Home > Science Fact Finder > Health and Medicine - Which Species Of Mosquito Causes Malaria And Yellow Fever In Humans?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

Which species of mosquito causes malaria and yellow fever in humans?

The female mosquito of the genus Anopheles spreads the parasite of the genus Plasmodium,which causes malaria. Malaria is a serious tropical infectious disease, for which there is no cure. It poses a threat to 200 to 300 million people worldwide. More than 1 million African babies and children die from the disease annually.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits yellow fever, a serious infectious disease characterized by jaundice (which gives the patient yellowish skin). Yellow fever occurs in tropical regions of Africa, Central America, and South America. Although there is no cure, a vaccine does exist to guard against yellow fever. Ten percent of the people who contract yellow fever die from the disease.

Sources: The Guinness Book of Records 1996, p. 22; Passarin d'Entreves, P. The...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Diseases And Medical Conditions
   1. Which disease is the most common?
   2. Which disease is the deadliest?
   3. What is the medical term for "heart attack"?
   4. How are the forms of cancer classified?
   5. What is meant by "vectors" in medicine?
   6. What are the symptoms and signs of AIDS?
   7. What is anorexia?
   8. Who was Typhoid Mary?
   9. How many people in America are estimated to have Alzheimer's disease?
   10. What is Lou Gehrig's disease?
   11. Why is Legionnaire's disease known by that name?
   12. What is progeria?
   13. How is Lyme disease carried?
   14. Which species of mosquito causes malaria and yellow fever in humans?
   15. What is the chemical composition of kidney stones?
   16. What is necrotizing fasciitis?
   17. How is the term "zoonosis" defined?
   18. What is the composition of cigarette smoke?
   19. How many types of herpes virus are there?
   20. What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
   21. What is the medical term for tennis elbow?
   22. What is lactose intolerance
   23. What is narcolepsy?
   24. How are burns classified?
   25. What causes warts?
   26. What is dyslexia and what causes it?
   27. Who were the "Blue People" in Appalachia?
   28. What is the phobia of number thirteen called?
2. Health Hazards
   1. What is the deadliest natural toxin?
   2. What are the leading causes of death in the United States?
   3. How long does it take to bleed to death?
   4. How does the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classify carcinogens?
   5. What percentage of the American public are smokers?
   6. What is cholesterol and why are there "good" and "bad" varieties?
   7. Why does the risk of cancer diminish rapidly after one quits the cigarette smoking habit?
   8. Can ozone be harmful to humans?
   9. Why is exposure to asbestos a health hazard?
   10. What is the estimated radiation dose to which the average person in the United States is exposed each year?
   11. How many people visit a dentist regularly?
   12. How is human exposure to radiation measured?
   13. Why is radon a health hazard?
   14. What are dust mites?
   15. Do electromagnetic fields produced by power transmission lines present a health hazard?
   16. How does the blood alcohol level affect the body and behavior?
   17. If the sap of the poison ivy plant touches the skin, will a rash develop?
   18. What safety rules should be observed during a thunderstorm?
   19. What name is now used as a synonym foe leprosy?
   20. Which sport has the highest rate of injuries and what kind of injury is most common?
   21. What are the leading causes of stress?
   22. What are the odds against being struck by lightning?
   23. How does jet lag affect one's body?
   24. How many children die from head trauma incurred while riding bicycles?
3. Doctors, Medical Treatment, And First Aid
   1. Who is generally regarded as the founder of medicine?
   2. What is the difference between homeopathy, chiropractic medicine, osteopathic medicine, and naturopathy?
   3. Who was the first woman physician in the United States?
   4. What is the Hippocratic Oath?
   5. What was the first medical college in the United States?
   6. What is the difference between an ophthalmologist, optometrist, and optician?
   7. Who was the first African American surgeon to perform heart surgery?
   8. Who received the first heart transplant?
   9. When was the first artificial heart used?
   10. Who was the first test-tube baby?
   11. What is the meaning of the numbers in a blood pressure reading?
   12. How is blood pressure measured?
   13. What is the instrument a doctor uses to check reflexes?
   14. What items should be included in a household first aid kit?
   15. Which first aid measures can be used for a bite by a black widow spicier?
   16. How can a tick be removed?
   17. What first aid remedies may be used for bee stings?
   18. What is the Heimlich maneuver?
   19. What is the difference between heatstroke and heat exhaustion?
4. Drugs And Medications
   1. How many of the medications used today are derived from plants?
   2. Who discovered penicillin?
   3. From what plant is taxol extracted?
   4. Why are anabolic steroids harmful?
   5. What is meant by the term orphan drugs?
   6. What were the birth defects caused by the drug Thalidomide?
   7. What is a controlled substance?
   8. Which tests detect illegal drug use?
   9. How long do chemicals from marijuana stay in the body?
   10. What are designer drugs, such as China White?