What diseases can you contract from insects if you are not careful enough?

Thinking about how dangerous being bitten by an insect is for your body? Bugs of all kinds are carrying diseases you didn’t even knew you could get. It is way more dangerous to kill a bug while it bites you than to attract them with specialised equipment and get rid of them instantly. Tiny parasites and viruses are usually easily carried by insects which eventually land on our skin and provoke us unwanted symptoms.

There are several insect-borne diseases about you should need to know more in order to identify them soon enough or prevent infestation. Some of the diseases you may get from insects are incurable and can cause permanent damage to your body. Depending if you travelled lately or not and also according to the area you live in there is a bigger or smaller risk of contracting a disease. You can never know how much a mosquito travelled around the world before it bit you. Contracting a disease from a bug can be really harmful and arming yourself with bug zappers and bug spray might represent the solution for you.

Here are some diseases that may force you to make a doctor appointment as soon as possible:

Anthrax

This disease is usually transmitted via flies of all types (horse fly, deer fly, domestic fly, blow fly etc.) and mosquitoes. The organism they are carrying is a type of bacteria called Bacillus anthrax. During outbreaks, this disease can be spread extremely easy, especially in controlled conditions. The bacteria can be carried from animals to other animals or to people and it is moved around because insects feed on carcasses then deposit the bacteria through faeces or vomit on plants that are being eaten. Human infection can be contracted in three main ways: pulmonary, gastrointestinal and cutaneous. Inhalation of spores starts like a flu, with symptoms similar to pneumonia and the respiratory system collapses within several days. The consumption of meat that has been infected can cause acute inflammation of the intestinal track, along with vomiting with tracks of blood and a high fatality risk.

Cholera

Cholera it’s transmitted through flies (domestic fly, blow fly and flesh fly) and it is caused by a certain bacteria called Vibrio cholera. It is mostly a disease which is triggered by poor sanitation caused by poverty and so on. Insects have the biggest impact in spreading Cholera all around the world due to the fact that the bacteria is carried from infected faeces and contaminated products. Fortunately, in 2013 a vaccine has been developed in order to protect people from contracting Cholera. This is a disease that can be easily treated with the help of medicine and rehydration salts.

Lyme disease

Mosquitoes and flies are not the only dangerous insects that you can encounter in your path. Deer ticks are carrying a bacteria called Borrelia  burgdorferi sensu lato. Lyme disease is one of the most encountered tick-borne bacteria and infections are really numerous in the USA and England. The symptoms include a coloured rash (pink or red) with a deep red spot in the middle. It is usually shaped like a bull’s eye target and it’s easy to recognize. If not treated right on time, the symptoms can last an extremely long period of time and they will result in paralysis and arthritis. A certain amount of people showed signs of nervous system alteration.

Malaria

Malaria is a disease strictly transmitted via mosquitoes. The organism that is being carried away it’s called protozoan Plasmodium falciparum and it causes a big amount of deaths per year. It is highly dangerous and it is present in most of the world’s countries. If you happen to visit Africa, especially Nigeria or Congo, make sure you check up before and after and use a lot of protection measures. Malaria disease can live up to 30 years on the host without showing any kind of symptom. With time, headaches and vomiting will start appearing, along with high fever and blocking of blood vessels in vital organs such the brain. It can live in dormant stages.

Zika virus

The vector of Zika virus is mosquitoes and it is similar to other diseases such as Yellow Fever and West Nile. The symptoms are mild or non-existent but you can notice fever, rash, headaches, joint pain, red eyes and muscle pain and they usually last several days. It is quite hard to recognize and that’s why you should check up with your doctor from time to time.  

Dengue

Transmitted via mosquitoes, Dengue disease is one of the most important diseases spread by insects in the world. There are several campaigns and companies that work extremely hard for eradicating it. Dengue can be found almost anywhere in the world and its current outbreaks are really damaging. It is non-treatable and there is no vaccine developed yet.