At least mosquitoes find me attractive

https://www.facebook.com/116643335063685/videos/1825194060875262/UzpfSTEyNjA0MDg5Mzc0Mjc4NjU6MTI2NDUyNjkyNzAxNjA2Ng/

Seriously though, I am a magnet for gnats and mosquitoes. When I moved to South Georgia in Fall of 2017, I had just taken Foundations of Epidemiology and was on to Epidemiology of Emerging Diseases - diseases were on my mind and you can bet that I have been covered in insect repellent ever since.

Check out the video above from my hometown's health department. Those are mosquito larvae recovered from someone's standing water in their backyard - GROSS!

Standing water = breeding ground for mosquitoes

Prevention Tips: - Use EPA-registered Insect Repellent - Apply sunscreen first, insect repellent second (your skin health is important, too!) - Empty/scrub items that hold water once a week (tires, planters, trash containers, etc) - any items that hold water - mosquitoes lay eggs near water - Wear long sleeved shirts & pants (treat clothing with Permethrin)

These little suckers (boy do I love a good pun) spread West Nile Virus, Zika, Chikugunya, dengue, and malaria.

West Nile Virus Facts (Gordis, 2014):

- WNV was first isolated in 1937 in Northern Uganda

- WNV was first identified in NYC in 1999 & rapidly spread in the US through 2002

- In 2002, human cases were reported from 619 countries (in 37 states & District of Columbia)

- In recent years, approx 1 in 150 infections have resulted in meningitis or encephalitis

- The risk is great in people over the age of 50

- Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, rash, headache, & muscle weakness

- Case fatality can be as high as 14%

Fun Facts: In the early 1800s, some physicians suggested that mosquitoes may spread yellow fever. In 1898, studies were able to show that yellow fever was not spread directly from person to person, but by insects - thanks, mosquitoes (Nelson and Williams, 2014)!

(Not so) Fun Fact: Mosquitoes have recently tested positive for West Nile Virus in my current county. Prevention and control is the name of the game with mosquitoes.

Zika Virus Facts (CDC, 2018)

- if you are traveling, check your area for Zika Virus http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-information

- Zika infection during pregnancy can cause severe birth defects

- Zika virus can be passed through sex (another reason for safe sex with condoms!) even if the person may not have symptoms at the time

- People usually do not get sick enough to go to hospital and rarely die from Zika

Yellow Fever Facts (CDC, 2018)

- There is select availability for vaccines in the US - check with your local occupational health clinic or by visiting https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/search-for-stamaril-clinics

- There is a large, on-going outbreak in Brazil

Key Terms:

- Epidemiology: a core discipline in public health; the study of how disease is distributed in populations and the factors that influence or determine the distribution (Gordis, 2014)

- Meningitis: inflammation of membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (CDC, 2018)

- Encephalitis: inflammation of the brain (CDC, 2018)

- Case fatality: proportion of people who develop the disease (cases) who then die of the disease (Nelson and Williams, 2014)

References

- Center for Disease Control (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/prevention/index.html on July 16, 2018.

- Gordis, Leon (2014). Epidemiology. Elsevier Saunders.

- Nelson, K.E. and Williams, C.M. (2014) Infectious Disease Epidemiolgy: Theory and Practice. Jones and Bartlett Learning

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