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Health Problems
from Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes carry serious diseases such as malaria, dengue, and yellow fever.
These diseases spread quickly from one person to the next. Mosquitoes breed in
water that does not move (stagnant water), sometimes called “standing water.”
To prevent diseases spread by mosquitoes:
• Reduce the risk of being bitten. Use window screens, safe insect repellents,
mosquito coils, clothes that cover as much of the body as possible, and
insecticide-treated bednets.
• Control the spread of disease with treatment. Make sure that people get
quick and effective treatment, regardless of their ability to pay.
• Get rid of mosquito breeding sites. Cover household and community water
supplies such as water barrels and cisterns. Create good drainage for taps,
wells, and water run-off channels.
• Prevent new breeding sites through careful land and water management.
Rapid changes in land use, such as cutting down too many trees, building dams
and diverting rivers, or removing vegetation from large areas of land, all create
conditions that allow mosquitoes to breed.
Illnesses carried by mosquitoes spread even more quickly during emergencies
such as wars, large movements of people, and natural disasters, when people
find it difficult to take ordinary preventive measures.