Mosquito transmitted diseases in Ecuador

Introduction on the mosquito transmitted diseases

Many mosquito transmitted diseases can be found in Ecuador. These diseases are common in many tropical countries and Ecuador is not an exception. Some diseases are preventable with medication and can be cured while the others are not.

The most important thing when avoid getting sick from a mosquito bite, is not to get bitten in the first place. When you travel to an area which has mosquitoes that spreads diseases there are some things you can do to prevent getting sick. Try to cover yourself with clothes, use mosquito repellent and cover your bed with mosquito net for the night.

In our home I sometimes use insecticide or anti-mosquito smoke, because we have a lot of mosquitoes here. Also the municipal workers sometimes come to fumigate the houses. And yes it’s hot here in the Amazon so I don’t really want to use long sleeved clothes. We also use a mosquito net in the night time. I don´t like to use too much chemicals inside our house, because also these chemicals has a negative effect on the health.

Previously I wrote about how to survive mosquito bites.

Mosquitos are a serious health problem all over the world because of the diseases they transmit. Photo by James Gathany from CDC

The most mosquito transmitted diseases in Ecuador

Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium spread by the mosquitos. Malaria is preventable with medication, but the parasites have developed a resistance to many of the medicines. The medication to prevent malaria is strong so don´t take the medication if it´s not necessary. I know many travelers eat the medication, even they don´t travel to areas infected by the malaria parasites.

Malaria starts approximately 10 to 15 days after the mosquito bite. Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache and nauseousness. Malaria can quickly turn into a life threatening disease. Go to see a doctor if you have been travelling on a malaria infected area and have some of these symptoms.

In between 2000 and 2009 Ecuador has managed to reduce reported cases of malaria by 96%, thanks to an efficient anti-malaria program. The government is fighting against malaria and I have seen the anti-malaria program in action too, as the workers for the program fumigate houses with insecticide and put toxins against the mosquitoes into the rainwater collector tanks.

From this link you can find Malaria information and prophylaxis by country by CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ecuador has managed to decrease the cases of Malaria. Map from WHO.

Malaria in Ecuador. Map from CDCIn the Galapagos Islands malaria doesn’t exist.

Yellow Fewer

Yellow fewer is a hemorrhagic fever and it occurs in the tropical areas of Africa and the Americas. Yellow fever is preventable with a vaccination. In case of illness there is no treatment and many times yellow fever is fatal. Yellow fever can causes epidemics that can affect 20% of unvaccinated population.

If you travel away from a country where yellow fever exist, keep your yellow fever vaccination card inside your passport. Sometimes you may have to show your yellow fever vaccination card at the airport. Ecuador requires a yellow fever vaccination certificate for travelers over 1 year of age if arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. At the moment of writing in 2022 the countries were Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Uganda.

Dengue fever

Dengue fever is a serious and sometimes fatal illness of the Americas, Asia and Africa. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, swallow glands, pain behind the eyes and rash. Dengue can develop into severe dengue, so it´s important to seek medical help if you have these symptoms. Severe dengue can be fatal, but if detected early diagnose is usually good. There isn’t any medication or vaccination against dengue, so try to protect yourself against the mosquitoes in the areas where the dengue exists.

Dengue is an increasing problem in the public health in Ecuador. 11622 cases of dengue were registered in Ecuador between the weeks 1-38 year 2013, from which 60 cases were severe dengue.

I had dengue on the last April (at the year 2013, this post has been edited on 2022). I had high fever and muscle pain and it felt like a strong flu with fever. Since it was just a normal dengue I didn’t need any hospitalization. I was breastfeeding and I was told I can breastfeed also when I was sick. The doctor told me to go to the emergency in case of a sudden bleeding, because the symptoms for the severe dengue is hemorrhaging. I drank a lot of lemon juice during that time I was sick. The people here say that the sour things clean the body from the disease.

Image from WHO

Chikungunya

Chikungunya is a disease that usually can be found from Africa and Asia. Vaccination against this disease doesn’t exist. Chikungunya can sometimes cause death of the patient, but it´s very rare. Symptoms of the chikungunya include high fever, headache, joint and muscle pain. Illness occurs usually after four to eight days after a bite from an infected mosquito.

On the 2th of October 2014 first case of Chikungunya in Ecuador was found from Loja. Me and my husband also both suffered from chikungunya on the December 2015. The joint pain was brutal and for me it took approximately six months to get rid of the joint pain.