Double threat: New mosquito species carrying dengue emerges

MANILA, Philippines - Among arthropods, none is more dangerous than the mosquito. By transmitting deadly diseases to people, this little insect is responsible for around two to three million deaths every year. And among all killer diseases spread by the mosquito, few are deadlier than dengue.

Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50-100 million people all over the world fall victim to dengue fever. And every year, 20,000 of these victims end up dead.

Many of them are children and the elderly because, as Department of Health (DOH) regional medical dengue coordinator for Metro Manila Dr. Manuel Mapue explained, the immune systems of these groups are weaker than the rest of the population.

Thus, every year, the Department of Education (DepEd), the DOH, and parents launch full-vigilance defensive campaigns against dengue. Parents have vigorously guarded their children against daytime mosquito bites, subscribing to the traditional belief that only daytime-biting mosquitoes are dengue carriers.

But Dr. Barbara Laviña Caoili, an entomologist, has bad news: Dengue is not restricted to daytime-biting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes alone. The truth is there is another mosquito species, Aedes albopictus, that is a known secondary dengue vector that bites from day to night.

A laboratory study showed that Ae. albopictus bites most aggressively from the late afternoon hours to evening. Thus, the danger of dengue can now be more serious, since its transmission can occur both during the day and at night.

This means that the threat of dengue infection is now as great during the nighttime as it is during the daylight hours. This also means that people cannot ever let their guard down against dengue.

While some parents used to heave a sigh of relief once the sun went down, thinking their kids were already safe from dengue, they now have to maintain dengue protection from both day and night-biting mosquitoes for their children and themselves.

One of the most effective ways to protect oneself from dengue is by using an insect repellent lotion. Unlike mosquito nets, which limit mobility and (ironically) deprive people of protection the moment they go outdoors, where the threat of dengue mosquito bites is highest, an effective mosquito repellent lotion provides protection wherever they go. It is convenient to apply, safe and easy to use, as it does not limit mobility at all.

And since the threat of dengue is now from both day- and night-biting mosquitoes, it is important that the repellent used is effective against both species of mosquitoes, to provide round-the-clock protection.

Among all the available mosquito repellents in the Philippines today, only one has been scientifically proven to be effective against both day- and night-biting mosquitoes: the new Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion.

This product is guaranteed to give long-lasting protection against day and night dengue mosquitoes. It is effective for up to 10 hours on a single application, and it is convenient and economical to use. And because it is hypoallergenic, it is safe to apply every day on children.

The new Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion also gives antibacterial protection, which the Green Cross brand has always been known for.