#mosquito-borne illness

[creativemedianews]

Fears of incurable mosquito-borne virus prompt Massachusetts town's voluntary lockdown after dark

Fears of incurable mosquito-borne virus prompt Massachusetts town's voluntary lockdown after dark #communityresponse

[theghostwhotumbles]

Mass vaxxes against mozzies latest madness

Worldwide mass vaccination against mosquito-borne illnesses as the insects are forced to migrate due to climate change is the latest madness from the World Health Organization. The plan is the brainrave of WHO’s chief covid psycho Maria Van Kerkhove. These fear-mongering Big Pharma kickback crooks, led by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, should be locked up in an asylum for the…

[bat-connoisseur]

People acting like animals should have a use or a purpose so that they have the right to continue existing is one of the most regressive and annoying things that I keep seeing fucking EVERYWHERE.

Animals should be allowed to live and are important for the simple fact that they are here and alive. You see it a lot with insects. Just because they are personally annoying to you doesn't mean they are less deserving of life. Everything interacts with everything else to keep the whole world ticking around, and it is not up to us to upset that. So what if mosquitoes annoy you. I don't give a shit. They shouldn't be blanket exterminated because of this. Not to mention the fact that they are important. They are pollinators, food for other animals, but even if they weren't, even if they just did nothing, that wouldn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to exist. What gives you the authority to decide that, huh? Why are you so special?

This goes for humans too, by the way. Why must a person contribute or work or whatever to be worthy of being loved and supported? They're alive, and therefore have inherent value. If you think that isn't enough, then you are the problem. Have some god damn compassion, or failing that, just keep quiet.

[petewentzisblack1312]

i need to [remembers that all creatures have an important place in the ecosystem] kill every mosquito

[kiwisoap]

I usually feed Odyssey in the evenings (just cus that's how my schedule usually shakes out) and when I drop his food in, he ALWAYS slams it full force like he has to kill it. Anyway I fed him later than usual a couple nights ago and when I dropped the food in he didn't hop off his perch to get it. And I was IMMEDIATELY like "oh no he's sick, he's dying, this is a Symptom, my BOY,," (bc illness symptoms in raptors are often rapid-onset)

But he finally (carefully) hopped to the ground from his perch and walked over to the food and I realized that it was just slightly too dark outside for him and he was uncomfortable flying. Lmao

[wolvesandcomputers]

Im not normally one to kill something on sight. But thousands of years of evolution sing counterpoint to the mosquitoes whine.

Its kill or be killed and the blood smeared down the wall will not be mine.

[raynbow-shimmer]

OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS! AURORAS IN ALABAMA!!!!

[creativemedianews]

In reaction to dangerous mosquito-borne diseases, US cities spray insecticides into roadways in uncommon moves

In reaction to dangerous mosquito-borne diseases, US cities spray insecticides into roadways in uncommon moves

[screechingsandwichhologram]

one time me and my friends were talking about our experiences with illness and I mentioned that I had/have Lyme disease and someone said that no I didn't because if I did I would be dead. which, no, that's not how Lyme works. It can cause really really bad issues if left untreated but its not like its immediately fatal or anything???????? where did they even get that from??? and then they refused to admit they were wrong. that was wild lmao

[trexalicious]

Covid was simply a test! Reminder that EEE is transmitted by infected mosquito bites...

Voluntary Lockdown Imposed at Four Massachusetts Towns to Combat Deadly and Incurable Mosquito-Borne Disease

Four Massachusetts towns—Webster, Oxford, Sutton, and Douglas—have imposed a voluntary evening lockdown following the confirmation of a human case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in Worcester County, marking the first such case since 2020, Daily Mail reported. Massachusetts health officials are on high alert as the state grapples with the reemergence of EEE. Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), also known as Triple E disease, is a rare but serious viral illness transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.

[amnhnyc]

Have you ever noticed this gigantic mosquito at the Museum?

This isn’t a specimen of some monstrously-sized insect, but instead a scaled-up model of the tiny Anopheles maculipennis. This mosquito model is enlarged 47 times and debuted at the Museum in 1917 as part of an effort to educate the public about mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria and yellow fever.

