A little miracle of evolution, an ancient arthropod dating back to the age of the dinosaurs, and a flying vector for disease: the humble mosquito may seem to be nothing more than an annoying pest, but this tiny fly is among the deadliest creatures ever to exist on earth, conveying diseases from Zika to Dengue, and the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria. Take that, Shark Week!
To better understand how diseases spread through mosquitos, we first need to know more about these insects. Eric Westhus, PhD, data scientist and member of RGA’s Global Research and Data Analytics team, specializes in using data to build simulations that reveal how infections rise, advance, and decline. We sat down with Eric to discuss mosquitos and disease – and what insurers need to know; please also see the above video. Warning: What he shared with us might have you reaching for the bug spray!
No creature on earth seems to be as universally hated as the mosquito. Are these insects just misunderstood?
It depends on who you ask. People who have resided in warm, wet climates are very familiar with mosquitos, the diseases they carry, and the dangers they pose. Those of us in the more temperate regions should get to know mosquitos too, and that’s because there is ample evidence that mosquitos are moving – and carrying diseases with them – as the climate changes and the world becomes more interconnected.
Tell us a little more about the mosquito.
Everything in biology or psychology starts with understanding your critter. The mosquito is part of a family of fly: Culicidae. We’re looking at 40-plus genera, 3,500 species – but only three that are important disease vectors:
- Anopheles, responsible for transmitting malaria;
- Aedes/Ochleotatus, once mostly endemic to Africa and Southeast Asia but now found in the Americas and Europe;
- and Culex, responsible for transmitting West Nile.
In many ways, the mosquito is worthy of our admiration. The entire mosquito life cycle can be counted in days, and yet mosquitos were buzzing around on earth long before people came to be. Also, only the female – in search of protein for her eggs – consumes blood. Her saliva contains an anti-coagulant to keep things flowing and often transmits viruses from vector to host. Males, meanwhile, are vegans and only sip flower nectar. Insurers and healthcare providers would be well-served to better understand these bugs in order to grasp the risks they pose.
You mention improving our understanding of risk, yet it seems as though scientists know a lot.
Yes and no. We know, for example, that malaria is a protozoan – a single-celled, animal-like parasite. It’s carried by the mosquito and causes substantial mortality and sickness. It can be prevented through chemoprophylaxis and treated upon infection, but we’ve had real challenges in recent years. Consider a collection of viruses that have made headlines as they’ve turned up in unexpected places: Arboviruses such as Dengue or “breakbone” fever, Zika virus, and Chickungunya. These historically occur in tropics and subtropics but they’ve followed their vectors – Aedes mosquitos – into more temperate climates, where communities were not prepared.
There are no widely effective vaccinations, nor are there very effective antivirals, for these diseases.Read More +