The mosquito menace and our duties

The mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is causing widespread fear by spreading the Zika virus that has been linked to thousands of babies being born with birth defects. So what do we know about it?

It does not need natural water sources to breed as it can lay eggs in the small and plentiful pools of stagnant water, such as gutters or flower pots, found in cities.

Zika is currently getting all the attention, but Aedes aegypti has long been known as the yellow fever mosquito. Yellow fever is a viral disease that can cause jaundice, bleeding and multiple organ failure in some cases.

390 million people are infected with the dengue virus each year, largely as a result of bites from Aedes aegypti.