The Mosquito by Timothy C. Winegard

The Mosquito is the title of the book written by Timothy Winegard and is published by the Penguin group first in 2019. Timothy Winegard is an assistant professor of history and political science at the Colorado Mesa University and has written three other books besides this one. 

This book was on my reading list for a few reasons. Firstly, we are in the midst of a pandemic, so health related topics are interesting reads per se. Plus, I live in a tropical country (Singapore) where the preponderance of mosquitoes is definitely a problem. Thankfully, Singapore takes the threat from mosquitoes very seriously & is ruthlessly efficient in combating them! Finally, around ten years back, when I had just moved to Singapore from London, I had to rush back to Bombay as my mother had contracted Malaria and was hospitalised. This is how The Mosquito by Winegard arrived on my reading radar screen.  

Keeping the COVID 19 virus aside (this is a rare global pandemic event), mosquitoes are by far the single largest animal / insect group that's deadliest to humans. They have been occupying the pole position as the cause of human deaths (not counting chronic diseases like cardiac arrests and strokes etc) year after year; followed sadly by humans themselves. For instance, Malaria, transmitted via mosquitoes, is one of the leading causes of child mortality accounting for around 10% of child deaths. Geographically, Africa bears the brunt of the impact of most of the diseases transmitted via mosquitoes but has also made the most progress as well. 

Chapter 1 - Toxic Twins is an excellent chapter to read. If you have little time, I suggest just read this chapter. The chapter tells you everything in a nutshell about this deadly creature. As a start, mosquitoes are the root cause of Malaria but also Dengue, Yellow Fever, Chikungunya, Zika, West Nile etc. By now you should get the drift that this is a serious topic that you should know a bit more about. 

Next, this is a creature that is wired to survive so forget about quick fixes here. Scientists claim that the mosquito has been around for around 190 million years or so; humans less than a million just to set the context. Clearly they, 'the mosquitoes', know how to live, prosper and navigate on Earth. This is also a creature that has perfected her art of attacking humans (yes 'her' because the female species is the deadly one). The link below, is a short documentary that the author recommends to watch. In just over 3 mins, this video will demonstrate, just how utterly sophisticated the  mosquito is. After reading that chapter & watching this video you will be convinced this is a very deadly, sophisticated killing machine that has honed its skills over centuries and claimed many lives in the process. 

"How Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood | Deep Look"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD8SmacBUcU

Winegard says mosquitoes have killed around half of humanity since inception in various ways so we must pay respect to this creature. [Note this is his estimate not mine]. However, I have cross-checked this claim and Nature, corroborates this view via their article Portrait of a SerialKiller.  https://www.nature.com/articles/news021001-6

Given its deadly impact, it would interesting to list a few prominent people that have been afflicted with disease or died because of the mosquito. These include Alexander the Great (one potential cause of death Malaria), Julius Caesar (contracted Malaria), Christopher Columbus, Oliver Cromwell, Charles V, Vasco De Gama, Byron, Lincoln and Kennedy just to name a few. [Note: given that Malaria's modern scientific diagnosis and attribution to mosquitoes as a carrier vector is only very recent, thanks to work of Ronald Ross in the late 1800s, historians have to triangulate people's affliction to Malaria and other diseases through anecdotal evidence].   

For many years before Ronald Ross, the world was unable to link mosquitoes to malaria and the causes for the fevers, chills and deaths were attributed to bad air, miasma. But not all were searching in the wrong places. 

Winegard states that the Indian physician Sushruta as early as in the 6 C BCE was not only linking water as a key cause to the spread of malaria but also mosquitoes. In his detailed compendium, he singled out five mosquito species & their bites as deadly causes for fevers, chills, vomiting, diarrhoea, shivering etc. Sushruta was right about his research and observations but sadly as Winegard writes "Dr. Sushruta's astute reasoning and keen observations went unheeded for millennia".  

Its not that humans have not fought back against the mosquito. They have; through the slow process of evolution as a start. People with sickle cell traits possess a degree of immunity to certain strains of malaria and its not surprising that African Americans and Africans suffer from this sickle cell mutation which confers a degree of immunity to the malarial parasite.  Then came quinine that comes from the bark of the Cinchona tree. It's tremendously bitter and hence it's mixed with other drinks to mask its bitterness. The prevalence of Gin & Tonic especially with British officers combating Malaria in India is attributed to this reason. The importance of quinine was also felt in the American Cvil War when Northern troops had a steady supply of quinine compared to the Southern armies.  

As the scientific age dawned, more measures were taken to combat the menace especially after the work of Ronald Ross and Robert Koch. Mosquito nets, DDT, vaccines etc all played a role and started making an impact in controlling the spread of mosquitoes. But the diseases carried by the mosquitos have also fought back. They have mutated, evolved and become drug resistant making it an ongoing battle between us and them. Most notable in this regard, is Zika which made its re-appearance in a more potent form and in locations that were not endemic to Zika in the past including places like Brazil and Singapore. 

Climate Change is also a key accelerator for the spread of these diseases. Mosquitoes live in warmer climates so areas that are cooler were spared from this deadly killer. But now, Mosquitoes and Malaria are being found in temperate highlands as well as temperatures have begun to rise. Further, as forests are cleared and humans occupy these space, the natural habitat of mosquitoes is being disrupted causing them to infect more people that invade their homes.    

The book also chronicles the impact mosquitoes and their diseases on key global events; perhaps in a detail more than I expected and enjoyed. The author argues that mosquitoes have played decisive roles in battles and military engagements in the past as armies have been defeated through the spread of diseases like Malaria. For the author, the mosquito has played a pivotal role across all major events and has actively shaped the arc of history. To me, whilst the impact of disease on historical events cannot be underplayed they are rarely the sole cause of how things turned out the way they did. An allied book on this concept to read is Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. 

Overall it's an informative book that provides the reader with a very unique perspective. It is also a topic which has not been written extensively about so when a book is dedicated to this creature it becomes a worthy read in my view. My gripe with the book is a lot of emphasis and details went into the historical events stretching back to the Greeks and ending in modern times. I would have liked to have balanced the historical impact with more scientific inputs & knowledge around mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. 

https://ourworldindata.org/malaria [useful data on malaria via graphs]

 

https://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Human-History-Deadliest-Predator/dp/1524743410