Arboviral Diseases

Arboviral diseases are infections, which are transmitted via invertebrate insects such as mosquitos and ticks. Lyme disease is the one I am most familiar with as I had a close family friend who lost his dog to the disease. It was thought that the dog was bitten by a wood tick in northern Minnesota, which infected him with the disease. Apart from Lyme disease there are many other arboviral diseases. These include dengue fever, yellow fever, encephalitis virus and West Nile virus. West Nile virus made major headlines when it was discovered to have spread to the western hemisphere for the first time in 1991. It is believed that arboviral diseases have been around for thousands of years, but we did not know their existence until the late 1800s.

Cuban doctor, Carlos Finlay was the first to propose that Yellow fever may be transmitted by mosquitos rather than by human contact in 1881. This was later verified by U.S. Army doctor Walter Reed in 1901.Arboviral diseases survive by a cycle between hosts, such as humans and vectors, such as mosquitos and ticks. The vectors are able to transport these diseases from one infected host to a new host by way of consuming the infected hosts blood and injecting their saliva into the new host. Once the virus reaches a new host, it amplifies itself by killing blood cells and multiplying.

Transmission of arboviral diseases from human to human is rare but can occur. If it is not known that a donor is infected with the virus, blood transfusions and organ transplants can lead to the infection spreading from one human to another.  In order to try and prevent this form of transmission, blood and organs are screened for the viruses prior to their use in for treatment. Infected mothers also run the risk of possibly infecting their newborn child. Also, those who use needles are at an increased risk for the contraction of arboviral disease just as they are with many other kinds of infections.