Posted on 07/19/2004 12:06:48 PM PDT by paltz
TOLEDO, Ohio - Flicking away pesky mosquitoes may be better than swatting the bloodsucking insects, researchers say.
The issue is reviewed in an article published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine that focuses on a 57-year-old Pennsylvania woman who died in 2002 of a fungal infection in her muscles called Brachiola algerae.
Doctors were puzzled because the fungus was thought to be found only in mosquitoes and other insects. But it's not found in mosquito saliva, so a simple mosquito bite could not have caused the infection.
The article's authors concluded that the woman must have smashed a mosquito on her skin, smearing its body parts into the bite.
"I think if a mosquito was in mid-bite, it would be wiser to flick the mosquito off rather than squashing it," said one of the authors, Christina Coyle of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Many people already take similar advice when removing ticks. Doctors have long cautioned that squashing a tick on skin could put a person at greater risk of Lyme disease, said Dawn Wesson, a tropical medicine specialist at Tulane University.
Despite the Pennsylvania case, Roger Nasci, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mosquito expert, said there is no scientific basis for switching to flicking.
ONE person out of how many BILLIONS?
Gotta have a law - save da chillun! We need a commision - $$$$ in aid to the poor!
"Despite the Pennsylvania case, Roger Nasci, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mosquito expert, said there is no scientific basis for switching to flicking."
My thoughts, exactly!! What an over reaction, if I ever saw one!
SSSShhhhhhh. Somewhere, some politician is drafting a law making swatting mosquitos punishable by 10 years in jail. More if you swat mosquitos on a minor, within 1000 feet of a school, or if you make derogatory comments ("hate speech") about mosquitos beforehand.
It is cheaper to invest in some deep woods off. The DEET is what works to keep those pesky "skeeters" away!
Also, we should never forget that mosquitos have rights, too. They don't deserve to be killed just because they act in accordance with their cultural beliefs and upbringing.
I hate those bloodsuckers! And I'm not too wild about the mosquitos either.
Although, I will admit that pols are more satisfying to slap.
I'd rather flick than squish!
Thanks, I had the right church wrong pew.
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