A common house mosquito (Culex pipiens) is about to sink her six-weaponed proboscis into a human arm. This type transmits West Nile virus by biting infected birds, then biting humans. Josh Cassidy/KQED hide caption
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Mosquito larvae fill the cup of stale water that entomologist Luis Hernandez dips from a stack of old tires in a suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption
Previous experience with dengue outbreaks in Puerto Rico has shown that even small amounts of standing water — as in the vases of cemeteries — can serve as breeding areas for the mosquitoes that carry dengue and Zika. Pan American Health Organization/Flickr hide caption
The Aedes aegypti mosquito has been linked to both dengue fever and the Zika virus. MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
While some scientists seek ways to stop the spread of Zika by mosquitoes, others have received new funding from the National Institutes of Health to track the genes and habits of the virus itself. Felipe Dana/AP hide caption
If you're heading to China, check out the list of recommended vaccines. And be careful on that ice! Kevin Frayer/Getty Images hide caption
The dengue virus has an icosahedral shape, similar to the pattern on a soccer ball. Antibodies stop the virus by binding to its surface. Laguna Design/Science Source hide caption
Kevin Flores, 11, remains under a mosquito net while being treated for dengue fever at La Mascota hospital in Managua, Nicaragua, last fall. Inti Ocon/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The World Cup will come to the Arena de Sao Paola, shown here when it was under construction last fall. Brazil is also making a big push to control the local mosquitoes that can spread dengue fever. Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images hide caption
The chikunguyna virus was discovered in 1955 by two scientists in Tanzania. EMDataBank using UCSF Chimera hide caption
Mosquitoes like this Aedes aegypti female can spread dengue fever. James Gathany/CDC hide caption
Inspector Mohammad Saleem Taqi takes a photo of sanitation workers as they clear out debris in sewers. The government feeds the photos into a map to track the city's effort to stop dengue fever. Beenish Ahmed/NPR hide caption
In 2010, Florida health officials looked for mosquito larvae in vehicle tires where water had collected. As many as 15 cases have been found in Stuart this year. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption