Mosquito-Borne Diseases

Transmission of mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika, occur at lower temperatures than previously thought, a recently released study co-authored by two South Florida University researchers shows. The study ‘Neglected Tropical Diseases,’ led by Stanford University and published in the journal PLOS, found that transmission of dengue, chikungunya and Zika is highest at around 84 degrees Fahrenheit (28.8 C). Scientists had long considered 90 degrees (32.2 C) to be the peak-transmission temperature. The finding is significant, especially as climate change causes temperatures to climb, Science reported. Temperature affects how often mosquitoes bite, the amount of time it takes for them to ingest a virus from one human and inject it into another, and their life cycle.