Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, Mosquitoes, and Copepods
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概要
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The story of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, an "emergent" disease known only since 1950,illustrates the benefits that are possible with local community action and ecological management. Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever is transmitted by mosquitoes that breed in water storage tanks and other water-filled containers around people's homes. There is no vaccine or medicine for this virus ; the only way to prevent the disease is to get rid of the mosquitoes. Initially spectacular success controlling the mosquitoes with DDT during the 1950s and 1960s was not sustainable because the mosquitoes evolved resistance to DDT. Other pesticides have gone into use, but there has been no overall reduction in the disease. Nearly one hundred million people in tropical Asia and Latin America are now afflicted with dengue each year, about one-half million children are hospitalized annually with life-threatening Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, and thousands die. The pesticide-based strategy of the last fifty years has been a failure, but what else can be done? Ecological management promises to be more effective and sustainable. The copepod Mesocyclops provides an example. This tiny crustacean kills virtually all the mosquito larvae whenever it is in water-filled containers where the mosquitoes breed. Vietnam has mounted a campaign to distribute copepods to thousands of villages with a dengue problem. The mosquito and the disease have disappeared from every village that uses this predator. The key to success is strong community organization to ensure that everyone in a village uses the copepods.
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関連論文
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- Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, Mosquitoes, and Copepods