Of the more than 3,500 species of mosquito known to science, the Anopheles mosquito is among a small handful responsible for malaria transmission in humans. While only females bite and transmit disease to humans, this model is a male.

At the time, it was a somewhat controversial idea that the mosquito, not poor sanitation, spread malaria. Since the model’s unveiling at the Museum, huge advances have been made in the global effort to combat and treat malaria as well as to educate the public about the disease.

Photo: © AMNH

[great-and-small]

I got excited just now seeing some of your mosquito-positive posts because I am currently on a deep dive about mosquitoes as well! same hat!

It will actually be pretty funny if I cultivate a reputation for myself as a pro-mosquito blog despite the sheer number of them I ruthlessly squish on a daily basis. I must admit I am not immune to becoming absolutely incandescent with rage at the mere sound of that telltale whine by my ear.

That said, I am very grateful that I am the type of person that can hold both irritation and curiosity towards an animal at the same time. I am a pro at smacking skeeters, but I still find them incredibly interesting, and I’m still able to understand the role that they play in all kinds of ecosystems.

There are so many mosquitoes that are completely incapable of harming humans but I still get so many furious people in my ask box whenever I say I think mosquitoes are important! The only way to effectively prevent vector-borne diseases in humans is to start with a thorough understanding of the animals that spread these illnesses. And sure, you and I trawling Wikipedia for information on an obscure mosquito species won’t cure Dengue fever, but maybe the two of us adding to the collective human understanding of these animals is objectively a good thing?

Anyways sorry for the rant but hell yes same hat 😅 🎩

[bogleech]

Just read your plastic bug review ( absolutely delightful!) and Id love to hear your mosquito hot takes if you have the time.

Well there's a viral lie that they're ecologically valueless and of course, no, there's really no such thing, and their importance goes far beyond just another food for insect-eaters, but that's more "scientific facts" than "hot takes" so as far as "hot takes" go:

They're both beautiful and cute animals, more charming than butterflies.

The fact that they're bothersome vampires is part of the charm, it's just plain cool that our planet has swarms of night-flying blood-sucking swamp creatures.

I completely reject their status as "deadliest animal" on the basis that a mosquito by itself is irritating but inherently harmless. The diseases they can carry are distinct organisms that evolved to exploit the mosquito as a vehicle. It is worth noting that only a few mosquito species can even transmit illnesses to humans at all!

Speaking of which I notice people are quick to defend bats, raccoons, rats and other more popular animals that can spread disease, but use mosquito borne illness as justification to want mosquitoes totally eradicated, and I think that's pretty transparently a matter of petty spite. Take away the diseases and the mosquito is still an "inconvenience," however harmless, and humans just have a very difficult time with the reality that nature does not exist for our comfort and fun.

Can't help noticing that research into just killing them all off gets more attention and funding than the equally viable and environmentally safer research into simply making them inhospitable to pathogens, and I'm sure that's driven partially by the above biases, but partially because there's probably money and clout in being the one to reduce Pesky Bugs from popular tourist destinations like Florida.

Even having said all of the above, an animal never needs to be harmless, pleasant, or ecologically "essential" to be worthy of admiration. Each is a unique and special sculpture of evolution and a "character" in the vast varied cast of living organisms. Some of them are allowed to be bad guys. Some of them are allowed to just be background filler. The total sum of the different forms taken by life on our planet is what's precious about life on our planet, including every part of it anyone has ever feared or hated.

wiggleys:

[valerico]

north people are so funny bc they'll see you talk about techniques to get rid of mosquitoes and go "why would you do this 🥺 mosquitoes are trying to survive 😔 you're destroying the ecosystem" like they're completely unaware of epidemics such as dengue that the southern hemisphere has been trying to fight against since fucking world war two

[anexperimentallife]

FML. Confirmed with a blood test that it's dengue, and it will probably get worse before it gets any better. Doc said I am in the early stages right now, so no idea how bad it's going to get.

I've gotten ONE mosquito bite in the past month or so, so of COURSE the one that bit me HAD to be carrying dengue fever.

