When is World Mosquito Day in 2024? Do you know the answer to this question? Are you ready to give a reply immediately and without any hesitations? Frankly speaking, we are almost sure that you are going to answer negatively. Unfortunately, in practice the most part of contemporary men and women have never heard about the existence of this occasion in the modern calendar. In fact, it is a sad thing, because mosquitoes are the insects we meet almost every day in summer or during warm days in spring and autumn too. And only a few of us know that they have their own holiday. We find this situation to be an unfair one, so today we are going to introduce this event in details to all our followers.
History
The matter concerning the theme what day Mosquito Day is, is not so easy and obvious as it may seem at the first sight. Actually, it involves a lot of amazing pieces of information. First of all it should be mentioned that the date appeared in the calendar not occasionally. Everything happened more than one hundred years ago.
In 1897, Indian physician and parasitologist Ronald Ross experimentally proved that the infection is transmitted by these insect bites. For this discovery, he awarded by the Nobel Prize. In memory of his scientific research, Ross suggested celebrating the occasion so that the public knows more about malaria and how to prevent it.
The first written memories about periodic fevers dated back to the about first millennium BC. The amazing thing: the symptoms appeared in quite different corners of the planet. You see Greece and China are pretty distant.
Initially people used herbs to treat the medical problem. Some reduced the symptoms a bit, while others not. The very first effective method was received with the help of the cinchona bark, containing quinine. At the beginning of the 20th century the specialists discovered the particular connection between mosquitoes and their parasites. It was then, when the local authorities took the particular mosquito control and preventive measures. They included insecticide DDT usage, draining swamps, surface of the so-called open water sources processing and spraying indoor residues. Some people chose the insecticide-treated nets to save themselves from mosquitoes. Quinine was always given by doctors at endemic territories.
The researchers have already won several Nobel Prizes for their honorable investigations. However, unfortunately, the illness goes on to afflict about 200 million men and women annually, killing up to 600,000 people.
Meaning
What does Mosquito Day mean? To tell you the truth we can’t even predict whether this special occasion means something for you or not. In the modern world it is only up to you to decide what holidays to celebrate and which ones can be forgotten without any hesitations. As you perhaps understand it is impossible to know all our followers personally, so we can say nothing about your reaction.
All in all the main goal of this day is to raise public awareness about malaria and methods of its prevention. According to WHO estimates, from 124 to 283 million people are infected with malaria plasmodia annually, while from 367 to 755 thousand people die. And again following WHO, 85-90% of infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa, with the vast majority of children under 5 being infected.
Taking into account all facts mentioned above, you can understand that the problem is really up-to-date for many corners of the planet, especially for the distant ones.
Malaria prevention at the global level is of paramount importance. A vaccine against malaria with high efficacy does not yet exist, but its development is actively underway, besides, malaria insects that carry parasites are being destroyed to prevent malaria, and insect bites are prevented.
Definition
Investigating the matter “When is International Mosquito Day 2024?” in details we came to the conclusion that it contains a lot of amazing and at the same time quite useful pieces of information.
Malaria, formerly known as “swamp fever”, is a whole group of vector-borne infectious illness, which is caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, most often Plasmodium falciparum. Typically, this medical problem is accompanied by fever, chills, enlarged spleen and liver, as well as anemia, joint pain, vomiting, and seizures.
Malaria can usually be detected with blood smears that show the parasites. They come in several species, the most dangerous of which is Plasmodium falciparum. The disease is usually provoked by this type of parasite and up to the present moment it is called tropical and is thought to be the most common and dangerous disease, since it often progresses with complications and has a high mortality rate.
Quinine is given primarily to treat the illness. It was the very first substance and is still popular today. Along with quinine, chloroquine, artemisinin, doxycycline, mefloquine, atovaquone and several other substances can be taken in the illness treatment. However, despite a fairly wide range of antimalarial remedies, the medical problem poses a huge threat to people living at endemic territories.
Traditions
When is Mosquito Day in 2020, calendar will surely remind you and it is not a serious problem to memorize it. The holiday has a fixed date of its celebration. It always happens on August 20th. So you are free to join any year you like.
Events dedicated to this special occasion are intended to consolidate all the efforts of the international community possible in order to combat malaria. They are organized annually by the special organization called London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This tradition dates back to the 1930s.
Are you going to be involved into the process of this occasion celebration? – Well, no problems, indeed. As a rule, you can visit a library and take part in the seminar, after which you will know a lot of details about this disease, its prophylactics, prevention and treatment.
Under the condition it is impossible devote this day to discovering something new. Nowadays, there have been a lot of sources, which can help you. Magazines, newspapers, internet articles and documentaries represent many data, so it is only up to you to choose your way of this direction investigation.
World Mosquito Day Facts
The question “What is the date of Mosquito Day in 2024?” involves a lot of amazing pieces of information. Today we are going to introduce you something really interesting about these insects. Here is our list:
- Only female mosquitoes drink blood, although they can live without it, but then they will not be able to give birth to offspring.
- Mosquitoes emit a characteristic squeak due to the high frequency of wing flaps – 500-600 per second;
- The lactic acid found in sweat and the carbon dioxide breathed out by humans attract mosquitoes;
- Besides malaria, these insects carry yellow fever, Zika virus and other dangerous diseases;
- Mosquitoes become active already at temperatures around 13 degrees Celsius;
- During the Jurassic period, mosquitoes reached a length of 5 cm;
- With infrared vision, mosquitoes see the heat emitted by the victim.
Taking into account these facts, we can conclude that the insects seem to be rather interesting. However, we should remember that they can provoke the appearance of the disease, which may kill a lot of people worldwide. That is why the numerous discoveries in this sphere should be continued.