
So, how can we prevent the transmission of these diseases?
As people travel to other countries and even various parts of the United States, they can contract mosquito-borne illnesses and then spread them to new areas where mosquitoes live. But we all can play a part in keeping these pandemics under control. Here’s how: