OUR PESKY LITTLE FRIEND, THE MOSQUITO

An article in the BBC mentions that the Malaria virus is developing multi-drug resistance in parts of South East Asia, and there are worries that this might spread to Africa, where most of the world's Malaria cases occur. Malaria kills about half a million people per year.

Cite: "Malaria parasites resistant to key drugs have spread rapidly in South East Asia, researchers from the UK and Thailand say. The parasites have moved from Cambodia to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, where half of patients are not being cured by first-choice drugs."
End cite.

SOURCE: Resistant malaria spreading - James Gallagher, BBC NEWS

Cite: ""This highly successful resistant parasite strain is capable of invading new territories and acquiring new genetic properties, raising the terrifying prospect that it could spread to Africa, where most malaria cases occur, as resistance to chloroquine did in the 1980s, contributing to millions of deaths," Prof Olivo Miotto, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and University of Oxford, said."
End cite.


Well that's just ducky!


Even though here in the San Francisco Bay Area malaria is not an issue, mosquitoes can still be a problem. My apartment mate keeps a mosquito net around her bed because her skin and blood are appealing to the insects, whereas though I have mosquito nets of my own I have not deployed them in years.

She is Cantonese American and petite = Tasty.
I am Caucasian and smoke tobacco = Icky poo.

Because mosquitoes seldom bother me here in the North West sector of the city, and I'm a dab shot at clouting myself in the head to kill the little buggers, normally I don't worry about them. I just light up a stick of snow pear incense and chase them elsewhere. Which happens about four or five times a year.


But let us look at Mosquito Borne Ailments in the United States.

CHIKUNGUNYA
Horrible joint pain. Takes several weeks. Florida and spreading.

DENGUE
Also called break-bone fever. Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas. Spreading.

YELLOW FEVER
Tropical belt, not an issue in the United States.

EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS (EE)
Humans, horses, other animals. Fevers, sometimes sudden intense fever. Headaches, sometimes severe enough to be excruciating. Possibly coma, seizures, and death. Possibly permanent brain damage. Charming. Swampland, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

ST. LOUIS ENCEPHALITIS (SLE)
Symptoms similar to Eastern Equine Encephalitis mentioned above. Occurs nationwide, more common along the Gulf Coast. Rare.

LACROSSE ENCEPHALITIS (LAC)
Infrequent, localized.

WESTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS (WEE)
West of the Mississippi, from Canada to Mexico. Rare.

WEST NILE VIRUS (WNV)
Symptoms between mild and flu-like to seriously encephalitic. Nationwide. Rare in drier cooler zones, grossly under-reported.

ZIKA VIRUS
Fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis. May not prompt a medical visit. Lasts for weeks. Looms on our Southern Border.


Many if not most of these diseases are spread by the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the Yellow Fever Mosquito (Aedes aegypti). Mosquito Season is year-round in San Francisco, peaking during "Indian Summer". West Nile, Zika, and Yellow Fever have not yet been found here, nor Malaria. West Nile and Zika are becoming worries in warmer parts of the Bay Area.


My advice, for what it's worth: Mosquito nets and White Flower Lotion (白花油 'pak faa yau') on wrists and ankles, if you are of Asian origin or have reasons to believe that you are tasty. Otherwise, use tobacco and snow pear incense (雪梨香 'suet lei heung'). Remove any sources of standing water, install fine mesh screens, and avoid marshy areas like Market Street, The Tenderloin, and Florida.

Burning spent tea leaves also works, I've heard.
Probably not recommended in drafty rooms.




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