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The female mosquito is the most dangerous animal in the WORLD. When they bite, female mosquitoes sometimes pick up viruses or parasites from the animal’s blood. They can transmit (vector) them to people or other animals when they bite again. West Nile virus is a bird virus that can also make humans and other animals sick. Other viruses, like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika, are spread from person to person but emerge from natural (enzootic) cycles in forest-dwelling primates. Malaria (a parasite) is still one of the leading causes of death in young children in parts of Africa.
Inside the mosquito, viruses replicate and parasites complete complex life cycles to reproduce. The pathogens must then disperse to the mosquito’s salivary glands. From there, they are then injected with the saliva into the next animal the mosquito bites. Viruses and parasites have to be highly adapted to both the mosquito and host, thus only certain diseases can be transmitted by mosquitoes.
