The number of people who died from wars and other social conflicts throughout history is one billion individuals. However, the death toll from mosquito-related cases exceeds this record.
According to a previous study, almost half of the humans who existed for the past 50,000 years passed away due to malaria, a severe parasitic infection that the tiny, blood-sucking insects carry.
Mosquitoes and Global Health
Mosquitoes have been the principal suspects of malaria cases until today. In 2020 alone, the parasite took over 600,000 lives. Alongside malaria, the insects carry other viral infections such as the West Nile, Zika, and dengue.
One of the most dangerous animals on Earth is mosquito species. Commonly found in rural regions of Africa, the Anopheles gambiae is considered a risk to public health. It aligns with other mosquito groups that can cause multiple types of conditions, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Due to mosquitoes' threat to global health, many might think that humans should exterminate and even completely wipe out the insects from our planet.
Most of the mosquitoes serve as mediums of diseases. But contrary to popular belief, not all of them bring no danger. On the flip side, dangerous mosquito species are not fond of feeding on humans but prefer other nutrient sources such as nectars, honeydews, and plant saps.
Today, there are approximately 3,500 mosquito species recorded around the world. University of Glasgow Center for Virus Research expert Steven Sinkins said in a Live Science report that only 100 could bite humans and transmit illnesses out of these known groups. Sinkins specializes in tropical medicine and microbiology.
Culiseta mosquitoes, for example, are prolific at biting humans. But they do not contain any diseases that could result in severe conditions. Compared to them, the common Toxorhynchites are eating nectars instead of blood.
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Wiping Out Mosquitoes: Effects and Consequences
The polarity in mosquito species alone is enough to prevent us from eliminating them. Instead of a global mosquito massacre, we could resolve the matter by picking the problematic ones like the Aedes aegypti, which commonly carries yellow fever and Zika.
Alongside the Aedes aegypti, experts from Understanding Animal Research show that some types of Anopheles and Culex can transmit a wider range of diseases such as dengue, malaria, chikungunya, yellow fever, West Nile, Zika, and elephantiasis.
Sinkins suggests one possible solution: a group of mosquitoes containing Wolbachia will be released. The host carriers will breed with the experimental group and develop non-harmful Wolbachia instead of deadly illnesses through this process.
Sinkins emphasizes that targeting disease-carrying mosquitoes is not easy, and numerous studies must be conducted to complete a viable solution. But in case a solution surfaces, the expert theorized that malaria-related illnesses, and even malaria itself, could be wiped out entirely.
Imperial College London entomologist and epidemiologist expert Thomas Churcher said in the report that the absence of these species from the collective biodiversity has an implication to the ecosystem, but we do not know the details on these aspects yet due to the lack of information.
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