Dossier
Mosquitoes
This Dossier will provide information on the news, background and results of research on mosquitoes. It will answer questions on where and how the various species live; whether there are new species; which dangers are associated with the mosquito and how to monitor and combat mosquitoes effectively. Wageningen University & Research conducts research on all types of mosquito.
Once information is known on the most favourable living conditions for mosquitoes, we can then explore how they spread. Researchers at Wageningen have been studying mosquito hotspots, including manure pits, and mosquitoes’ preferred hosts.
Their assessments of the risks posed by a mosquito plague to humans and animals have shown that both the number of mosquitoes in a plague and the percentage of mosquitoes that can transmit diseases play a significant role. However, monitoring mosquitoes and trapping them in mosquito traps will enable us to map out possible outbreaks and formulate mosquito activity forecasts for certain areas.
While the research focused in particular on malaria, studies were also carried out on the West Nile virus, Usutu and Zika. Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes spread at their fastest if the mosquitoes have a specific host they prefer.
News:
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How flying mosquitoes escape a swatting hand
- We all know how difficult it is to swat a mosquito flying at night in your bedroom, but up to now we did not know why. Scientists from Wageningen... -
Yes, indeed, it is hard to swat a mosquito
- Everyone who ever went out of bed at night to swat mosquitoes knows: this is a difficult task. Scientists of Wageningen University & Research used... -
New vaccine against Rift Valley fever is safe and effective in pregnant sheep
- A study by Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), in collaboration with BunyaVax and Ceva Animal Health, shows that a new live-attenuated candidate... -
First locally caused infection with West Nile virus suspected in the Netherlands
- Dutch health authorities reported today that the West Nile virus has been detected in the Netherlands. The patient is a man who had not been abroad... -
New trap eliminates more malaria mosquitoes
- A new trap that emits heat and humidity catches over four times more malaria mosquitoes than previous traps. This is the result of research conducted... -
The fight against emerging vector-borne diseases
- For the past three days, scientist and policymakers from all over the world, came together to join forces in the fight against emerging vector-borne...
Articles:
- Mosquitoes in the netherlands capable of transmitting zika and usutu viruses - Microbiology Society, 30 Aug 2019