Mosquito-borne diseases and control

Arboviral diseases — infections spread by mosquitoes and other arthropod vectors — include dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever, collectively affecting hundreds of millions of people each year and placing disproportionate burden on tropical and subtropical regions with limited healthcare infrastructure. The 2015–2016 Zika outbreak drew urgent attention to the neurological consequences of these infections, particularly congenital microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, revealing how an apparently mild illness can carry severe downstream effects that take years of epidemiological work to fully characterize. Researchers are now pursuing two intertwined challenges: developing safe, durable vaccines against flaviviruses like dengue and Zika — complicated by the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement, where prior infection can worsen a subsequent one — and designing vector control strategies that can reduce mosquito populations without causing ecological harm. Understanding how climate change is expanding mosquito habitats and reshaping transmission patterns remains one of the most pressing open questions in the epidemiology of these diseases.

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Keywords

Arboviral DiseasesZika VirusDengueMosquito-borneEpidemiologyMicrocephaly