Blood-Sucking Vector of Diseases

Small in size. Single bite. Serious effect

As the sun shines brightly in the clear, blue sky, you see your kids playing outside, enjoying the oh-so-perfect weather. But there’s a problem. Your kids are not the only ones enjoying the weather. The mosquitoes are also there, breeding, multiplying, and waiting for a chance to strike.


Of course, we should be worried. Without a doubt, one of the most notorious insects around the world is the mosquito. Not only are mosquitoes annoying, but they can also be dangerous. They carry disease-causing viruses from person to person without being affected by it. While carrying these viruses, mosquitoes remain healthy because of their immune system. In this case, we are the only victims, and thus are the ones who will suffer. Moreover, we don’t want our kids to be served in a platter, right? We need to be as well informed as possible.

In the Philippines, the principal mosquito borne diseases are malaria, dengue, and Japanese encephalitis. There are also a number of outbreaks of Chikungunya in our country. Another mosquito borne disease is yellow fever, but it is only found in Africa and South America.

What we need to know is that there are different age groups that are commonly at risk, depending on the mosquito borne disease. A substantial number of adolescents are at risk from malaria infection. However, younger adolescents might be at a higher risk than older adolescents because of immunological and hormonal factors. The age range of the said victims of dengue fever is from 1 to 27 years old with most of the affected age group ranging from 1 to 10 years old. Japanese encephalitis most commonly affects children between the ages of 1 to 15 years old.

Words by ROWENA VANESSA S. CHUA
Photograph by MARK CABALANG

To read the whole story, grab a copy of BC Magazine's February-March 2012 issue on newsstands and leading bookstores. For more information, call 478-4172 or email info@bcmedia.ph