Mosquitoes and disease.

For most Americans mosquitoes are linked to Malaria. A few may think of equine encephalitis with its periodic outbreaks seen mostly in the Southwest, or West Nile Virus. The newest disease starting to spread, more so than avian influenza, is Chikungaya which has appeared recently in Italy and has symptoms similar to Lyme disease. Dengue fever, also spread by mosquitoes has been increasing in Brazil with more than 60,000 cases in 2007. Rather than worrying about Avian influenza, a darling of the media and politicians, we should be concerned about both Dengue and Chikanguya spreading into the US.