CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — August 20 is World Mosquito Day.
While it sounds like an odd holiday there is a major significance behind it.
It marks the day when Sir Ronald Ross discovered the link between the female mosquito and Malaria, which changed the course of medical history.
Every year, World Mosquito Day is used as a way to bring awareness to all the various diseases that can be carried by the mosquito.
There are 3,500 different species of mosquitoes, and fossils date them back more than 99 million years.
They are blamed for infecting an estimated 700 million people every year with some kind of illness that includes Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya, Dengue and Malaria.
Recently the City of Corpus Christi announced several mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus had been found in traps around town.
While the mosquito has been a problem for millions of years, there are several simple steps you can take to help reduce your risk of being bitten.
- First, dump all standing water around your home. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water.
- Wear light-colored clothing, mosquitoes are attracted to darker colors.
- Avoid going outside at dusk and dawn, that's when they're most active.
- And always use a mosquito repellent.
