Complications of insect bites

e are influenza like symptoms of fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph nodes or a skin rash. Complications include encephalitis and meningitis and may manifest with seizures.

Malaria

Malaria is a parasitic infection that is carried by mosquitoes. It is common in hot and humid climates. Travellers to tropical countries often bring back the infection to more developed and cooler countries.

Malaria is manifested with fever, chills and rigor and may lead to severe complications and even death without treatment. There are two main types of malaria infection with Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. Infection with P. Falciparum is potentially life threatening if not detected and treated early.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is caused by bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii that is transmitted by infected ixodid (hard) ticks. There are three main symptoms of fever, rash, and history of tick bite.

There may be nausea, vomiting, severe headache, and loss of appetite, pain in the abdomen, muscle aches and diarrhoea. After initial 2 to 5 days there may be a red rash on the wrists, forearms, palms, soles and ankles.

Other insect borne diseases

Other insect borne diseases include:

• relapsing fever and Chagas disease transmitted by bed bugs in Mexico
• Yellow fever transmitted by mosquitoes
• Dengue fevertransmitted by mosquitoes
• onchocerciasis by black flies
• trypanosomiasis by tsetse flies or by reduvid bugs
• leishmaniasis transmitted by sandflies
• loiasis by Deer flies or Mango flies
• Ross River fever by mosquitoes