A total of 130,101 dengue fever cases were recorded from January until Dec 28 last year, the highest in history for Malaysia. Reported by The Star News. The latest numbers were shown on the iDengue website, which is run by the Health Ministry in collaboration with the National Space Agency. Among others, the website provides information on hot spots, preventive measures and contact numbers of operation rooms in every state.
The website can be accessed at http://idengue.arsm.gov.my/
Here is some comprehensive info of mosquitoes, that we can learn more about before anything happen.
What are mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes are a group of about 3,500 species of small insects that are flies. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, one pair of wings, one pair of halteres, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and elongated mouthparts. The mosquito life cycle consists of egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. The adult females of most species have tube-like mouthparts that can pierce the skin of a host and feed on blood. The mosquitosaliva is transferred to the host during the bite cause an itchy rash.
What does mosquitoes cause?
Mosquitoes can ingest pathogens while biting, and transmit them to future hosts. In this way, mosquitoes became important vectors of a lot of diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya, West Nile, dengue fever, filariasis, Zika and arboviruses. Because of the diseases that transmitted by mosquitoes, mosquitoes caused the death of more people than any other animal taxon: over 700,000 each year.
How to find out?
First, you may hear a mosquito buzzing around your ear. Put the flashlight directly on the wall and Watch carefully for any shadows of mosquito. Second, leave a single small light source on like a lamp and wait for the mosquito to approach it. Third, use a flashlight or a cloth to disrupt its hiding areas. The most common places where mosquitoes hide in your room are under and behind the bed or other furniture, inside your drawers, on the ceiling, or on the walls. Forth, try doing some light exercise. This is because mosquito love the smell of sweat.
Solution
First, use a mosquito net. When we are sleeping, the treated mosquito net will act as a barrier and the chemical on the net will kill those mosquitoes who touch it. Second, wear long pants and long sleeves to bed. This is because it will leave less of your skin exposed and fewer opportunities for mosquitoes to bite you. Third, use bug repellent. It can be applied to the skin, clothing, bedding or other surfaces and their odor discourages insects from landing on those items. Forth, use pesticide. Most insecticides are made for attack insects’ nervous systems, causing paralysis and death.
Prevention
First, grow some mosquito repellent plants. Example of repellent plants are basil, lemon balm, lemongrass, lemon verbena, lemon eucalyptus, lemon thyme, peppermint and more. Second, get rid of stagnant water around the house. This is because mosquitoes breed in the stagnant water. Third, trim the grass and brushes. Mosquitoes often hide in grass and brushes when outdoor. Forth, make sure all windows have mesh with mesh size 1.2mm. In this way, mosquitoes are harder to enter the house.
