Mosquitoes are not just annoying—they spread serious diseases like malaria and dengue, which affect billions of people around the world. Most public health plans assume that mosquitoes spread these diseases mainly when infected people or animals travel from one place to another.
However, there may be another way diseases travel. Some mosquitoes fly very high above the ground and can be carried by strong winds for tens or even hundreds of kilometres in just one night.
For decades, scientists have suspected that these high-flying mosquitoes could carry diseases far from where they first bit an infected person or animal. Until recently, this idea had not been directly tested. Researchers had not checked mosquitoes caught at high altitudes to see if they were carrying pathogens.
Now, new studies are beginning to examine these high-flying mosquitoes to understand how they might help spread diseases over long distances. This research could change how we think about controlling mosquito-borne illnesses and help prevent outbreaks in areas far from where the infection started.