Mosquito-borne Disease

As Florida enters peak mosquito season, experts from the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute outline key mosquito species and diseases to know

A new $1.29 million grant from the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund will support EPI malaria investigator Rhoel Dinglasan’s work to develop a novel saliva-based malaria diagnostic test that catches infections even when victims don’t show symptoms.

Ever wonder what scientists are up to behind the scenes, when they are not consumed with crunching data, or endlessly editing papers for publication? They just may be traveling in far-flung places — not only to hunt for data, but to build relationships with the people and places they study. This is the first photo essay in a new occasional series, Science Scenes, in which we invite you to explore how EPI's faculty and affiliate researchers work across the globe.

Mosquitoes are developing high levels of resistance to all major classes of chemical insecticides. UF medical geographers investigate how resistance can fluctuate across seasons and geography, revealing useful data for real-time adaptive strategies to mitigate mosquito-borne diseases in people.

EPI investigator Jeffrey Bloomquist reviewed the insect repellent DEET's safety record, and finds it poses little to no risk when used in compliance with product label directions. In fact, he says, it's a useful tool to prevent insect-borne diseases when utilized intermittently.

New research by EPI and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences medical geographers offers Ecuadorian health officials a sneak preview of where mosquito-borne diseases may shift into the Andean mountain foothills as our planet’s climate warms into the midcentury.

EPI researcher and medical geographer Sadie Ryan led a study that uses innovative maps to show how a warming world will open up new land regions, and the half billion people or more who inhabit them, to mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever, Zika, dengue and chikungunya over the next 30 years.

EPI and UF College of Veterinary Medicine researcher Maureen Long helped build a patient surveillance system in Pakistan to track and diagnose mosquito-borne diseases. The project captured outbreaks and laid the groundwork for a countrywide surveillance, detection and reporting system.

In a first-of-its kind study on the Galapagos Islands, EPI researcher Sadie Ryan investigated social and ecological factors associated with dengue, as well as the presence of the mosquito that spreads it.

Yellow fever and Asian tiger mosquitoes from Florida and Brazil can transmit an Asian strain of chikungunya virus that’s emerging in North, South and Central America, a University of Florida scientist says.