Dossier
Mosquitoes
This Dossier will provide information on the news, background and results of research on mosquitoes. It will answer questions on where and how the various species live; whether there are new species; which dangers are associated with the mosquito and how to monitor and combat mosquitoes effectively. Wageningen University & Research conducts research on all types of mosquito.
Once information is known on the most favourable living conditions for mosquitoes, we can then explore how they spread. Researchers at Wageningen have been studying mosquito hotspots, including manure pits, and mosquitoes’ preferred hosts.
Their assessments of the risks posed by a mosquito plague to humans and animals have shown that both the number of mosquitoes in a plague and the percentage of mosquitoes that can transmit diseases play a significant role. However, monitoring mosquitoes and trapping them in mosquito traps will enable us to map out possible outbreaks and formulate mosquito activity forecasts for certain areas.
While the research focused in particular on malaria, studies were also carried out on the West Nile virus, Usutu and Zika. Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes spread at their fastest if the mosquitoes have a specific host they prefer.
News:
Articles:
- Mosquitoes in the netherlands capable of transmitting zika and usutu viruses - Microbiology Society, 30 Aug 2019