News about consequences of contracting the Zika virus has caused panic among people, especially women who are or may become pregnant. The virus is still being studied, and likely we will learn more about its effects, ways in which it is transmitted, and geographic locations in which transmission is active. So far, the virus appears to be mostly a mosquito (vector) transmitted disease. There are many diseases that mosquitoes can transmit with their bites. But, Zika strikes a primal fear in humans because it appears that it may damage our future, the health of the unborn in their mother's womb.
We have a classic case of what is the problem, versus what are the symptoms of a problem. The problem is the Zika virus. Several pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop a vaccine to combat the problem. But, until such a vaccine is created, evaluated, approved, and available in high quantities, we are left mostly with the option of treating the symptom, which is to attempt to prevent the vector from transmitting Zika to humans.
The primary mosquito that can carry the Zika virus is Aedes Aegypti, a mosquito likely to be found around your home and in your city. It tends to bite by day, and generally will stay near to its hatching location, or within 164 yards of it, until it naturally dies within two weeks. A secondary carrier of Zika is the mosquito Aedes Albopictus. That one is more likely to bite other warm-blooded mammals, especially birds, which raises the question of birds carrying Zika over wide ranges of geography. Some bird species range over several continents during their migration cycles.
So, there is a lot of talk about eradicating mosquitoes as a species. The current justification is Zika, but that is only the latest damning evidence against the mosquito, which is the worldwide number one non-human biological danger to human health. In addition to Zika, mosquitoes spread death and misery by transmitting other blood diseases like West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Malaria, and about a dozen other viruses. World health estimates are that each year, more than 700 million people are infected by one of these viruses and more than one million people die of one of them. The mosquito is strongly suspected to be the primary vector. So, is everybody up for killing all mosquitoes?
Guess what is the primary food source of most insect-eating birds? Yep, it is the mosquito. Spiders, wasps, dragonflies and other insects eat them too and are in turn eaten by birds. Turtles, bats, and fish, all higher in the food chain, eat mosquitoes too. When we spray mosquitoes with airborne pesticides, we want to kill the disease carriers, but we also kill off the balance that nature provides, including mosquitoes in the genus Toxorhynchites, which eats the offending mosquito larvae and adults and does not transmit diseases, plus we kill off other beneficial insects. Whether beneficial or not, poisoned insects are consumed by birds, who either die or pass the effects of poison to their young or anything that eats them. What a mess. What do you think we should do?
We have a classic case of what is the problem, versus what are the symptoms of a problem. The problem is the Zika virus. Several pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop a vaccine to combat the problem. But, until such a vaccine is created, evaluated, approved, and available in high quantities, we are left mostly with the option of treating the symptom, which is to attempt to prevent the vector from transmitting Zika to humans.
The primary mosquito that can carry the Zika virus is Aedes Aegypti, a mosquito likely to be found around your home and in your city. It tends to bite by day, and generally will stay near to its hatching location, or within 164 yards of it, until it naturally dies within two weeks. A secondary carrier of Zika is the mosquito Aedes Albopictus. That one is more likely to bite other warm-blooded mammals, especially birds, which raises the question of birds carrying Zika over wide ranges of geography. Some bird species range over several continents during their migration cycles.
So, there is a lot of talk about eradicating mosquitoes as a species. The current justification is Zika, but that is only the latest damning evidence against the mosquito, which is the worldwide number one non-human biological danger to human health. In addition to Zika, mosquitoes spread death and misery by transmitting other blood diseases like West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Malaria, and about a dozen other viruses. World health estimates are that each year, more than 700 million people are infected by one of these viruses and more than one million people die of one of them. The mosquito is strongly suspected to be the primary vector. So, is everybody up for killing all mosquitoes?
Guess what is the primary food source of most insect-eating birds? Yep, it is the mosquito. Spiders, wasps, dragonflies and other insects eat them too and are in turn eaten by birds. Turtles, bats, and fish, all higher in the food chain, eat mosquitoes too. When we spray mosquitoes with airborne pesticides, we want to kill the disease carriers, but we also kill off the balance that nature provides, including mosquitoes in the genus Toxorhynchites, which eats the offending mosquito larvae and adults and does not transmit diseases, plus we kill off other beneficial insects. Whether beneficial or not, poisoned insects are consumed by birds, who either die or pass the effects of poison to their young or anything that eats them. What a mess. What do you think we should do?