Dirofilariasis in the context of Dirofilaria

Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, resulting in nearly a million deaths.

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever, filariasis, tularemia, dirofilariasis, Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Ross River fever, Barmah Forest fever, La Crosse encephalitis, and Zika fever, as well as newly detected Keystone virus and Rift Valley fever. A preprint by Australian research group argues that Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative pathogen of Buruli ulcer is also transmitted by mosquitoes.

Filariasis is a filarial infection caused by parasitic nematodes (roundworms) spread by different vectors. They are included in the list of neglected tropical diseases.

The most common type is lymphatic filariasis caused by three species of Filaria that are spread by mosquitoes. Other types of filariasis are onchocerciasis also known as river blindness caused by Onchocerca volvulus; Loa loa filariasis (Loiasis) caused by Loa loa; Mansonelliasis caused by three species of Mansonella, and Dirofilariasis caused by two types of Dirofilaria. All of these worms belong to the superfamily Filarioidea.