Posted on 05/23/2016 9:56:58 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The spread of Zika is the price being paid for a massive policy failure on mosquito control, says World Health Organization leader Margaret Chan.
Speaking at the agency's annual World Health Assembly, Dr Chan said experts had "dropped the ball" in the 1970s with regards to getting a handle on disease-carrying insects.
More than 60 countries and territories now have continuing Zika transmission.
Most recently, the infection, spread by mosquito bites, reached Africa.
...
Eradication campaigns were successful in the Americas with 18 countries getting rid of the insect by 1962.
But insecticide resistance plus a lack of political will led to the Aedes aegypti mosquito rebounding.
"With no vaccines and no reliable and widely available diagnostic tests, to protect women of childbearing age, all we can offer is advice.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
And malaria thanks to the ban on DDT.
Not all birds were subject to eggshell thinning. Pretty much only birds that feed off of fish- osprey and bald eagles and brown pelicans. Bald eagles got it the worst because they were feeding from fish nearest agricultural fields and urban runoff, and DDT wasn’t breaking down, it was accumulating.
The environmentalists went after malathion as well at the time as I recall, and then of course everyone had termite problems.
We use permethrin for that now. Problem is, permethrin is toxic to cats.
Its natural form, pyrethrum, made from chrysanthemum flowers, isn’t toxic to cats but breaks down in sunlight, so it is good only inside the barn. The chrysanthemum has been used at least since the Napoleonic wars to rid the French of fleas and the dreaded louse.
“Its natural form, pyrethrum, made from chrysanthemum flowers, isnt toxic to cats but breaks down in sunlight, so it is good only inside the barn....”
If I’m not mistaken, pyrethrum is even (or was) certified for use in organic farming methods. Either way, I use it, and it works on most all but the toughest of insects such as Mexican Bean Beetles, Squash Bugs, or full sized grasshoppers. But it even works on those when they’re young and still soft. But because it DOES break down rapidly in sunlight, it requires a daily application until the results are achieved. Good stuff!
DDT. We have rachel carson to thank for millions dieing over the years because of her inaccurate spew...silent spring.
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