Bite-sized fascism that we can’t fight off

Every August, the world commemorates World Mosquito Day. Officially, it marks the day in 1897 when British doctor Sir Ronald Ross discovered that mosquitoes spread malaria. 

In Bangladesh, however, this day feels less like an occasion for scientific reflection and more like an annual reminder of who truly rules our land: the mosquito. A century after Ross' discovery, mosquitoes have diversified from spreading just malaria to dengue, chikungunya and beyond. 

Bangladesh routinely records some of the highest cases of dengue related hospitalisations in the world. In 2023 alone, more than 1,600 people in the country died, marking the worst outbreak in record. 

Our contribution to global dengue statistics is comparable to our volume of ready-made garments exports. The last two years have not fared any better, with hospitalisations related to mosquito-borne diseases reaching staggering levels.

Globally, mosquitoes remain humanity's deadliest foe, responsible for more deaths each year than sharks, snakes, and tigers combined. They are efficient carriers of over 15 diseases, quietly undermining public health systems and economies alike. Yet, despite this grim record, mosquitoes appear immune not only to insecticides but also to our grander human schemes.

Mosquitoes are not just a public health problem; they are an economic one. Each outbreak strains hospitals, drains public funds, and robs workdays from thousands of people. Families spend on coils, sprays, nets, and doctor visits, adding up to lakhs of taka each season. It is an invisible tax, collected not by the state but by an insect.

When humans bite back

It would be unfair to suggest humans have not fought back. Bangladesh alone spends crores each year on fogging machines, chemical sprays, and coils that fill homes with their bitter smoke. Drive-by mosquito repellant machines leave behind trails of insecticide only for buzzing to resume after sundown. 

Traditional preventive measures have so far produced minimal results, as evident from recent years' data. In 2024, Bangladesh recorded 575 dengue-related deaths and over 100,000 cases. 

However, non-traditional methods have not been fruitful either.

Globally, we even tried climate change as an extermination strategy. Surely rising sea levels, burning forests, and changing seasons would unsettle our persistent foes to pack up and leave? Ironically, mosquitoes have found a surprising ally in climate change. Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns create the perfect breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes. What used to be seasonal outbreaks are now near year-round threats. 

While policymakers talk of resilience, the mosquito has already adapted. Europe now suffers from dengue outbreaks in its summer months, proving that mosquitoes have ramped up their colonisation of the globe. 

The ousted Awami League, true to form, also attempted to control mosquitoes through fascism: crackdowns, emergency drives, bans on stagnant water. Yet mosquitoes, being the bigger fascists at heart, refused to bow down to BAL's Gestapo tactics. 

A glimmer of hope

In recent years, researchers have experimented with genetically modifying mosquitoes by infecting them with Wolbachia, a bacteria that blocks their ability to transmit dengue. Unlike coils and sprays, Wolbachia does not kill mosquitoes but transforms them into harmless neighbours. 

Trials in Indonesia and Brazil have shown remarkable results, slashing dengue cases by up to 77%. 

The World Mosquito Programme hopes to expand this approach across Asia, and if Bangladesh joins in, we may finally have a weapon that makes the electric bat look like a toy.

Of course, whether science can outpace Bangladesh's bureaucratic delays is another matter. For now, Wolbachia remains a distant promise, while the mosquitoes remain an immediate reality. 

The mosquito has survived climate change, shrugged off fascism, and laughed through an uprising. Will democracy work where everything else has failed? Or will we continue our nightly battles with nets, coils, and bats while waiting for scientific breakthrough?