Mosquitoes

– Mosquitoes have always been one of mankind’s greatest global health threats. Worldwide, mosquito borne disease places a huge burden on individuals and communities. Malaria kills around 1 million people on the planet each year. 40% of the world’s population is at risk of Dengue with more than 50 million people infected each year (WHO 20092). In Australia, each year 4-5 thousand notifications of Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus are reported. Emerging mosquito borne diseases including West Nile virus , Zika virus and Chikungunya virus are advancing on a global front. Control of the increasing threat of mosquito borne disease is highly dependent on multidisciplinary approaches including medical research, clinical treatment and prophylaxis, epidemiology, medical entomology and applied technology managing the mosquito vectors of disease –