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Tip of the Day
Keep eggs out of the fridge to save energy when cooking them
Dengue for the UK?
photo credit: James Gathany/CDC (public domain)
It’s coming some time and maybe…
The Asian tiger mosquito originates in hot and muggy South East Asia. But international trade, tourism and (increasingly) climate change will enable the tropical disease-carrying insect to establish itself in northern Europe, including the UK.
Reports last September from the US told of how the smaller, but more aggressive Asian tiger mosquito was causing problems in the states of California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii; and cities including Memphis, New Orleans and Washington DC.
In Europe, the Asian tiger has already encroached upon parts of Italy, Spain, southern France, the Balkans and even The Netherlands. Italy experienced an outbreak of chikungunya fever, brought back by a tourist who visited India. Dengue cases have also been documented in Germany and France. As the climate changes, these outbreaks are predicted to become more frequent.
From the Independent:
Computer simulations of how the climate in Europe has changed over the past half-century and of how it is likely to change in the coming decades suggest that conditions across wider areas of northern Europe will become more favourable for the mosquito, says a study by scientists from Liverpool University and the Government’s Health Protection Agency.
Those countries whose climates are becoming wetter and hotter are the ones at risk, while areas becoming drier, like southern Spain, are turning less hospitable to the Asian tiger mosquito.
But it’s already established a foothold in Europe.
From an AFP article:
As of last December, the mosquito was present in more than 15 countries, from southern Spain to parts of Greece and Turkey, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
I’ll make sure I pack a good repellent on my next holiday.
Tags: Asian Tiger, dengue, Europe, mosquito
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mmmmm yeah and no…In this article the mosquito is Asian tiger mosquito scientific name aedes albopictus, the mosquito here scientific name is aedes egypti. these mosquitoes are of the same specie of course but having distinctive characteristics but not usually considered a different breed or variety, you call it STRAIN, there’s superior strain, smooth strain etc…
The very first strain of mosquitoes here were the aedes egypti, they said that when you got dengue your body will develop immunity for that strain. When dengue cases seemed under control another strain came after the other which is superior than the egypti, the albopictus.
Thanks for the tips, Rachel. I’ve met someone who said they had Dengue and while they looked a bit sick, it didn’t seem life threatening. Maybe there are different varieties?
When you have 3 days of fever , observe some signs like muscle or stomach pain. see if there are rashes on your tummy if none try to put a tourniquet on your upper arm and see some rashes that would appear….some signs include nose bleeding, and some speck of blood in a stool…Usually one will be requested for a hospital confinement. Dengue will attack the red blood cell causing the number of platelets to go down rapidly..If you see those signs don’t ignore…We have so much dengue cases here and I’ve lost some relatives and friends…these mosquitoes are active during the day especially in the afternoon and take note they don’t like dirty water they like clean stagnant water like the vase…..
TIPS TO MAKE YOUR HOME MOSQUITO FREE: There are essential oils that mosquito really hates Ex..Citronella oil,Cinnamon oil, Eucalyptos oil, castor oil…use these scents for your aroma therapy and it’s a wonderful mosquito repellents at the same time…..