Tiny but Dangerous: The Mosquitoes Spreading Zika

By Brenda Goodman, MA
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Hansa D. Bhargava, MD

Feb. 2, 2016 — They’re tiny. They attack with supreme stealth, biting in full daylight with no buzz and no sting. And they carry viruses that can be lethal to their preferred food source: us.

The Aedes aegypti, or yellow fever mosquito, killed more soldiers than guns did during the Spanish-American War. And now these black-and-white striped femme fatales — only the females suck blood — are causing misery through Central and South America as they pass the viruses that cause dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya and now Zika virus disease from person to person.

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