© iStock

Sir Ronald Ross (1857–1932) - Sir Ronald Ross was a British doctor responsible for the discovery of the malarial parasite in the Anopheles mosquito.

© Public Domain

Discovery of the malarial parasite - The page in Ross' notebook where he recorded malaria parasites in mosquitoes. His findings led to the realization that malaria was transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, and laid the foundation for combating the disease.

© Public Domain

The 'Mosquito Day' Luncheon - The 'Mosquito Day' Luncheon in August 1931 held at the Ross Institute and Hospital for Tropical Diseases, in Putney, London, to celebrate the discovery of the transmission of malaria by the mosquito.

© Getty Images

Nobel prize -

For his discovery of the life cycle of the malarial parasite, Ross won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded to him in 1902.

© Getty Images 

India (1881–1899) -

The foundations of his research were laid in India. In 1889, he established the importance of mosquitoes as intermediate hosts in avian malaria. Soon afterwards, he discovered that the salivary gland was the storage site of malarial parasites in the mosquito, and that the parasites were released from the gland during biting.

© Getty Images 

What Ross discovered -

This contemporary false-colored electron micrograph shows a A Plasmodium from the saliva of a female mosquito moving across a mosquito cell.

© Getty Images 

Mosquitoes and water - In 1883, Ross was posted as the Acting Garrison Surgeon in Bangalore, during which he noticed the possibility of controlling mosquitoes by limiting their access to water.

© iStock

Giovanni Battista Grassi (1854–1925) -

In 1890, the Italian physician, together with colleague Raimondo Filetti, first introduced the names Plasmodium vivax and P. malariae for two of the malaria parasites that affect humans. He also discovered that only female anopheline mosquitoes are capable of transmitting the disease.

© Getty Images 

Research and development -

The Malaria Commission of the League of Nations collected larvae on the Danube delta in 1929 to further the research. 

© Getty Images 

Life cycle -

The mosquito goes through four separate and distinct stages of its life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Depending on conditions, the life cycle can range from four days to as long as a month.

© Shutterstock

The world of the mosquito - There are around 3,500 different species of mosquito, and only a few hundred of these can transmit disease, including malaria.

© iStock

Mosquitoes and malaria - The disease is most commonly transmitted by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. This mosquito is a known malarial vector and can be found anywhere from Egypt all the way to China.

© Public Domain

"The most dangerous animal in the world" - Oxitec's warning is unequivocal: "The female mosquito is the most dangerous animal in the world." Among the most notorious is Aedes aegypti. 

© iStock

Aedes aegypti -

"Every year, her bite spreads diseases and parasites that kill almost one million people and cause debilitating illnesses in hundreds of millions more," notes the British biotechnology company.

© Shutterstock

Life-threatening diseases -

The diseases Aedes aegypti is known to carry include zika, dengue fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, and malaria.

© Shutterstock

A daylight menace - Aedes aegypti breed indoors and are capable of biting anyone throughout the day.

© iStock

Aedes albopictus -

But not all mosquitoes are responsible for this suffering, elaborates Oxitec.

© Shutterstock

Combating dengue - Captive-bred mosquitoes carrying the bacteria Wolbachia were responsible for protecting an entire city from an outbreak of dengue fever, reported the BBC.

© Reuters

Dengue-free environment - Male Aedes albopictus mosquitoes infected with the dengue-blocking bacteria were released in the city of Townsville, where they mated with local mosquitoes. The city has been dengue-free since 2014.

© Reuters

An age-old species -

The mosquito in this Baltic Sea amber is between 40 and 60 million years old.

© Shutterstock

From South Africa - Scientists believe that mosquitoes originated in South Africa.

© iStock

Discovery of quinine -

In the early 17th century, Spanish Jesuit missionaries in Peru learned from indigenous tribes of a medicinal bark used to treat fevers.

© Shutterstock

Early remedy -

The medicine from the bark is now known as the antimalarial, quinine—still an effective antimalarial drug and an alternative to artemisinins.

© Getty Images 

Mosquitoes and the ability to work - Of the 26,000 or so employees working on the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, around 21,000 were hospitalized for malaria at some point during their work.

© Public Domain

The fight against mosquito-borne disease - During the World Health Assembly in 1955, the World Health Organization submitted an ambitious proposal for the eradication of malaria worldwide.

© Shutterstock

Why mosquitoes find us so attractive - Mosquitoes can smell carbon dioxide emitted from your body from over 75 ft (23 m) away. Skin odor, especially sweat, also works up a mosquito's appetite.

© iStock

Blood work - Furthermore, a study concluded that mosquitoes bite people with type "O" blood 83% more often.

© iStock

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito - Nicknamed the "Mossie" by aircrews, this World War II multi-role combat aircraft was fast, maneuverable, and often deadly. Sound familiar?

© Public Domain

Mosquito nets -

Use of mosquito nets has been dated to prehistoric times. Modern nets are made from cotton, polypropylene, and nylon, among other materials. A mesh size of 1.2 mm (0.047 in) stops mosquitoes.

© Shutterstock

World Malaria Day -

Complementing World Mosquito Day is World Malaria Day, observed annually on April 25 to recognize and commemorate the global efforts to control malaria. It was established in 2007 by the World Health Organization.

See also:This might be the first nation officially erased by climate change

© Reuters