Off the top of my head I can't think of any other insect that has a day declared in their honor; and it's more in recognition of the amount of misery this tiny species causes worldwide than as a mark of respect or admiration for the little bloodsuckers.

The day actually marks the anniversary of one of the most important scientific discoveries in the battle against malaria. Ronald Ross, a British doctor working in India established the transmission of malaria by mosquitoes, and was later honored with the Nobel Prize for medicine for this discovery. He declared himself that August 20 should be observed annually as World Mosquito Day, which it has been since 1897.

Ross left India in 1899 to become the first senior lecturer, then Professor at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the first institution devoted to tropical medicine anywhere in the world.

Malaria is found most often in warm climates and while common in Africa, Asia, South America and the South Pacific, has been reported in Europe and N. America as well. With climate change and global warming, there’s the danger that malaria may not be eradicated, but in fact, could make a comeback. Notable rises in other mosquito-borne diseases like Dengue fever, Chikungunya fever and West Nile Virus have also been recorded in Italy, Australia and the U.S.

• Malaria strikes hundreds of millions of people each year and kills more than 880,000, mostly children under five.
• It is the world’s third-deadliest infectious disease, behind Aids and tuberculosis.
• Global malaria hotspots include South and Central America, rural Southeast Asia and much of Afrida, where most deaths from the disease occur.
• Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, carried in the saliva of female mosquitoes.
• When an infected insect bites a person, the parasites travel to the liver, multiply and enter the bloodstream.
• The parasites attack red blood cells, causing them to stick to the walls of capillaries, slowing blood flow.
• Without treatment sufferers can die from organ failure.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that an outbreak of drug-resistant malaria in western Cambodia now poses a major threat to global efforts of eradication of this mosquito-borne disease.

The warning follows the release of a study (July 30, 2009) which found that treatments derived from artemisinin, the basis of the most effective anti-malaria drugs, took twice as long to clear malaria parasites from Cambodian patients as it did from patients in neighboring Thailand.

Arjen Dondorp, the leader of the WHO-backed study said: “It is a very worrying trend because instead of being able to kill the parasite in 48 hours it now takes about 84 hours," he said.

"This longer time means that in some patients the parasite is not completely eradicated from the body, allowing the few parasites that are left to grow and reappear weeks later."

Another concern, is that artemisinin resistance could spread to Africa, where 90 per cent of the world's malaria deaths occur.

The region of Cambodia, where the drug resistant malaria parasites have been discovered has hosted drug resistant malaria parasites in the past. The drugs chloroquine and fansidar lost effectiveness there in the l950s and 60s, before becoming ineffective elsewhere. Now news that the same region is developing a resistance to artemisinin, has raised fears that one of the world's frontline drugs used in combating the disease could soon become useless. The findings, are expected to add urgency to efforts to halt the spread of the new strain which experts say could lead to millions more deaths from the disease.

"Artemisinins are essential weapons in our war against malaria," said Nick White, one of the scientists involved in the study. "If they become ineffective, we have no immediate replacement. The consequences could be devastating. Elimination of malaria will not be possible and millions of lives could be lost."

Derived from an ancient Chinese herbal remedy, artemisinin has long been considered a wonder cure for malaria.  Fast-acting, with few side effects, it was almost 100 per cent effective. The drug, produced from the sweet wormwood tree, had been used in Chinese traditional medicine for centuries and was reportedly given by China to Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, when its use as a malaria treatment was rediscovered

Over the years, progress has been made in stamping out the disease only for it to develop resistance to every treatment. New drugs and insecticides are required to combat malaria in the 21st century and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is continuing the work of Dr Ross by leading a number of global projects aimed at preventing death and disease. Professor Steve Ward, Deputy Director, of LSTM reports: “Malaria is still a devastating disease, with nearly 250 million cases and more than one million deaths every year.  Mosquitoes have developed resistance to existing insecticides and there is evidence of emerging resistance by the parasite to the drugs used to treat the disease.”

Currently there is no vaccine to protect against mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, Eastern Equine Encephaltis (EEE) and West Nile virus so prevention and protection is essential.

One bite is all it takes to contract disease, and the risk of becoming infected with mosquito-borne disease in the U.S. is highest from late July through to September.

When set up properly, just one or two mosquito traps have the potential to kill thousands of mosquitoes, reducing the risk of West Nile virus or any mosquito-borne diseases. And when used as part of an integrated pest management program (including source reduction, larval control and the use of repellents) can help reduce dependence on sprays of toxic pesticides.