This story appeared in my news feed this morning. Some people find in hard to believe that there are tigers in Siberia, but there are. There is a thought that the Russians built prisons in Siberia not only to keep prisoners as far away from European Russia as possible, but to discourage prisoners from escaping because of the tigers, brown bears and wolves in the forest of Siberia. Currently the population of Siberian tigers is believed to be near or below 1,000 animals.
Now something closer to home.
This beautiful insect is Sabethes syaneus. It is a mosquito, so it in itself is not much more than a pest, and only the females at that. But the diseases that it carries are another issue.
First there is zika, a virus that we haven’t heard about recently. But think back to a few years ago when pregnant women who were infected with zika delivered babies with microcephaly or anencephaly.
Then there is dengue, another virus that causes dengue fever. This disease can vary from moderately bad to deadly. My father had dengue during World War II in the South Pacific. He was quite sick for several years and sent home where he was discharged. He was fortunate to have survived. Still to this day there is no vaccine.
Finally, there is yellow fever, another viral disease. This disease ranges as far north as Panama, where it is endemic. It is an extremely dangerous disease with a high degree of fatality. Fortunately there is a vaccine for it. I got vaccinated when I went to Panama in 2019.
The good news that that currently this mosquito does not occur in the U.S., but it does range into southern Mexico. The question is, with global climate change how long with it be until it does occur in the U.S.? Perhaps is won’t get here in our lifetime, but it will in our childrens.
More later…
Michael's Place 