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Aedes aegypti (UK: / ˈ iː d iː z /; US: / eɪ d z / or / ˈ eɪ d iː z / from Greek αηδής 'hateful' and / eɪ ˈ dʒ ɪ p t i / from Latin, meaning 'of Egypt'), the yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease agents.
Although dengue fever has a global incidence of 50–100 million cases, only several hundreds of thousands of these cases are life-threatening. The geographic prevalence of the disease can be examined by the spread of Aedes aegypti. [60] Over the last twenty years, there has been a geographic spread of the disease.
Zika is primarily spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, [38] and can also be transmitted through sexual contact [39] or blood transfusions. [40] The basic reproduction number ( R 0 , a measure of transmissibility) of Zika virus has been estimated to be between 1.4 and 6.6 .
The mosquito Aedes aegypti feeding on a human host. Dengue virus is most frequently transmitted by the bite of mosquitos in the Aedes genus, particularly A. aegypti. [32] They prefer to feed at dusk and dawn, [33] but they may bite and thus spread infection at any time of day. [34]
[19] [170] A strain of Wolbachia helped to reduce the vector competence of the Zika virus in infected Aedes aegypti released in Medellin, Colombia. [171] Gene drive is a technique for changing wild populations, for instance to combat insects so they cannot transmit diseases (in particular mosquitoes in the cases of malaria and Zika). [172]
A henipavirus is a genus of viruses that is zoonotic, which means it can be spread from animals to humans. New Bird Flu Strain Detected On Poultry Farm As Experts Monitor Mutations
The Aedes aegypti mosquito usually bites in the morning and afternoon hours, and can be identified by the white stripes on its legs. [98] The mosquito species (Aedes aegypti, mainly, and Aedes albopictus) that can spread Zika virus can also spread dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. [99]
Many of these species are also known to bite humans and can transmit diseases through their bites. The subgenera within Aedes include Stegomyia, Ochlerotatus, Finlaya, and Diceromyia. Overall, Aedes mosquitoes pose a significant threat to public health and disease prevention efforts must be taken seriously to combat their spread.