The only treatment is palliative--drink fluids and take pain meds and tylenol--but we're ALSO going to have to pay for daily platelet counts until I turn the corner. (This after we just spent everything we had on my dentures, which already need replaced because of a fuck-up of mine that I don't want to talk about.)

Could be as brief as 2-3 more days before I start improving, could be longer. Probably longer. Some people get a very mild case, and some get more severe, so it's a crap shoot. I just know I've been miserable, waking up alternately shivering and sweating at night.

It's rare for dengue to be fatal, at least--although I'm in several high-risk groups. As a friend of mine who had it before says, "Dengue probably won't kill you, but it'll make you WISH you were dead."

The flash kinda washed out the blotches, but this is the pic I sent my doc, who said, "Yeah, that looks like a Dengue rash, but go in for a blood test to make sure." I'm now pretty much red all over, and like... my skin is swollen? Like, I usually actually have some definition in my back, but not now. (I know, what a thing to focus on, right?)

On the plus side, it has taken me six years on a tropical island before I got my first major mosquito-born tropical illness, so... yay?

[rjzimmerman]

Anthony Fauci: A Mosquito in My Backyard Made Me the Sickest I’ve Ever Been. (New York Times)

Excerpt from this New York Times Op-Ed by Anthony Fauci:

There is no treatment for West Nile virus disease, and I was left to deal with its toll on my body. It was terrifying. I could not swing my legs over the side of the bed to sit up without help from my wife and three daughters. I could not stand up without assistance and certainly could not walk. A very scary part of the ordeal was the effect on my cognition. I was disoriented, unable to remember certain words, asking questions of my family that I should have known the answers to. I was afraid that I would never recover and return to normal.

Fortunately, over a period of a few weeks slow improvement began. I was able to walk with a walker and then without any assistance. Now I can walk a few miles per day with only minimal fatigue, and my cognitive issues have completely resolved. I am on my way to a total recovery, but it has been a harrowing experience.

I tell my story because West Nile virus is a disease that, for many people, can have devastating and permanent consequences. At my age of 83, I was at risk of permanent neurological impairment and even death. Yet the public may be unaware of the danger of this disease and that it continues to spread across the United States; it has been identified in 46 states this year. Unfortunately, very little is being done about it from scientific and public awareness perspectives.

West Nile virus belongs to the family of flaviviruses that also includes yellow fever and dengue viruses. It was first detected in the United States in the New York City area in 1999, most likely introduced from the Middle East or parts of Africa where it is prevalent. Mosquitoes get the virus from infected birds, and then pass the virus on to humans by a bite. West Nile virus infection is by far the most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States: Since 1999, about 60,000 cases have been reported. The actual number of infections is surely higher, no doubt in the millions, since many cases are not reported because infections are often asymptomatic or are confused with other common maladies such as flu. Among the reported cases in the United States, more than 30,000 have had neurological symptoms like mine, resulting in about 23,000 hospitalizations and close to 3,000 deaths.

As climate change makes it easier for mosquitoes to proliferate in many places, West Nile virus disease as well as other mosquito-borne illnesses are emerging as greater threats in this country and elsewhere. Yet, efforts to develop a vaccine or treatment for this illness are modest compared with those for other diseases of public health importance.

So, how do we address this emerging public health threat? Vaccine development must go forward; however, to be successful, clinical trials must be international and include countries with a consistent and large number of cases each year. The pathway to a vaccine cannot be in the United States alone. Global public-private partnerships between the N.I.H. and the drug industry have historically proved successful in the development of a number of important vaccines such as those against hepatitis B and Covid. There is no reason this shouldn’t also be the case for a West Nile virus vaccine.

The same holds true for the development of antiviral drugs. There is no insurmountable scientific obstacle to developing safe and effective antiviral drugs for West Nile virus infection. The pharmaceutical industry in collaboration with the N.I.H. and other partners had remarkable success in developing effective drugs for other emerging viral infections. Examples include lifesaving drugs for H.I.V. infection, therapies for hepatitis C infection and useful drugs for Covid-19 and influenza. With international research partnerships and political will spurred by an engaged activist community such as we have seen with H.I.V. and now long Covid, West Nile virus treatments and prevention tools should be within our grasp.