n. a large group of insects, including *mosquitoes, gnats, midges, house flies, and *tsetse flies, that possess a single pair of wings. The mouthparts of many species, e.g. mosquitoes and tsetse flies, are specialized for sucking blood; these forms are important in the transmission of disease (see vector). See also fly.
A genus of flies (Diptera) which includes the housefly, M.domestica, a potential mechanical vector of enteric viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens. Can also mechanically transmit trachoma.... musca
n. a small winged bloodsucking insect belonging to a large group – the *Diptera (two-winged flies). Its mouthparts are formed into a long proboscis for piercing the skin and sucking blood. Female mosquitoes transmit the parasites responsible for several major infectious diseases, such as *malaria. The mosquito-borne zika virus has recently been shown to cause *microcephaly. See Anopheles; Aëdes; Culex.... mosquito
Health Encyclopedia