Do mosquitoes carry diseases?
Any insect that feeds on blood can transmit disease organisms from human to human, but mosquitoes are the most formidable transmitters of disease in the animal kingdom. Mosquito-borne diseases are caused by human parasites that enters their blood stream. The female mosquito picks up the parasite when she sucks blood to develop her eggs. The parasites complete a portion of their own life cycles in the mosquito, and either multiply, change in form inside the mosquito, or do both. After she lays her eggs, the mosquito seeks a second blood meal and transmits the fully developed parasites to the next host. Some diseases mosquitoes spread in people are malaria, encephalitis, and dengue fever. They also can transmit parasites such as heartworm to pets.
