When the good temperatures arrive, they appear. Mosquitoes, small insects with a size between 3 and 6 mm (there are species that reach 19 mm), are faithful to their appointment with the summer season.
The common mosquito, whose scientific name is Culex and present in tropical or subtropical regions, has had a tough competitor: the tiger mosquito.
An invasive species that was detected and is characterized by its white stripe in the center of the thorax.
The tiger mosquito is very aggressive, not only because of the itching and pain caused by its bites, but also because of the risk that its bites entail.
When a mosquito bites us, through its saliva, it can transmit diseases to us.
Every year, experts estimate, 390 million people are infected with dengue, and hundreds of thousands more are affected by Zika, Chikungunya and yellow fever. Diseases such as “West Nile Fever, which in some cases can lead to serious conditions.”
However, “most infections are usually asymptomatic”, but they pose a risk for “people over 50 years of age and immunosuppressed” in which they can “cause encephalitis, meningoencephalitis or meningitis”.
For this reason, pharmacists emphasize a series of measures to avoid mosquito bites and, therefore, the risk of contracting a disease.
“Try to wear clothing that covers the skin from evening to night, keep the lights off at night as much as possible, or avoid areas or objects where water tends to accumulate, such as flower pot saucers or pet drinking bowls. ”.
Fiebre del Zika
The first case was detected in America in 2015, where the disease is here to stay. In Brazil, what is currently the largest outbreak of the disease occurred.
It was during this outbreak that the terrible consequences of the disease during pregnancies were discovered: abortions and fetal malformations, such as the well-known microcephaly. In Barcelona, in 2016, the first baby in Europe affected by the disease was born, although at the moment all cases are imported.
In many cases it can present without symptoms, although it is common for it to manifest with the same clinical picture as dengue fever.
It is more dangerous in pregnant women, since it can cause malformations such as microcephaly.
A birth defect in which the head is undersized. As a consequence, the brain may also be smaller in size and may not have developed properly.
Currently, there is no treatment for microcephaly and it is only based on supportive and speech therapies. More severe cases may have the forehead tilted back.
The symptoms of the Zika virus are:
- Fever.
- Headaches.
- Threw up.
- Muscle and joint pain.
- Rash.
Chikungunya
It is a disease with incidence in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In 2015, there was a large outbreak that affected several countries in the Region of the Americas, and sporadic outbreaks have been reported elsewhere.
Symptoms usually last for seven days. However, cases have been seen in which muscle pain, the most frequent of Chikungunya, can last for months. The clinical picture could be confused with other mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika fever or Dengue.
- sudden fever
- Joint and muscle pain.
- Fatigue.
- Headache.
- Rash.
