CDC travel Brazil is concerned with the outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses in Latin America in 2015. The Centre elaborates measures for mosquito fever prevention in Brazil. A “new” virus Zika and the old ones, including chikungunya and dengue, caused a great number of alarming cases of diseases in Brazil in summer 2015. In fact, they were caused by bites of mosqutoes of genus Aedes, that are active at the daytime. This epidemic of fevers can be partially linked with the country’s drought. Local people took water in a store and keep it in containers indoors and outside homes. Thus, excess of standing water provided more places for mosquitoes’ breeding. The center of the mosquito-carrying fevers was the heavily populated state of San Paulo with its megalopolis São Paulo.
Outbreaks of mosquito-born fevers in Brazil
CDC and Ministry of health experts ask visitors to follow their recommendations to protect themselves and their family members from mosquito bites. Saliva injection is linked with transmission of Brazil mosquito diseases. Culicidae females of genus Aedes fly out and suck blood at dawn and dusk. They are supposed to be the major vectors of brazilian diseases.
Chikungunya fever
Chikungunya is a rare mosquito-born disease. It is spread throughout Africa, Eastern Asia, especially in India, Latin America. In the Central and North Americas, including the USA, it is not so frequent, with cases mostly found in Texas and southern Florida.
Diseased often experience mild symptoms. They suffer from headaches and vomiting, joint pain, skin rash, muscle pain and high fever. Fortunately, Chikungunya fever is not fatal. However, in rare cases, it can lead to complications with severe or disabling effects.
In addition, this virus of fever cannot be spread from a human to human without mosquito chain.
Dengue fever in Brazil
Tourists often return from the Caribbean, Central and South America, South Central Asia with signs of fever. The most common cause of this fever is ingress of dengue virus (DENV).
Common symptoms of mosquito dengue are high fever, vomiting, nausea, severe headaches, rash on skin, pain in muscles and joint, red eyes. In practice, illness lasts about 5 to 7 days.
This mosquito-borne sickness can be well treated, though still fewer than 1% of diseased die from severe dengue. Fortunatelly, this arbovirus cannot be transmitted from person to person.
Zika fever
Zika virus is a member of the Flaviviridae family and is transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes. Moreover, it is related to other mosquito borne illnesses, such as Dengue, Japanese encephalities and West Nile fever. Zika mosquito virus 2016, which caused outbreaks in Brazil, was first found in Africa and South Eastern Asia. Since 2015 this virus has been activelly spread in South and Central Americas.
The displayed symptoms resemble mild form of dengue. Hence, infected people experience fever, joint pain, skin rash, headaches, fatugue or lassitude.
Zika dengue is responsible for cases of microcephaly and malformations in babies, of adverse outcomes during pregnancy and of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in adults.
Unfortunately, the Zika fever turned out to be transmitted through sex from a man to a woman and during pregnancy or at delivery from infected mothers to their fetuses.
The US, Canada and EU health agencies have issued mosquito fever prevention measures and warnings asking pregnant women not to travel to Brazil and other countries in the South and Central Americas which have registered cases of Zika. 1
Malaria in Brazil: an overview
Human malaria in Brazil is refered to a group of parasitic diseases, caused by various species of Plasmodium, carried by female malaria mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. In fact, there are about 430 species of Anopheles on the Earth. However, over 100 of them are able to inject malaria virus and transmit this disease to humans. In nature, only 30-40 commonly do so. Malaria risk areas in Brazil are western part of Maranhão, northern part of Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Tocantins and Pará States.
Brazil malaria causes typical symptoms of febril affection that include vomiting and nausea, high fever, fatigue, and headaches. Besides, severe malaria causes yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death. Symptoms usually begin in 10-15 days after being bitten by malaria-causing mosquitoes.
Yellow fever Brazil
Yellow fever is a hemorrhagic fever. This virus is carried by Aedes mosquitoes. Between December 2007 and February 2008, Brazil had a yellow fever outbreak with 16 fatal cases. Rural areas of the Central-West region were taken by the virus.
The diseased experience chills, mild fever, body pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. This mosquito-borne sickness lasts about three to five days. Though, in some severe cases a patient suffer from hemorrhagic complications with high fever, vomiting blood, jaundice or yellow skin. In addition, Yellow fever in Brazil is rarely fatal, its complications cause death in about one fifth of cases.
Mosquito fever prevention: vaccination and medication
The only way of Yellow mosquito fever prevention in Brazil is to get vaccinated. CDC experts recommend the yellow fever vaccine for travelers older than 9 months. Prevention lasts 10 years.
Besides, tourists can take preventive drugs (some people call them “malaria pills“): primaquine, mefloquine, chloroquine, doxycycline, malarone; in combination with personal protective measures against Brazil malaria.
However, there are no preventive medication and vaccine against Zika fever in Brazil. The only way of mosquito bite prevention is personal protective measures.
A new Sanofi’s vaccine for dengue has been approved in Brazil, but it is not yet commercially available nowadays.
Mosquito-born virus prevention in Brazil before the Olympic Games 2016
In 2016 Brazil is the country where the Olympic Games are going to be held. Millions of people from every corner of the world are going to visit the Olympiade in Rio de Janeiro.
