Entomology

Dr. Sadia Rahman Chowdhury

Assistant Professor
Department of Community Medicine
Transmission of arthropod-borne disease
• Three types of transmission cycle are involved in
the spread of arthropod-borne disease:
1) Direct contact: The arthropods are directly
transferred from man to man through close
contact, e.g., scabies and pediculosis.
2) Mechanical transmission: Insect acquire the
pathogen from one source and deposit it
another location, where it may infect a new
host, e.g., the transmission of disease agent of
diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, food poisoning and
trachoma by housefly.
Transmission of arthropod-borne disease
3) Biological transmission: When the disease
agent multiplies or undergoes some
developmental change with or without
multiplication in the arthropod host, it is
called biological transmission.
This may be of 3 types:
a) Propagative: when the disease agent
undergoes no cyclical change, but multiplies in
the body of the vector, e.g., plague bacilli in
rat fleas.
Transmission of arthropod-borne disease
b) Cyclo-propagative: the disease agent
undergoes cyclical change and multiplies in
the body of the arthropod, e.g., malaria
parasite in anopheline mosquito.
c) Cyclo-developmental: when the disease agent
undergoes cyclical change but does not
multiply in the body of the arthropod, e.g.,
filarial parasite in culex mosquito.
 Principles of arthropod control
• The general principles of arthropod control
are:
1. Environmental control
2. Chemical control
3. Biological control
4. Genetic control
 Principles of arthropod control

1. Environmental control : It is more ecological

method and results are likely to be permanent.
Examples are:
i. Elimination of breeding places (source
reduction).
ii. Filling and drainage operation
iii. Planned water management
iv. Proper disposal of refuse and waste
v. Cleanliness in and around the houses
vi. Health education of the public.
 Principles of arthropod control

2. Chemical control : Control of vector by

insecticides alone is no longer fully effective
because of development of resistance.
Available insecticides are:
i. Organo-chlorine compounds
ii. Organo-phosphorus compounds -
iii. Carbamate groups of compound
 Principles of arthropod control

3. Biological control : Use of larvivorous fish,

especially Gambusia in mosquito control.
4. Genetic control: Techniques such as sterile male
technique, cytoplasmic incompatibility and
chromosomal translocations are still in research
phase.
⁂ Newer methods:
i. Insect growth regulators
ii. Chemosterilants and
iii. Sex attractants or pheromones
 Integrated approach
• Integrated approach for vector control:
 Combining two or more methods with a view to
obtain maximum results with the minimum effort
and to avoid the excessive use of any one method.
 It can be considered as the utilization of all
appropiate technological and management
techniques to bring about an effective degree of
vector suppression in a cost effective manner with
the help of community participation.
 Integrated approach
• Integrated approach for vector control includes
more than one or all of the followings along with
community participation:
1) Personal protection – screening, bed net,
repellent.
2) Source reduction – drainage filing, land filling,
water management.
3) Chemical control – insecticides (larvicide,
adulticide).
4) Biological control – larvicidal fish.
5) Training and health education.
 Arthropod-borne diseases
Mosquito Disease Mode of transmission
Anopheles Malaria By the bite of an
(Agent – plasmodium) infected female
Culex Bancroftian filariasis mosquito
(Agent – Wuchereria bancrofti)
Aedes 1. Dengue fever
(Agent – dengue virus)
2. Chikungunya fever
(Agent – chikungunya virus)
3. Zica fever
(Agent – zica virus)
4. Yellow fever - present in African
country,not in Bangladesh.
(Agent – yellow fever virus)
 Arthropod-borne diseases
Vector Disease Mode of transmission
Sandfly: Kala-azar (Visceral By the bite of an
Phlebotomus leishmaniasis) infected female
argentipes Sandfly fever sandfly
P. papatasii Oriental sore
p. sergenti (Agent – Leishmania
donovani)
Rat flea Bubonic plague By depositing
(Agent – Yersenia pestis) organism present in
Endemic typhus faeces/vomit of flae
Body louse Pediculosis By depositing
Epidemic typhus organism present in
Relapsing fever faeces of louse,
Trench fever Scratching by the
affected person
 Arthropod-borne diseases
Vector Disease Mode of transmission
House fly 1) Viral: Mechanical transmission
Hepatitis A & E,
Poliomyelitis,
Rotaviral diarrhoea (in infant)
2) Bacterial:
Diarrhoea,
Cholera,
Bacillary dysentery,
Typhoid & paratyphoid
3) Protozoal:
Amoebiasis, gastroenteritis
4) Helminthic infestation
 Arthropod-borne diseases
Vector Disease Mode of transmission
Itch mite Scabies By close contact with an
(Agent – female Sarcoptes infested person,
scabei hominis) By contaminated clothes
Soft tick Q fever, Relapsing fever By biting

