20th August World Mosquito Day

World Mosquito Day is observed on the 20th of August every year and has been for the past 126 years. It was on this date that Dr Ronald Ross discovered the association between malaria and the mosquito. Surgeon-Major Ronald Ross of the Indian Medical Service in 1897 reported that he had found what appeared to be malarial pigment in mosquitoes which he had observed on the blood of persons infected with crescentic parasites.

Sir Ronald Ross, who was born in India was a British medical doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1902 for his work on the transmission of malaria, becoming the first British Nobel laureate, and the first born outside Europe. It was only the second ever awarded for medicine and the first received by a British scientist. Unfortunately I cannot find a picture book biography about Ronald Ross. Perhaps it is time there was one.

Given the age of the children I teach, I'm not sure they need to know yet that mosquitoes kill more people than any other animal. Mosquitoes, who live on every continent except Antarctica are widely considered the deadliest animal on Earth due to their ability to transmit diseases that cause millions of deaths annually. They act as vectors, carrying and spreading various pathogens, including viruses and parasites, that lead to illnesses like malaria, dengue fever and Zika virus. 

In this amazing book two games of hide-and-seek are occurring. As children play hide-and-seek on a hot summer night, a mosquito hides and seeks as well. She must find food (blood in this case) to nourish the eggs in her body.  Black and white photos relate the children’s hide-and-seek story line, while stunning photomicrographs offer close-up views of the microscopic world of mosquito mayhem. 

There are more books about mosquitoes than you think there might be though and they will make a good display. Most are nonfiction but there's some stories, including one of my all time favourites, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears.