Infectious Disease Control Study 
Dengue Virus Mosquito Research

Mosquitoes are said to be “the deadliest creatures in the world” because they transmit various diseases to humans. Malaria, a well-known mosquito-borne disease, infects more than 200 million people worldwide and kills more than 400,000 people yearly [1].

So why do mosquitoes bite people? And how do mosquitoes identify humans?
Here, we would like to introduce Kao’s research results on mosquito ecology, mechanisms underlying clever host-seeking behavior, and mosquito-borne infectious diseases, including dengue fever.

The ecology of mosquitoes, advanced mechanisms to identify and locate humans, and various mosquito-borne infectious diseases are described.

The symptoms of dengue fever caused by the dengue virus, prevention and countermeasures, and the increase in number of mosquitoes that is resistant to pesticide components are introduced.

Details on the structure of the mosquito’s legs and the wetting phenomenon, the effect of the skin surface on the landing behavior, the effect of silicone oil, the way to create a skin surface that mosquitoes dislike are reported. Additionally, the repellent effects of hippopotamus red sweat, which can also wet mosquito legs, is also reported.