Hard tick Tick typhus, viral fever By biting

Cockroach Enteric disease Mechanical transmission

Cyclops Guinea worm disease/ By swallowing the infected

Dracunculiasis cyclops with contaminated
drinking water
 Anopheles, Culex and Aedes mosquitoes

Anopheles

Culex

Aedes
Anopheles
Culex
Aedes
 Mosquito control measure
• Control of Aedes is easier than Anopheles
because Anopheles rests in rain water
collected in trees and in dense jungle and hilly
areas, they come, they bite and they go away
where Aedes always rests inside house in dark
corners. If you destroy sources of artificial
water collection and keep your house clean
Aedes is relatively way better controlled.
 Mosquito control measure
1. Anti-larval measure:
a. Environmental control –
 Source reduction – eliminating breeding places
of mosquitoes by filling, leveling and drainage of
breeding places and water management.
b. Chemical control –
 The commonly used larvicides are:
i. Mineral oils
ii. Paris green
iii. Synthetic insecticides
 Mosquito control measure
c. Biological control –
 Small fishes like Gambusia, Lebister which feed
readily on mosquito larvae can be used in
burrow pits, sewage oxidation ponds,
ornamental ponds, cisterns and farm ponds.
2. Anti-adult measures:
a. Residual sprays –
 Spraying walls and others surfaces of house
where mosquitoes rest with residual insectisides,
DDT. (dose – 1-2 gm DDT per sq.metre 1-3 times
a year)
 Mosquito control measure
b. Space spray –
 Space sprays are those where the insecticidal
formulation (Pyrethrum extract, residual
insecticides) is sprayed into the atmosphere in
the form of a mist or fog to kill insects.
c. Genetic control –
 The use of genetic methods such as sterile male
technique, chromosomal translocation, gene
replacement etc. to control mosquito is still in
the “Research phase”.
 Mosquito control measure
3. Protection against mosquito bite:
a. Mosquito net –
 The material of the net should be white, to
allow easy detection of mosquitoes and the
best pattern is the rectangular net.
 There should not be a single hole or rent in the
net.
 The size of the openings in the net should not
exceed 0.0475 inch in diameter and the number
of holes in one square inch is usually 150.
 Mosquito control measure
b. Screening –
 Screening of buildings with copper or bronze
gauze having 16 meshes to the inch.
 The aperture should not be larger than
0.0475 inch.
c. Repellents –
 For application on the skin and for short
duration of protection.
 Diethyltoluamide.
 Malaria
• Clinical features –
A. Cold stage - headache, nausea, chilly
sensation, skin feels cold, rigor an hour later.
B. Hot stage – burning hot sensation, skin feels
dry and hot.
C. Sweating stage – profuse sweating, skin cool
and moist.
 Malaria
• Malaria agent –
A. Plasmodium malarie – causes Quartan
malaria ( fever occurs every 4th day, 72 hours
interval).
B. P. ovale – causes Tertian malaria
C. P. falciparum – (fever occurs every 3 rd day,
48 hours interval)
 Malaria
• Complication of malaria–
1. Cerebral malaria
2. Black water fever
3. Anaemia
4. Pneumonia

 P. vivax more common in Sylhet but P. ovale is

absent in this area.
 P. falciparum is more dangerous as it cause
cerebral malaria.
 Malaria
• Black water fever – It is the complication of
untreated case of malaria in which RBC is
haemolysed in blood stream in excess amount
(Haemoglobinemia), Hb passes through kidney
and appears in urine (Haemoglobinuria), urine
looks dark red or blackish hence called black
water fever. It may lead to renal failure.
 Endemic zones of mosquito-borne
diseases in Bangladesh

