Facts of Aedes that you might not know

Facts of Aedes that you might not know

1. Only FEMALE mosquitoes that bite humans especially during daylight.
2. MALE mosquitoes does not bite or spread illness because it doesn’t have mouth to bite.
3. Dengue are spread by the bite from female Aedes mosquitoes.
4. Aedes is a type of small mosquitoes, black with white stripes on the legs.
5. Most active times for Aedes mosquitoes is two hours after sunrise and a few hours before sunset, but they will bite all day long.

Animation : Life Cycle of a Mosquito

Life Cycle of Mosquitoes

Egg : Eggs are laid one at a time or attached together to form "rafts." They float on the surface of the water. In the case of Culex and Culiseta species, the eggs are stuck together in rafts of up to 200. Anopheles, Ochlerotatus andAedes, as well as many other genera, do not make egg rafts, but lay their eggs singly. Culex, Culiseta, andAnopheles lay their eggs on the water surface while many Aedes and Ochlerotatus lay their eggs on damp soil that will be flooded by water. Most eggs hatch into larvae within 48 hours; others might withstand subzero winters before hatching. Water is a necessary part of their habitat.

Larva: The larva (plural - larvae) lives in the water and comes to the surface to breathe. Larvae shed (molt) their skins four times, growing larger after each molt. Most larvae have siphon tubes for breathing and hang upside down from the water surface. Anopheles larvae do not have a siphon and lie parallel to the water surface to get a supply of oxygen through a breathing opening. Coquillettidia and Mansonia larvae attach to plants to obtain their air supply. The larvae feed on microorganisms and organic matter in the water. During the fourth molt the larva changes into a pupa.

Pupa: The pupal stage is a resting, non-feeding stage of development, but pupae are mobile, responding to light changes and moving (tumble) with a flip of their tails towards the bottom or protective areas. This is the time the mosquito changes into an adult. This process is similar to the metamorphosis seen in butterflies when the butterfly develops - while in the cocoon stage - from a caterpillar into an adult butterfly. In Culex species in the southern United States this takes about two days in the summer. When development is complete, the pupal skin splits and the adult mosquito (imago) emerges.

Adult: The newly emerged adult rests on the surface of the water for a short time to allow itself to dry and all its body parts to harden. The wings have to spread out and dry properly before it can fly. Blood feeding and mating does not occur for a couple of days after the adults emerge.

How long each stage lasts depends on both temperature and species characteristics. For instance, Culex tarsalis, a common California (USA) mosquito, might go through its life cycle in 14 days at 70° F and take only 10 days at 80° F. On the other hand, some species have naturally adapted to go through their entire life cycle in as little as four days or as long as one month. 

Adapted from : http://www.mosquito.org/life-cycle

Interesting facts about mosquitoes

Interesting facts about mosquitoes

Objectives of Dengue Patrol Programme

1. As a platform to educate and create awareness on ways of preventing and eradicating Aedes mosquitoes among students of primary and secondary schools in particular and society in general.

2. To raise awareness of dengue prevention efforts that require proactive engagement across society, particularly young people through programs that are fun and beneficial to them.

Gotong Royong

How to Avoid Dengue Fever

1. Use a mosquitoes repellent.

2. Use mosquitoes nets while sleeping. Use repellent if necessary.

3. Avoid doing activity during active mosquitoes bite between 5.30 am to 8 am and 5.30 pm to 8 pm.

4. Wear long sleeved shirt and long pant when doing outdoor activities, especially during this times.

5. Install fine mesh (mosquitoes mesh) in windows and doors.

Dengue Infection

Gotong Royong

Eliminate mosquito breeding sites :

1. Eliminate mosquito breeding sites around the home such as all containers that can collect rain water or excess water , especially buckets, old tires , flowerpots , plastic containers and water barrels .
2. Place the mosquito larvae killer material in the containers .
3. Change the water in pet beverage containers regularly.

Drinks and Juice to treat dengue fever.

If an individual has been diagnosed with dengue fever ,are ways to treat it?

There are no specific medications to treat dengue fever . However, there are drinks and juice are believed to help the patients of dengue fever are:

1. Papaya leaf
















The Ministry of Health conducted a study of the effects of papaya leaves to treat dengue fever . Deputy Minister of Health , Dr Hilmi Yahaya said a preliminary investigation showed that papaya leaf extract can increase platelet levels in patients suffering from dengue fever .

" Taking juice of papaya leaf -based products as an alternative treatment for dengue fever is believed to speed up recovery for dengue patients , " he explained.
(Adapted from malaysiandigest.com)

2. Crab Soup

Crab soup is one of the traditional methods to fight dengue fever . Crab believed to contain high protein and it can help increase blood platelet content in the body .

(adapted from : jewelpie.com)

3. Isotonic Beverage

Isotonic beverages can help increase energy. It can help people to stay hydrated .
(Adapted from : jewelpie.com)

4. Pink Guava Juice

Guava contains vitamin C and it helps boost immunity against bacteria in the body . In addition, it can also heal wounds quickly.
(Adapted from : blogspot.com)

5. Young Coconut Water

Young coconut water can add the missing mineral levels in the body due to dengue in addition to cooling off.
(Adapted from mywanderingstory.com)

6. Dates

Dates are very high in sugar, zinc, and vitamins. In addition to helping patients with dengue ,it has always been known as a remedy for all diseases .
(Adapted from mywanderingstory.com)

Symptoms of Dengue Fever

Symptoms, which usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, may include

• Sudden, high fever
• Severe headaches
• Pain behind the eyes
• Severe joint and muscle pain
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Skin rash, which appears two to five days after the onset of fever
• Mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)

Sometimes, symptoms are mild and can be mistaken for those of the fluor another viral infection. Younger children and people who have never had the infection before tend to have milder cases than older children and adults. However, serious problems can develop. These include dengue hemorrhagic fever, a rare complication characterized by high fever, damage to lymph and blood vessels, bleeding from the nose and gums, enlargement of the liver, and failure of the circulatory system. The symptoms may progress to massive bleeding, shock, and death. This is called dengue shock syndrome (DSS).

People with weakened immune systems as well as those with a second or subsequent dengue infection are believed to be at greater risk for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever.

What is dengue fever?

                                   Dengue fever

Dengue (pronounced DENgee) fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

An estimated 390 dengue infections occur worldwide each year, with about 96 million resulting in illness. Most cases occur in tropical areas of the world, with the greatest risk occurring in:

• The Indian subcontinent
• Southeast Asia
• Southern China
• Taiwan
• The Pacific Islands
• The Caribbean (except Cuba and the Cayman Islands)
• Mexico
• Africa
• Central and South America (except Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina)

Most cases in the United States occur in people who contracted the infection while traveling abroad. But the risk is increasing for people living along the Texas-Mexico border and in other parts of the southern United States. In 2009, an outbreak of dengue fever was identified in Key West, Fla.

Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with a dengue virus. The mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with dengue virus in their blood. It can’t be spread directly from one person to another person.