Insects and animals are moving to different regions. As climate changes with Queensland and Western Australia becoming tropical far down the coast insects are leaving their native areas. Mosquitoes are in epidemic proportions in Brisbane and they are even reaching Sydney.
More than a million people a year die from malaria. Many recover but become very sick. The illness does return to sufferers in future years. It is not just the warmth that attracts mosquitoes thus spreading the disease. A hotter climate means more rain that the insects thrive in. They breed in pools of water trapped in all kinds of crevices.
Certain kinds of mosquitoes transmit different disease. Dengue fever, Yellow fever virus, chikungunya, West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria are all spread by mosquitoes. They get to new regions in people's belongings due to increasing world travel.
The dangerous insect is taking over virgin ground rapidly. A few years ago the chikungunya virus was not found in America. It is now established in North, Central and South America. Even cooler European countries are now at risk. The Asian Tiger Mosquito is predicted to get to mainland Australia very soon. It brings dengue fever, Yellow fever virus, and chikungunya fever. At the moment Ross River Virus is the most common mosquito born disease in Australia. This could soon change.
✴ Biology by Ty Buchanan ✴
