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U.S., Latin America declare war on Zika mosquito
The Washington Times ^ | February 14, 2016 | Tom Howell Jr.

Posted on 02/14/2016 7:09:02 PM PST by jazusamo

They bite during the day and find humans tastier than the rest of the animal kingdom -- and that's exactly what makes the Aedes mosquito so dangerous.

Well, that and the fact that it carries the Zika virus, which has terrified the globe.

"There is the enemy," Dr. Tom Frieden, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Congress as he projected an image of the bug on screen last week, calling for a massive effort -- with a staggering $1.8 billion price tag -- to combat the danger.

The Zika virus is an obscure agent that festered in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region for decades before it made its way to Brazil by early 2015. Since then, it has been linked to a major uptick in microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads -- raising the stakes around a virus that otherwise typically causes mild symptoms and more often none at all.

It also means the Aedes aegypti mosquito is now a primary foe in at least 25 Latin American countries.

The U.S. is bracing for a fight of its own, once temperatures climb and mosquitoes proliferate. Aedes aegypti populations tend to be limited to a few Southern states, such as Florida and Texas, and many American homes and businesses employ air conditioning or have screened-in windows, forcing the mosquitoes outside.

Scientists say the species thrives on coasts and could expand its northern reach in the summertime.

Another mosquito, the Aedes albopictus, is more prevalent in the U.S. and has spread Zika in a laboratory setting.

Whether that poses a problem will be become clear in the next few months as Zika pushes north and threatens U.S. shores, said Grayson Brown, a professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky...

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: latinamerica; mosquitos; usa; zika; zikavirus
Bringing back DDT may not eradicate Zika mosquitos but it'd sure put a dent in them.
1 posted on 02/14/2016 7:09:02 PM PST by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo
If the U.S. battles the Aedes mosquito (the kind that carries Zika virus) as effectively as it battles ISIS, we're screwed.
2 posted on 02/14/2016 7:14:47 PM PST by EinNYC
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To: jazusamo

Obama has drawn a red line for those mosquitoes. We’ll be safe.


3 posted on 02/14/2016 7:15:46 PM PST by Fhios (circa 2016: Truth will be outlawed unless pre-approved.)
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To: EinNYC

You’ve got the so right!


4 posted on 02/14/2016 7:16:59 PM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to the Freep-a-Thon? https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: jazusamo

the = that


5 posted on 02/14/2016 7:20:02 PM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to the Freep-a-Thon? https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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6 posted on 02/14/2016 7:21:12 PM PST by DoughtyOne (Facing Trump nomination inevitability, folks are now openly trying to help Hillary destroy him.)
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To: jazusamo

#mosquitolivesmatter


7 posted on 02/14/2016 7:26:40 PM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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To: jazusamo

IMHO The success of DDT use in eradicating pestilence has always been overshadowed by the problems of its use. The hand-wringers! Some will say there are safer products but none of these products are as effective as DDT.


8 posted on 02/14/2016 7:29:37 PM PST by fastrock (It is never right to do wrong, even if sanctioned by law. - Abe Lincoln)
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To: jazusamo

I don’t know why all the liberals are getting excited over fighting Zika. It really is a trivia disease for “people.” All it significantly harms is an “unviable tissue mass.” When did liberals ever care about that?


9 posted on 02/14/2016 7:36:42 PM PST by JohnBovenmyer (Obama been Liberal. Hope Changed)
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Please bump the Freepathon or click above to donate or become a monthly donor!

10 posted on 02/14/2016 8:18:01 PM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to the Freep-a-Thon? https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: jazusamo

Yep!
Until they bring back DDT, they ain’t serious.

The population control crowd will be really upset to see so many third world lives saved.

That was they’re motivation then, as it is now.


11 posted on 02/14/2016 9:02:19 PM PST by G Larry (ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS impose SLAVE WAGES on LEGAL Immigrants.)
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To: fastrock

There is absolutely no evidence that DDT is dangerous other than to enviro wackos who prefer pestilence to health.


12 posted on 02/14/2016 11:26:30 PM PST by Louis Foxwell (Stop Islam and save the world.)
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To: jazusamo

Given the affinity that leftists have for blood suckers, nothing will change.

Besides they left now has an effective means to encourage depopulation via abortion. Why would they want to stop this?!?


13 posted on 02/15/2016 4:14:16 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: jazusamo

Just one more thing they are throwing at us


14 posted on 02/15/2016 4:17:01 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: jazusamo

When they UN-ban DDT, and apologize for the millions that have died because if a liberal book and subsequent lies...then will war have been declared. Until then...hot air and rhetoric.


15 posted on 02/15/2016 5:44:34 AM PST by ThePatriotsFlag ( Anything FREELY-GIVEN by the government was TAKEN from someone else.)
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To: jazusamo

Sensationalist headlines from the media again. “Declare war”? Really? Bugs have bombs??


16 posted on 02/15/2016 6:09:38 AM PST by CodeToad (Islam should be banned and treated as a criminal enterprise!)
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