Search

In reviewing the diseases of mankind one is impressed by the number of major infections that are transmitted by insects. It is apparent that the most prominent of those diseases are the dysenteries, malaria, the rickettsial diseases in the typhus group, plague, leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis of Africa and of the Americas, filariasis, pappataci sandfly fever, dengue, encephalitis and encephalomyelitis, possibly poliomyelitis, and a number of other diseases of lesser importance. It is also evident that the causes of these diseases include bacterial, protozoal, nematode, rickettsial and virus agents. The transmitting processes include mechanical transfer as well as complicated intermediate development and propagation of the infectious agent in the insect vector.This percursory review indicates the importance of controlling or eliminating certain insects in the prevention of human diseases. The United States is fortunate in that it is geographically located where most serious insect-borne diseases have seasonal interference with their transmission and