The Problem Of Zika Virus And Dengue Caused By Mosquitos
Mosquitos are becoming more of a threat now in Queensland, the Zika virus is the highest threat, but the Dengue is still up there as it is spreading to further places but not an as poisons as the zika. There are many more mosquitoes that are in the Far North Queensland such as Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Japanese encephalitis, Murray Valley encephalitis, Chikungunya virus, Malaria, West Nile virus kunjin subtype and Yellow fever.
The number one mosquito that is most of the concern now in the Far North Queensland is the Aedes aegypti which carries dengue and zika virus. So far, the Aedes aegypti is only in parts of Northern, Central and Southwest Queensland and the Aedes albopictus mosquito are only in the Torres Strait Islands. This virus isn’t usually presented in the north of Queensland but it can be brought here by visitors or people returning from overseas that travelled in an effected area, that have gotten infected and are now in the north and if a mosquito from here were to bite the infected person it would now be in that mosquito and all that mozzie has to do is bite another person and so on, there are dengue outbreaks that occur each year.
The conditions that are causing more results in mosquito borne dieses are, the weather and especially here because in summer we have rain so it could be raining and the next sunny which is when the mozzies would breed, they breed in many places but mainly around water, such as creeks, in wheelbarrows, buckets, birdbaths, tyres, pot plants, swamps, tarps, toy cars, puddles and even letter boxes. The mosquitos lay their eggs in those places they then turn into larvae and then pupae oven that time they are aquatic and after that they are then adult mosquitoes and are now terrestrial. Climate change is playing a role in the Far North Queensland region, it is usually hot and humid with a distinct wet season from December to March. In the last decade there has been a minimal change in annual average temperature from 24.4 °C to 24.5 °C. Projections indicate that by 2070 there will be an increase of up to 3.9 °C.
The measures currently in place to control the Dengue virus is to try and break the cycle, there is also surveillance which is to monitor the number of them in each area. This requires effort from the government, quarantine officers from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, health authorities and the public. Also, mosquito killing traps and sprays. There is a global strategy for future controls that will be taken upon dengue, to reduce morbidity and mortality, rationalize the disease response, and build capacities that increase resilience to future outbreaks by at least 50 % and 25%. Steps that can be taken to improve risk assessment and mapping, stockpiling and logistics, surveillance and diagnostic capacity, behavioural and social interventions, and risk communication. It can also be controlled by implementing early case detection and appropriate management of severe cases; reorienting health services to identify early cases and manage dengue outbreaks effect. Research will also continue to play a big role in controlling the dengue.
Conclusion
As you can see dengue and zika are and have caused a lot of problems and they are becoming broader over time so we are hoping that the current controls against them are working and that the future controls will work.
