Why are mosquitoes the most dangerous animals in the world?

Mosquitoes are often considered the most dangerous animals in the world due to their ability to transmit deadly diseases to humans. Here are some reasons why mosquitoes are so dangerous.

Mosquitoes carry several serious diseases that affect millions of people worldwide every year. The major mosquito-borne diseases are malaria, dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever and West Nile virus. Malaria alone causes hundreds of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mosquitoes are found almost everywhere in the world and can easily adapt to different environments. This allows them to spread disease over large geographic areas. The diseases that mosquitoes spread, such as malaria, cause high mortality rates. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria was responsible for approximately 627,000 deaths in 2020, mainly among children under the age of five.

Mosquito-borne diseases place a huge burden on public health systems, especially in developing countries. These diseases cause not only deaths, but also long-term illness, disability and economic losses.

Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/vector-borne-diseases

Author: Prof. Dr. Dirk Devroey - Latest update: 2023-12-11 - Copyright: Clinifacts 2025