Tag Archives | Mosquito

Mysterious Drop In Mosquito Numbers

By on August 29, 2011 in News 2

Photo: Arthur Chapman (CC)

Photo: Arthur Chapman (CC)

Is this a good or a bad thing? Incidents of malaria are reduced, but there are less people to test treatment on. Via BBC News:

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are disappearing in some parts of Africa, but scientists are unsure as to why.

Figures indicate controls such as anti-mosquito bed nets are having a significant impact on the incidence of malaria in some sub-Saharan countries.

But in Malaria Journal, researchers say mosquitoes are also disappearing from areas with few controls.

They are uncertain if mosquitoes are being eradicated or whether they will return with renewed vigour.

Data from countries such as Tanzania, Eritrea, Rwanda, Kenya and Zambia all indicate that the incidence of malaria is dropping fast.

[Continues at BBC News]… Read the rest

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New Way To Fight Malaria: Take Pill That Kills Mosquitos After First Bite

By on July 12, 2011 in News 13

Armigeres_subalbatus_mosquitoMalaria is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes. Many communities in Africa and Asia best treatment is in prevention, using insect repellents and nets to sleep in and. This inexpensive deworming pill kills the mosquito once it bites a human who has consumed the medicine, reducing the number of mosquitoes able to pass disease amongst inhabitants. Via The New York Times:

Scientists have proposed an intriguing new way to fight malaria: turning people into human time bombs for mosquitoes.

A cheap deworming pill used in Africa for 25 years against river blindness was recently shown to have a power that scientists had long suspected but never before demonstrated in the field: When mosquitoes bite people who have recently swallowed the drug — called ivermectin or Mectizan — they die.

Other scientists caution that while the mosquito-poisoning trick is pretty nifty, it is not very practical: For it to work effectively, nearly everyone in a mosquito-infested area must take the pills simultaneously.

… Read the rest

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