• Malaria - Sylhet hilly area, Chittagong hill

tract area, Sunamgonj Tahirpur.
• Filariasis – Nilfamari, Dinajpiur, Rangpur,
Syedpur, Kurigram.
• Dengue fever – Dhaka.
Filariasis
 Sandfly
• Class: Insecta
• Species:
I. Phlebotomus argentipes – vector of Visceral
Leishmaniasis or Kala-azar in Bangladesh,
India.
II. Phlebotomus papatasi – vector of Cutaneous
Leishmaniasis or Oriental sore in Russia,
Africa and Sandfly fever in Mediterranean
region, India.
Sandfly
 Sandfly
• Sandfly cannot fly, it hops. It can hop up to 6
feet (2 meter).
• Sandfly loves to stay inside vertical cracks and
crevices which are common in mud wall hence
Kala-azar is common in those districts where
Mud-walled houses are common.
• Sandflies are easily controlled because they do
not move long distances from the place of
their breeding.
 Control of sand fly
1) Insecticides:
 Deltamethrin spraying of indoor resting sites of
adults gives good control.
 The spray used is called Indoor Residual Spray
because after spraying residue of insecticides
dries up on the wall.
 It is sprayed up to 6 feet as sand fly cannot hop
more than 6 feet.
 Personal protection by using repellents applied
to clothing.
 Use of insecticides impregnated bed nets.
 Control of sand fly
2) Environmental sanitation:
 Removal of shrubs and vegetation within 50
yards of human dwellings.
 Plastering the cracks and crevices in walls and
floors of the mud houses and cattle sheds
regularly.
 Locating the cattle sheds and poultry houses at
a far distance from human habitations.
3) Health education:
 People living in mud houses should sleep
higher places (minimum 6 feets) than floor.
 Kala-azar
• Kala-azar = black sickness, means visceral
leishmaniasis is a chronic infection of
reticuloendothelial system caused by the
protozoa Leishmania donovani.
• In Bangladesh it is transmitted by the sand fly
named Phlebotomus argentipes.
• The disease presents as prolonged fever (>2
weeks) with splenomegaly, anemia, weight
loss and darkening of complexion.
 Kala-azar prevalent areas of Bangladesh

 Pabna, Sirajgonj,
Dinajpur, Rajshahi,
Thakurgaon,
Mymensyngh,
Netrokona, Tangail,
Gazipur, Jamalpur.
House fly
 House fly
1) Mechanical transmission: Houseflies are
exceptionally efficient mechanical spreaders of
disease. They transport microorganisms on their
feet and hairy legs, they are therefore called
“porters of infection”.
2) Vomit drop: By its habit of frequent vomiting, the
housefly infects food and thereby transmits
disease.
3) Defecation: The excreta of housefly contain
numerous microorganism as well as cysts and ova
of intestinal parasites. By its habit of constant
defecation, housefly spreads these diseases.
 Control of housefly
1) Environmental control: A clean house with
clean surroundings is the best answer to the
fly problem.
a. Storing garbage, kitchen wastes and other
refuse in bins with tight lids, pending
disposal.
b. Efficient collection, removal and disposal of
refuse by incineration, composting or
sanitary landfill.
 Control of housefly

c. Provision of sanitary latrines.

d. Stopping open air defecation.
e. Sanitary disposal of animal excreta and
f. Stepping up general sanitation.

2) Insecticidal control: Use of insecticides are only

a supplement, but not a substitute for
sanitation. Insecticides (DDT, diazinon etc.) are
applied by residual spray, baits, cords and
ribbons, space sprays and as larvicides.
 Control of housefly

3) Fly papers:
 Sticky fly papers can be easily made by mixing 2
lbs of resin and one pint castor oil which should
be heated together until the mixture resembles
molasses. While hot, this should be smeared on
paper by using an ordinary paint brush.
 The adhesive mixture can also be applied to
strips of wire and hung up in places where flies
abound.
 Control of housefly

4) Protection against flies:

 Screening of houses, hospitals, food markets,
restaurants and all other similar
establishments will give considerable relief
from houseflies.
5) Health education:
A “fly consciousness” should be created
among the people, through health education.
 Plague
• Agent – Yersinia pestis.
• Vector – Rat flea.
• Types –
1. Bubonic plague – It is more common and involves
lymphatic system. Microorganisms multiply in
inguinal, axillary lymph node and causes swelling of
lymph node.
2. Pneumonic plague – It is easily and more commonly
spread through respiratory droplet.
3. Septicemic plague – It is the most dangerous as it
involves blood circulation.
 Control measures of Rat flea

• Insecticides –
DDT dust
Malathion spray
Diazinon spray
• Repellent –
Diethyl toluamide
• Personal protection
 Zoonoses
• Zoonoses are the diseases and infections of
animals communicable to man.
• The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee
defined zoonoses as:
“ those diseases and infections which are
naturally transmitted between vertebrate
animals and man”.
 Zoonoses
A. Bacterial infections: C. Protozoan infections:
• Anthrax • Leishmaniasis
• Brucellosis • Toxoplasmosis
• Tuberculosis • Trypanosomiasis
• Plague D. Helminthic infections:
B. Viral infections: • Schistosomiasis
• Rabies • Echinococcosis
• Japanese encephalitis • Taeniasis
• Cow pox
• Yellow fever
 Insecticides
• Insecticides are substances which are used to
kill insects.
• Insecticides are classified into three groups:
1) Contact poisons
2) Stomach poisons
3) Fumigants
 Insecticides

1) Contact poisons – kill insects primarily by

contact, e.g., pyrethrum, DDT, HCH, dieldrin.
2) Stomach poisons – when ingested cause the
death of the insects, e.g., Paris green, sodium
fluoride.
3) Fumigants – give off vapors which have a
lethal effect on the insects, e.g., sulphur
dioxide, hydrogen cyanide.
⁂ A contact poison can also be a stomach poison.
 Insecticides
• Conventional classification of insecticides:
Group I – Organochlorine compounds:
DDT, HCH, dieldrin etc.
Group II – Organophosphorous compounds:
diazinon, malathion, chlorthion, abate etc.
Group III – Carbamates:
carbaryl, pyrolan, propoxur etc.