Methods for mosquito fever prevention in Brazil are connected with reduction of Aedes mosquito breeding places. Local pest control services eliminate standing water outside buildings and perform marshland reclamation. They inspect regularly and repair septic tanks. They ask homeowners to empty, clean or cover containers for water storage, such as buckets, pots, drums and vessels. Other sites for mosquito breeding (used tyres, tin cans, garden watering-cans, leaky buckets and old flower pots, roof gutters) outdoors may accumulate water after rains and run-offs as well. Thus, homeowners must clean or remove them.
Personal use of repellent products for mosquito fever prevention
CDC travel Brazil asks tourists and locals to take measures to prevent mosquito bites. For mosquito fever prevention in Brazil, individuals can use anti-mosquito lotion, spray, gel, cream on skin surface and mosquito repellent spray on top clothing. Active ingredients of anti-mosquito products are:
for children and pregnant women, clothing:
IR3535 (3-[N-acetyl-N-butyl]-aminopropionic acid, ethyl ester) in SkinSmart, Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus Expedition
for skin and clothing:
picaridin and icaridin (1-piperidin ecarboxylic acid, 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-methylpropylester) in Cutter, Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus, Autan and Advanced
DEET (N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) in Off!, Cutter, Sawyer, and Ultrathon.
OLE (oil of lemon eucalyptus) or its synthesized version PMD (para-menthane-3,8-diol) in Repel and Off! Botanicals.
only for clothing:
permethrin (3-Phenoxybenzyl 3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate) in Permanone and Sawyer, Bugs away, Permethrin, Insect Blocker, Repel, Insect shield, Ultrathon Permethrin Clothing Treatment.
Natural anti-mosquito repellents are based on extracted essential oils of citronella, lemon eucalyptus, hairy basil and others and they are refered to as biopesticides. Mosquito repellent products exist in various formulations: sprays, roll-on gels, lotions, creams, even mosquito repellent hangers, peel-stick patches and hand bracelets.
Permethrin can’t be applied to skin, it is intended only for screens, bed nets, clothing, or other fabrics as directed on the product label.
Topical repellents and sunscreen products
All formulations are possible to use together with sunscreen products. It is recommended to apply sunscreen first and let it dry, then use insect repellent. These repellents are effective when used on intact skin and clothing as directed in the product label. Reapplication of insecticides is necessary as well. After returning home, wash repellent-treated skin with soap and water or take a shower. Wash treated clothing before wearing it again. Treat your clothing with anti-mosquito products again after laundry.
Mosquito deterrents for kids and pregnant women
In fact, not all mosquito repellents are intended for applying on children and during pregnancy. Avoid applying the stuff to child’s hands, mouth, eyes. Use the mosquito repellent product in accordance with the directions in the product/ package label when applying it on babies’ skin. Use of zappers, nets for beds and baby carriages, aroma peel-sticks, anti-mosquito hangers are possible as well. Moreover, try to avoid application of ultrasonic mosquito repellers and mobile apps, as they may disturb and affect your child.
Supplement treatment with spatial repellents
Spatial repellent products, such as vaporizing mats, augment aerosol insecticide sprays, and mosquito coils are commercially available, however, they must be used as a supplement to other on-skin formulations. These anto-mosquito products contain active ingredients of metofluthrin and allethrin. Sprays can help to clear rooms from mosquitoes, coils and ultrasonic repellers deter blood-sucking insects from a limited area. Most spatial products have repellent or insecticidal activity under particular conditions, so their efficacy for mosquito fever prevention is under question.
Technological approaches to eliminate Zika virus mosquitos in Brazil
Brazilian local authorities are concerned about the outbreak of mosquito-carrying viruses. Zika, chikungunya, dengue, yellow mosquito fever prevention is the primary target. In fact, lots of preventive measures are currently taken to reduce or eliminate Aedes mosquito population. Fumigation by pest control professionals is applied to get rid of mosquitoes in infected localities. Advanced technological approaches are taken into account in the battle against this arbovirus as well.
Zika virus, Malaria and Dengue tracking method via mobile phones.
Use of cell phones to record the movements of their owners in order to track disease hot spots and predict where they are likely to occur next. In practice, the technique has already been employed in the battle against two flaviviruses, such as malaria in Africa and dengue fever in Pakistan.
Genetically modified Aedes males for mosquito fever prevention in Brazil
Male mosquitoes have already been genetically modified to cause local populations to crash. Successful tests in the Cayman Islands and Brazil have shown that the introduction of modified insects result in elimination of local populations. But these tests have been conducted by the British firm Oxitec on the scale of a few limited areas of their locality.
Gene drive technology to prevent malaria and Zika fever.
This newly developed technology of gene drive is intended for inserting genes into an organism in such a way that a trait spreads throughout a whole population. In theory, a gene drive is likely to prevent mosquitoes from incubating Zika virus, or to destroy the entire mosquito species of Aedes aegypti. A gene drive has already been inserted to prevent mosquitoes from harboring the malaria parasite in the laboratory.
Some researchers are concerned about intentionally messing with natural selection. When a gene drive is released into a wild population of mosquitoes, there is no turning back, and we can’t predict or say for sure what drawbacks and side effects it might have. 2
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