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Mosquitoes: the deadliest animal, and how to not get bitten

Mosquitoes kill more people than every other animal combined, and the mechanism is disease rather than the bite. Which disease depends entirely on where you are and which mosquito bites you — and, usefully, on what time of day it does so.

  • 18High risk
  • 15Medium
  • 0Low
  • 33Zones tracked

Day biters and night biters

Aedes mosquitoes carry dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever, and they bite during the day, particularly around dawn and dusk. Anopheles carry malaria and bite at night, which is why bed nets matter so much in malarial areas. Culex carry West Nile virus and bite in the evening. If you only protect yourself at night in a dengue region, you have protected yourself against the wrong mosquito.

West Nile is a European issue now

A large share of the zones tracked here are West Nile virus areas across southern and central Europe — the Po Valley, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Hungary — where transmission runs roughly June to October. Most infections cause nothing or a mild fever, but a small proportion become neuroinvasive, and there is no vaccine for humans.

How to avoid it

  • Use repellent containing DEET, picaridin or IR3535 on exposed skin, and reapply as directed.
  • Cover up at dawn and dusk with long sleeves and trousers; treat clothing with permethrin for higher-risk areas.
  • Sleep under an insecticide-treated net in malaria areas, or in screened air-conditioned rooms.
  • Take malaria prophylaxis where it is recommended for your route — and finish the course after you return.
  • Empty standing water around your accommodation: buckets, plant saucers, tyres, gutters.
  • See a doctor urgently for any fever within a year of visiting a malarial area, and tell them where you were.

Where we track it

33 zones in the Dangers Here hazard database, by danger level.

High

  • Attica & Athens — West Nile Virus
  • Bangladesh
  • Brazil
  • Campania & Naples — West Nile Virus
  • Central Macedonia — West Nile Virus
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Guadalquivir Marshes — West Nile Virus
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Kenya
  • Lazio & Rome — West Nile Virus
  • Nigeria
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Po Valley — West Nile Virus
  • Romanian Plain & Bucharest — West Nile Virus
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
  • Vojvodina & Belgrade — West Nile Virus

Medium

  • Bulgarian Danube Plain — West Nile Virus
  • Danube Delta & Black Sea Coast — West Nile Virus
  • Eastern Germany — West Nile Virus
  • Eastern Macedonia & Thrace — West Nile Virus
  • Extremadura — West Nile Virus
  • French Mediterranean Coast — West Nile Virus
  • Great Hungarian Plain — West Nile Virus
  • Sardinia — West Nile Virus
  • Slavonia — West Nile Virus
  • Tampa Bay — Hillsborough County (Florida)
  • Thessaly & Central Greece — West Nile Virus
  • Turkish Thrace & Marmara — West Nile Virus
  • Tuscany — West Nile Virus
  • Vardar Valley & Skopje — West Nile Virus
  • Vienna Basin & Eastern Austria — West Nile Virus

Questions

Where are mosquitoes a risk?

We track 33 zones for this hazard. 18 are rated high risk, including Attica & Athens — West Nile Virus, Bangladesh, Brazil, Campania & Naples — West Nile Virus, Central Macedonia — West Nile Virus. 15 are rated medium and 0 low.

How do you avoid mosquitoes?

Use repellent containing DEET, picaridin or IR3535 on exposed skin, and reapply as directed. Cover up at dawn and dusk with long sleeves and trousers; treat clothing with permethrin for higher-risk areas. Sleep under an insecticide-treated net in malaria areas, or in screened air-conditioned rooms.

Day biters and night biters

Aedes mosquitoes carry dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever, and they bite during the day, particularly around dawn and dusk. Anopheles carry malaria and bite at night, which is why bed nets matter so much in malarial areas. Culex carry West Nile virus and bite in the evening. If you only protect yourself at night in a dengue region, you have protected yourself against the wrong mosquito.

Get the alerts on your phone

Dangers Here warns you when you enter a hazard zone — even offline, even with the app closed. No account, no tracking, free.

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