Zika and aedes are a deadly duo

THE sudden rise in certain birth abnormalities in warm countries may be caused by Zika virus infection, writes Richard Collins

Like the notorious dengue and yellow fever viruses, this one uses mosquitoes as a taxi service. Female mosquitoes need a blood meal to form their eggs. Flitting from person to person, they pick up and spread the parasites with their bites.

The malaria bug, which isn’t a virus, uses anopheles mosquitoes to get around. These are active mainly at dawn and dusk.