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Death Angels
Mosquitoes may be small, but they are deadly. As NATURE's BLOODY SUCKERS shows, these agile buzzers are probably responsible for more human deaths each year than any other animal. That's because they can pass along a host of diseases -- from malaria to dengue fever -- that claim millions of lives.
Today, most of the victims of mosquito-borne diseases live in the developing nations
of the tropics, where a combination of climate and poor health care boosts the
terrible toll. But in 1999, the citizens of wealthy nations got a fresh reminder
of the threat posed by mosquitoes when West Nile Virus -- a potentially lethal
mosquito-borne virus long known in Asia, Europe, and Africa -- appeared for the
first time in North America. Since the virus claimed its first human victim in
New York City, it has spread west across the continent, infecting at least 1,500
people and killing nearly 100.
Like much of the viral cargo carried by mosquitoes, West Nile Virus doesn't really target people. It's a virus that evolved to attack birds. Its human victims are innocent bystanders, and mosquitoes are the virus' unwitting carriers, ferrying the virus from infected birds to people (and back). The mosquitoes themselves aren't harmed by the virus, and even most people survive infection with little more than aches and pains.
Many birds, on the other hand, succumb: researchers estimate that West Nile Virus has killed at least 100,000 crows and blue jays in the United States. Indeed, the sudden presence of dead crows is often the first clue that West Nile has arrived. And bird experts worry that the virus could have a serious impact on other wild bird populations, since more than 100 species have become infected.
Mosquitos breed quickly in standing water. |
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Although the virus can literally fly across the landscape, its quick and lethal
spread across North America has surprised many scientists. They aren't sure how
it got here, although they believe it came from the Middle East. But they do know
that, as of late 2002, it had spread to 42 U.S. states and four of Canada's ten
provinces. "It's really amazing to me how fast it's going," Laura Kramer, a virologist
at the New York State Department of Health in Guilderland, recently told SCIENCE
magazine. And the spread is likely to continue: researchers believe migrating
birds could eventually carry West Nile to the northernmost plains of Canada and
the southernmost reaches of South America. Infected mosquitoes could also be carried
to new hunting grounds on planes, trains, and trucks.
Besides trying to understand how the virus is spread, researchers are also working on trying to figure out how to fight it. Many communities have stepped up spraying against mosquitoes, but it's not clear if that helps. One problem is that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of kinds of mosquitoes that might carry the virus, and they all have different habits. Some feed at night, for instance, while others snack during the day. Some go after people and birds, while others don't. And some are only vulnerable to pesticides when they fly; resting insects seem to survive just fine. Such complexity makes fighting West Nile Virus, and other diseases carried by mosquitoes, quite a chess game.
Other scientists hope to develop a vaccine that would help the most vulnerable people -- children and the elderly -- fight off any infection. But that may take years. In the meantime, public health experts recommend wearing bug repellent and protective clothing to ward off what one researcher calls "those buzzing death angels."
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Once Bitten
Read an interview with Mark Ferns
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Leech Therapy
Discover modern medical uses for leeches
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Death Angels
How mosquitos spread West Nile virus
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For Teachers
View the BLOODY SUCKERS
Lesson Plan
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Resources
Web links and books about bloodsuckers
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