Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Zika infected mosquitoes may have reached US soil"
Well rats, I really hate to hear this. The little devils are hard to control. A few years ago we had a very bad West Nile outbreak. I wore every kind of repellent imaginable and still got bit. Folks even resorted to automatic spray systems. We had aerial spraying too. My theory was that they lived in the sewers, but who knows.
Oh please. Don't you ever tired of spouting your "government is always wrong" mantra?
The United States has the best system in the world for bringing an abundance of safe and new medicines and vaccines onto the market. It works precisely because its a good combination of private business and government entities that are staffed with competent professionals and operate a mandate that requires proof that new medicines and vaccines are safe and effective, yet charges government agencies, such as the FDA, with the responsibility of approving drugs that serve the public interest.
Honestly, if you're going to get up here and make that sort of claim, at least offer some proof.
Zika was not known to be a problem until literally months ago. If you think a vaccine or other effective strategy can be devised against a disease that quickly.....well.....you don't know much about medical research.
I'm afraid this isn't a good topic for you to prove the superiority of libertarian political philosophy.
I'm not bashing the CDC or its ability identify a threat at an early stage; the successes in the battles against both AIDS and Hepatitis B and C are proof that the system does respond.
But not within the time frames expected by an oversensitized society that has been led to expect too much, too soon, and is then manipulated into searching for a political scapegoat, while entrenched interests within an overly powerful central government beat the drums for a bigger budget, staff, etc.
Sensationalism sells ... or at least wields influence; and there are plenty of would-be spin doctors who twist it to their own purposes; sometimes a threat is nipped in the bud, and at other times, something unanticipated causes great damage. But to depict Big Brother/Sister as the best defense against the "apocalypse of the year" is a disservice to those who actually understand the workings of the processes involved.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adriver
Yes this. I think it was something like it would do such damage to the food chain it would kill off people in 3 years.
Thank you. Exhibit 'A'
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 07-24-2016 at 08:27 PM..
I think the poster was confusing mosquitos with bees.
Probably.
If all mosquitoes disappeared, humanity would not only survive, but more of us would survive. Just imagine being able to sit on your porch on a summer evening and not be attacked. Yup, in the epic struggle of us versus them, they're the ones who have to go.
Hawaii up until the 1800s was mosquito free. It's thought that a European sailing ship dumped some water out of a barrel that contained larvae and thus unfortunately introduced this pest to a paradise. Not only an annoyance, the mosquitoes have actually helped kill off many of the native birds of Hawaii by spreading avian malaria.
There are some 3500 known species of mosquitoes, of which 200 feed on blood (the females only). The rest are just insects that live on pollen and whatever else. Out of those 200 blood suckers, about 7 species carry disease. The Aedes Aegypti, which carries zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever is invasive to the Americas and should be eradicated. The Anopheles carries malaria and is responsible for millions of human deaths per year.
So what can be done? Spraying poison is effective, but it also kills beneficial creatures, causing great ecological damage; also, poisons can cause human disease.
Natural predators -- bats, fish, dragonflies -- all attack mosquitoes in various stages of the life cycle. Dragonflies can eat hundreds of mosquitoes an hour and literally rid the area of these pests. Bats, also. But unfortunately, bats also eat dragonflies and will preferentially go for the larger, juicier insects. Fish eat mosquitoes in the larval form, and in fact dragonfly nymphs which exist in the water will also eat mosquito larvae.
BTi (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) is a bacteria that emits toxins deadly to mosquitoes and black flies in larval form, yet seems to be harmless to other life forms. It was discovered in Israel in 1976 and is sold as a puck (also called mosquito dunks) at most hardware stores. Toss one in a pond or swimming pool that has mosquitoes, and it will kill them off safely.
A laser mosquito system was demonstrated on TED a few years ago. Cameras recognize the mosquitoes (they even can tell the females from the males) and a laser zaps the bugs. Look for these to be installed in affluent back yards around the country in a few years.
The ultimate solution is genetic engineering. The British company Oxitec has invented a modified male mosquito that produces sterile offspring and causes a population implosion. Field tests in Brazil reduced the Aedes (zika-carrying) population by 90% in one suburb of Sao Paulo. There was an attempt to test it in Key West, Florida, but the residents objected. This approach has to be reused every breeding season, or else the population will bounce back eventually.
There's a more long term genetic modification approach that spreads the sterility mutation over several generations before the mosquitoes become sterile. This method would probably kill off mosquitoes entirely.
Should we wipe out disease-carrying, blood sucking mosquitoes? In my opinion, the answer is yes. They cause millions of deaths and much suffering among humans and other mammals, and life will go on without them. We obviously have to make sure we don't end up with another Africanized bee fiasco, as the Floridians fear, but so far, there's no evidence that the mutation does anything but kill skeeters.
For now... put on that DEET or citronella before you venture out of doors, and get rid of standing water.
Just a wonderful write-up. agree 1000%. I would also vote for you if you wanted to wallow in the slop of politics. Wouldn't blame you one bit if you stayed away. Our most intelligent Americans know better. Thanks again!
Just a wonderful write-up. agree 1000%. I would also vote for you if you wanted to wallow in the slop of politics. Wouldn't blame you one bit if you stayed away. Our most intelligent Americans know better. Thanks again!
Agreed. This is the kind of post you wade through the morass for.
Today, MSN has an article on how the healthcare community it trying to gear up for the aftermath. Apparently, we already have hundreds of pregnant moms and dozens of babies with Zika.
Just a wonderful write-up. agree 1000%. I would also vote for you if you wanted to wallow in the slop of politics. Wouldn't blame you one bit if you stayed away. Our most intelligent Americans know better. Thanks again!
Thanks
I don't know; they're a bunch of blood sucking parasites that inflict so much misery on the human race.
...wait, are we talking about politicians, or mosquitoes?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.