Mosquito-borne Diseases. Dengue fever, malaria, zika virus, West Nile virus, yellow fever, and chikungunya are some of the diseases that mosquito transmits.  Among other diseases are Malaria, Lymphatic Filariasis, Dog Heartworm, Encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis and more locally prevalent diseases like Jamestown Canyon virus, Cache Valley virus, and Trivittatus virus.  

The question is how these diseases are being transmitted to your children, teens, and adults? Where do these diseases come from?

New Jersey is not exempted from these insects. As a matter of fact, mosquitoes are everywhere in the world except Iceland and Antarctica!

Basically, mosquitos transmit these diseases by biting your child, teen, and adult. CDC describes this below:

Female mosquito pierces the skin with its proboscis, or long, needle-like mouthpart, to suck blood. While sucking blood, the mosquito injects saliva into the skin, which can trigger an immune reaction resulting in the characteristic itching and bump. 

Mosquito-borne Diseases in New Jersey

New Jersey has had 6 confirmed positive mosquito pools for West Nile Virus (WNV) out of 611 tested. 

If you are curious how these diseases spread, World Mosquito Program describes it below:

When a mosquito feeds on blood, it also swallows any viruses or parasites living in the blood. These viruses and parasites can be transferred to the next person the mosquito bites through its saliva. Any disease that is spread in this way from mosquito to human (or animal) is known as a ‘mosquito-borne disease’. 

In other words, the disease spreads in New Jersey when an infected mosquito bites your children, teens, and adults!

It is quite ignored for some reasons but looking at the diseases these insects carry – it is alarming. You tend to do not care for a bite because it is just a bite. However, when an infected insects bite you that is a trouble.

Just in case you need to do it yourself, there are easy steps you can follow from US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) below:

• Wash the bite and surrounding area with soap and water.
• Apply an ice pack for 10 minutes to reduce swelling and itching. Reapply ice pack as needed.
• Apply a mixture of baking soda and water, which can help reduce the itch response.
  • Mix 1 tablespoon baking soda with just enough water to create a paste.
  • Apply the paste to the mosquito bite.
  • Wait 10 minutes.
  • Wash off the paste.
• Use an over-the-counter anti-itch or antihistamine cream to help relieve itching. Follow the product label directions.

Frankly speaking, the best way to treat bites is by going to any urgent care.

If you are not fond of home remedies, your doctor can help you in treating possible infections from mosquitoes.

Go to urgent care or walk in clinic below:

TIPS AND WARNINGS:

• Never ever take these mosquitoes bites for granted. Their effects either deadly or will make your children, teens, and adults suffer a disease.
• Prevention is better than cure always. You will never know when you will be bitten so adding extra protection can prevent Mosquito-borne Diseases.
• Be proactive when you see weird symptoms.
• CDC gives the guidelines on how to handle these bites. It is either you go to any urgent care nearby or make home remedies by yourself.