World Mosquito Day

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Ronald Ross Ronald Ross.jpg
Ronald Ross
Plaque of the discovery of transmission of Malaria Ronald Ross 1.jpg
Plaque of the discovery of transmission of Malaria

World Mosquito Day, observed annually on 20 August, is a commemoration of British doctor Sir Ronald Ross's discovery in 1897 that female anopheline mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. [1] Prior to the discovery of the transmitting organism, vector, there were few means for controlling the spread of the disease although the discovery of quinine in treatment had alleviated the problem of treatment. According to one survey, nearly half the world population was at significant risk from malaria in the 19th century with a 10% mortality among those infected. [2] Ross had already conducted experiments with Culex (possibly C. fatigans) fed on birds infected with bird malaria Protesoma relictum (now Plasmodium relictum) in 1894 and noted that they developed in mosquito gut and had surmised that the same may happen in malaria. [3] The discovery was made in a small a laboratory in Begumpet area of Secunderabad, Hyderabad. Today the laboratory is known as the Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology and houses a small museum on Ross and his malaria research. [1] Ross had noted the day of the discovery made in Secunderabad (printed incorrectly as 1895, but definitely 1897 based on his postings). [4]

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The 20 August 1895[ sic ]-the anniversary of which I always call Mosquito Day - was, I think, a cloudy, dull hot day. I went to hospital at 7 a.m., examined my patients, and attended to official correspondence; but was much annoyed because my men had failed to bring any more larvae of the dappled-winged mosquitoes, and still more because one of my three remaining Anopheles had died during the night and had swelled up with decay. After a hurried breakfast at the Mess, I returned to dissect the cadaver (Mosquito 36), but found nothing new in it. I then examined a small Stegomyia, which happened to have been fed on Husein Khan on the same day (the 16th) —Mosquito 87—which was also negative, of course. At about I p.m. I determined to sacrifice the seventh Anopheles (A. stephensi) of the batch fed on the 16th, Mosquito 38, although my eyesight was already fatigued. Only one more of the batch remained.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine holds Mosquito Day celebrations every year, including events such as parties and exhibitions, a tradition dating back to as early as the 1930s. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaria</span> Medical condition

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other vertebrates. Human malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. Symptoms usually begin 10 to 15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. If not properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease months later. In those who have recently survived an infection, reinfection usually causes milder symptoms. This partial resistance disappears over months to years if the person has no continuing exposure to malaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Ross</span> British medical doctor and Nobel laureate (1857–1932)

Sir Ronald Ross was a British medical doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on the transmission of malaria, becoming the first British Nobel laureate, and the first born outside Europe. His discovery of the malarial parasite in the gastrointestinal tract of a mosquito in 1897 proved that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes, and laid the foundation for the method of combating the disease.

<i>Anopheles</i> Genus of mosquito

Anopheles or Marsh Mosquitoes is a genus of mosquito first described and named by J. W. Meigen in 1818. About 460 species are recognized; while over 100 can transmit human malaria, only 30–40 commonly transmit parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which cause malaria in humans in endemic areas. Anopheles gambiae is one of the best known, because of its predominant role in the transmission of the most dangerous malaria parasite species – Plasmodium falciparum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Battista Grassi</span> Italian politician (1854–1925)

Giovanni Battista Grassi was an Italian physician and zoologist, best known for his pioneering works on parasitology, especially on malariology. He was Professor of Comparative Zoology at the University of Catania from 1883, and Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Sapienza University of Rome from 1895 until his death. His scientific contributions covered embryological development of honey bees, on helminth parasites, the vine parasite phylloxera, on migrations and metamorphosis in eels, and on termites. He was the first to describe and establish the life cycle of the human malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, and discovered that only female anopheline mosquitoes are capable of transmitting the disease. His works in malaria remain a lasting controversy in the history of Nobel Prizes, because a British army surgeon Ronald Ross, who discovered the transmission of malarial parasite in birds was given the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. But Grassi, who demonstrated the complete route of transmission of human Plasmodium, and correctly identified the types of malarial parasite as well as the mosquito vector, Anopheles claviger, was denied.

<i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> Species of single-celled organism

Plasmodium knowlesi is a parasite that causes malaria in humans and other primates. It is found throughout Southeast Asia, and is the most common cause of human malaria in Malaysia. Like other Plasmodium species, P. knowlesi has a life cycle that requires infection of both a mosquito and a warm-blooded host. While the natural warm-blooded hosts of P. knowlesi are likely various Old World monkeys, humans can be infected by P. knowlesi if they are fed upon by infected mosquitoes. P. knowlesi is a eukaryote in the phylum Apicomplexa, genus Plasmodium, and subgenus Plasmodium. It is most closely related to the human parasite Plasmodium vivax as well as other Plasmodium species that infect non-human primates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical entomology</span> Study of insect impacts on human health

The discipline of medical entomology, or public health entomology, and also veterinary entomology is focused upon insects and arthropods that impact human health. Veterinary entomology is included in this category, because many animal diseases can "jump species" and become a human health threat, for example, bovine encephalitis. Medical entomology also includes scientific research on the behavior, ecology, and epidemiology of arthropod disease vectors, and involves a tremendous outreach to the public, including local and state officials and other stake holders in the interest of public safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avian malaria</span> Parasitic disease of birds

Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds, caused by parasite species belonging to the genera Plasmodium and Hemoproteus. The disease is transmitted by a dipteran vector including mosquitoes in the case of Plasmodium parasites and biting midges for Hemoproteus. The range of symptoms and effects of the parasite on its bird hosts is very wide, from asymptomatic cases to drastic population declines due to the disease, as is the case of the Hawaiian honeycreepers. The diversity of parasites is large, as it is estimated that there are approximately as many parasites as there are species of hosts. As research on human malaria parasites became difficult, Dr. Ross studied avian malaria parasites. Co-speciation and host switching events have contributed to the broad range of hosts that these parasites can infect, causing avian malaria to be a widespread global disease, found everywhere except Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disease vector</span> Agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism

In epidemiology, a disease vector is any living agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen to another living organism; agents regarded as vectors are organisms, such as parasites or microbes. The first major discovery of a disease vector came from Ronald Ross in 1897, who discovered the malaria pathogen when he dissected a mosquito.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amico Bignami</span> Italian physician and pathologist (1862–1929)

Amico Bignami was an Italian physician, pathologist, malariologist and sceptic. He was professor of pathology at Sapienza University of Rome. His most important scientific contribution was in the discovery of transmission of human malarial parasite in the mosquito.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of malaria</span> History of malaria infections

The history of malaria extends from its prehistoric origin as a zoonotic disease in the primates of Africa through to the 21st century. A widespread and potentially lethal human infectious disease, at its peak malaria infested every continent except Antarctica. Its prevention and treatment have been targeted in science and medicine for hundreds of years. Since the discovery of the Plasmodium parasites which cause it, research attention has focused on their biology as well as that of the mosquitoes which transmit the parasites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosquito-borne disease</span> Diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes

Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people get a mosquito-borne illness each year resulting in over 725,000 deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology</span>

Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology is a malaria research institute located in Begumpet, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, India. Established in 1955, the institute is a division of Osmania University. The institute is named after Sir Ronald Ross, winner of Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1902.

<i>Anopheles darlingi</i> Species of fly

Anopheles darlingi, the American malaria mosquito, is a species of mosquito in the family Culicidae. A. darlingi is one of the major species of mosquito known to be responsible for malaria in the Amazonian regions. It has a wide range of geographic distribution that stretches from Mexico and Argentina but it has also been found to populate in areas affected by deforestation and environment changes due to humans.

<i>Anopheles claviger</i> Species of mosquito

Anopheles claviger is a mosquito species found in Palearctic realm covering Europe, North Africa, northern Arabian Peninsula, and northern Asia. It is responsible for transmitting malaria in some of these regions. The mosquito is made up of a species complex consisting of An. claviger sensu stricto and An. petragnani Del Vecchio. An. petragnani is found only in western Mediterranean region, and is reported to bite only animals; hence, it is not involved in human malaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosquito-malaria theory</span> Scientific theory

Mosquito-malaria theory was a scientific theory developed in the latter half of the 19th century that solved the question of how malaria was transmitted. The theory proposed that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes, in opposition to the centuries-old medical dogma that malaria was due to bad air, or miasma. The first scientific idea was postulated in 1851 by Charles E. Johnson, who argued that miasma had no direct relationship with malaria. Although Johnson's hypothesis was forgotten, the arrival and validation of the germ theory of diseases in the late 19th century began to shed new lights. When Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran discovered that malaria was caused by a protozoan parasite in 1880, the miasma theory began to subside.

<i>Anopheles sinensis</i> Species of mosquito

Anopheles sinensis is a species of mosquito that transmits malaria as well as lymphatic filariasis. It is regarded as the most important vector of these human parasitic diseases in Southeast Asia. It is the primary vector of vivax malaria in many regions. In China it also transmits the filalarial parasite, and arthropod roundworm. In Japan it is also a vector of a roundworm Setaria digitata in sheep and goats.

<i>Eilat virus</i> Species of virus

Eilat virus (EILV) is a unique Alphavirus which is known mainly for its host range restriction generally to insects by means of RNA replication. The virus is found in the Negev desert. It is incapable of infecting vertebrate cells, differentiating it from other alphaviruses.

<i>Anopheles freeborni</i> Species of Mosquito

Anopheles freeborni, commonly known as the western malaria mosquito, is a species of mosquito in the family Culicidae. It is typically found in the western United States and Canada. Adults are brown to black, with yellow-brown hairs and gray-brown stripes on the thorax. Their scaly wings have four dark spots, which are less distinct in the male.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quartan fever</span> Medical condition

Quartan fever is one of the four types of malaria which can be contracted by humans.

<i>Anopheles minimus</i> Species of fly

Anopheles minimus is a species of mosquito can be found around Oriental region included: India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Southern China comprising Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.It was the main vector of malaria.

References

  1. 1 2 Datta, Rangan (20 August 2023). "How Ronald Ross linked the mosquito bite to malaria parasites". The Telegraph. My Kolkata. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  2. Carter, Richard; Mendis, Kamini N. (2002). "Evolutionary and Historical Aspects of the Burden of Malaria". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 15 (4): 564–594. doi:10.1128/CMR.15.4.564-594.2002. ISSN   0893-8512. PMC   126857 . PMID   12364370.
  3. Cox, Francis EG (2010). "History of the discovery of the malaria parasites and their vectors". Parasites & Vectors. 3 (1): 5. doi:10.1186/1756-3305-3-5. ISSN   1756-3305. PMC   2825508 . PMID   20205846.
  4. Ross, Ronald (1923). Memoirs : with a full account of the great malaria problem and its solution. London: John Murray. p. 223.
  5. "Health and Science - Abuzz over malaria on World Mosquito Day". AlertNet. Retrieved 21 November 2012.