The 5-useless-info guide of the month…

…for those living in the developed part of the world,

the others might actually find it quite useful!

(1) There are an estimated 500 million people at risk of malaria in Africa alone. Approximately 250 million nets are required to cover this population and, if a net has an average life span of five years, this means 50 million nets a year are needed to maintain coverage.

(2) Most malaria-endemic countries in Africa spend only US$ 4 per capita a year on health, equivalent to the average cost of an untreated net in countries where nets are widely available. It would require US$ 200 million a year to provide 50 million nets and a further US$ 25 million a year to treat these nets with insecticide.

(3) Paederus sabaeus Erichson also known as the Nairobi fly or Champion fly is a Staphylinid beetle found in both East and West Africa. The genus Paederus has almost 600 species worldwide. It is an active predator of several crop-damaging insects and occurs in warm tropical climates. The insect breeds in wet rotting leaves and soil. The beetle is drawn to light fixtures and candles at night. The beetle does not bite or sting, but when crushed against the skin it releases a potent toxin known as pederin that results in itching, burning, erythema and oozing 12-48 hours later.

(4) Human African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, now threatens the lives of millions of people in Africa once again. The disease was under control between 1960 and 1965 thanks to mobile teams systematically screening millions of people at risk and vector control in some foci but reappeared during the 1980s. In 1995, around 300 000 people were estimated to be infected by the disease. Sleeping sickness is transmitted by the bite of tsetse flies, killing people and causing abortion and perinatal death from mother-to-child infection.

(5) Bed bugs are small wingless insects that feed solely upon the blood of warm-blooded animals. Bed bugs seek out people and animals, generally at night while these hosts are asleep, and painlessly sip a few drops of blood. While feeding, they inject a tiny amount of their saliva into the skin. The skin lesion produced by the bite of a bed bug resembles those caused by many other kinds of blood feeding insects, such as mosquitoes and fleas. Despite what you may have heard or read elsewhere, bed bugs are not known to transmit any infectious agents.

 

Backstage trivia: Two months ago I was treated for malaria falciparum ( I do sleep under a bednet and I am on prophylaxis with Malarone), three months ago I suspected presence of bedbugs on my bed, one month ago i was chasing a tsetse fly out of the landcruiser, last week I did the awful mistake to crush a nairobi fly on my leg (by mistake…)!

~ by martsolka on January 31, 2009.