• DDT – Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
• HCH – Hexachlorocyclo-hexane
Itchmite
Scabies itch mite/Sarcoptes scabiei
 Scabies
• The female parasite burrows into the epidermis
where it breeds and causes the condition known
as scabies or itch.
• Scabies is a contagious, itchy skin condition
caused by very small, wingless insects or mites
called Scabies itch mite Sarcoptes scabiei hominis.
• Agent and vector of scabies – female Sarcoptes
scabei hominis
(For crusted scabies/ secondary infection, vector is
itch mite but agent is Streptococcus).
 Mode of spread of Scabies
1) Close contact:
 By close contact with an infested person, e.g.,
sleeping in the same bed, children playing
with each other or nursing an infested
person.
 The disease tends to spread through families,
therefore Scabies is called a familial or
household infection.
2) Contaminated clothes and bed linen.
 Site of lesions of Scabies

• Scabies like warm places, such as -

 The hands, between the fingers, under fingernails
and wrist
 The extensor aspect of elbows
 The axillae, buttocks, lower abdomen, feet and
ankles, palms in infants
 Breasts in women and the genitals in men
 In babies the neck and head may be affected but
not in adults due to more vascular supply causing
more heat and also due to frequent washing of
face.
Site of lesions of Scabies
 Diagnostic features of Scabies

1) The patient complains of itching which is worse

at night
2) Examination reveals follicular lesions at the
affected site
3) Secondary infection leads to crusted papules and
pustules
4) The diagnosis is probable if the other members of
the household are affected
5) Confirmation of the diagnosis may be made by
searching for the parasite in the skin debris under
microscope
 Treatment and control of Scabies
• It is essential to treat all members of the
affected household simultaneously whether or
not they appear to be infested
• Before commencing the treatment the patient
is given a good scrub with soap and hot water
• Drug of choice: The 2 most widely used drugs
are permethrin cream and malathion
lotion. Both medications contain insecticides
that kill the scabies mite. First-line treatment
of scabies is topical permethrin 5% cream.
 Treatment and control of Scabies

• A thin layer of cream should be applied to

every inch of the body below the chin
including the soles of the feet before going to
bed and allowed to dry. The cream should be
applied between the fingers and toes and
beneath the tips of the fingernails. In the case
of babies, the head must also be treated.
 Treatment and control of Scabies

• It should be washed off with soap and water 8-

12 hours later and repeated after a week.
• All underclothes, clothes and sheets of
persons with scabies should be changed and
washed in hot water and dried.
 Complication of Scabies

• Crusted scabies
• Acute glomerulo nephritis
• Rheumatic fever
• Urticaria
• Eczema
 Complication of Scabies
• Crusted scabies:
 When large areas of the body, hands and feet are
scaly and crusted the disease is called crusted
scabies.
 When a person itches scabies area, scraping
comes out and streptococcus on skin causes
secondary infection which is the crusted scabies.
 It is a rare but more severe form of scabies,
where a large number of mites are in the skin. This
can develop in older people and those with a
lowered immunity.
Lice
 Lice

• Mode of transmission:
1. Direct contact: by close contact with lousy
persons, e.g., overcrowding, being in school
for children, sitting in close proximity when
their heads come together.
2. Indirect contact: from clothing, bedding
during sleeping in the same bed with infested
persons, from sharing combs, brushes or
towels of infested persons.
 Lice and disease

Disease Agent
1. Epidemic typhus ------ Rickettssia prowazeki
2. Relapsing fever-------- Borrelia recurrentis
3. Trench fever------------ Rickettssia quintana
4. Dermatitis -------------- Due to scratching and
secondary infection
 Control of lice
1) Insecticidal control:
 0.5% Malathion lotion,
 Benzyl alcohol lotion
2) Personal hygiene:
 Daily bathing with soap & water,
 Frequently washing & cleaning of hair,
 Regularly changing & washing clothing,
towels & sheets with hot water & soap.
 Control of lice

• The following are steps that can be taken to help

prevent and control the spread of head lice:
 Avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during
play and other activities at home, school, and
elsewhere.
 Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves etc.
 Do not share combs, brushes, or towels.
 Do not lie on beds or pillows that have recently
been in contact with an infested person.
 Wash clothing, bed linens, and other items that an
infested person wore or used using the hot water
and dry.