3 ms·

So we get as many cases of malaria in Europe, just nobody dies from it? Or maybe it does indeed has something to do with mosquitos after all?

kpil 11y ago
There was malaria in Sweden a couple of hundred years ago, and we still have a few mosquitos. It was never a big problem but malaria went away when it couldn't spread efficiently, largely because of better houses and hygiene such as not keeping the cattle in the same house (room) as the people. Also a lot of breeding ground was dried out and converted to farm land. I'm all for releasing CRISPR on the worst species of mosquitos though. And ticks. They can't serve any function other than killing a few persons each year due to TBE.
- charlieflowers 11y ago
  It's sad when a chain of logical reasoning points out (again) how weird it is that we cannot solve the real problem, which is "Why is there a third world in the first place?" Why does there have to be a region in permanent squalor? Why can't every place on earth where civilization exists be a decent place for humans to live, with peace, opportunity and sanitation? But ... back down to earth. Since we can't fix that larger problem, at least maybe we can stop malaria by killing all the mosquitoes.
  - readams 11y ago
    Malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases are actually a big reason why there is a third world.
    - charlieflowers 11y ago
      Really? How so? (Not attacking ... sincere question). Seems to me that good second-world sanitation might alleviate it. But third world countries lack the sanitation and hence suffer Malaria. Seems the problem is political/social.
      - gohrt 11y ago
        anti-mosquito sanitation is relatively expensive, compared to other forms of sanitation.
  - kpil 11y ago
    I'd guess that the climate in Sweden helps too, so I still think we need CRISPR. Coincidentally, there are quite many areas in Sweden were it is impossible to go outside in the summer without mosquito nets, and it is worsening.
ommunist 11y ago
Actually there are some in Crimea and some in Bulgaria. Literally less than 100 cases in 10 years, mostly imported, not endemic. Treated in hospitals.
soundwave106 11y ago
The WHO recently declared Europe "malaria free". http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-europe-malaria-idUKKCN0XH25Q http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-europe-malaria-idUKK... It seems that at least some of the reason why malaria is so prevalent in sub-Sahara Africa has to do with poor housing, poor management of drainage / sewers, and poor roads. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jtm/2012/819563/ http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jtm/2012/819563/ I'm not ruling out eliminating mosquitoes per se, but the United States and Europe managed to largely eliminate malaria in the 1930s-1940s without eliminating mosquitoes. So before I'd start advocating the elimination of entire subsets of species, I'd ask how the US and Europe were successful in their efforts, and wonder why we can't apply those lessons to the rest of the world. Maybe the money spent in targeting the elimination of mosquitoes (which cause a lot of problems) would be better spent in general health and sanitation (the lack of which also causes a lot of problems), for instance.
lucideer 11y ago
I'm not sure where I suggested there are as many cases in Europe? Mosquitoes do exist in Europe; they don't spread malaria because it isn't there to spread, and it isn't there to spread because of effective healthcare. (Europe isn't a great example as the mosquito population is not exactly high, which I guess is climate-related, but the above is also true of parts of the developed world where their populations are higher)

kpil 11y ago

There was malaria in Sweden a couple of hundred years ago, and we still have a few mosquitos. It was never a big problem but malaria went away when it couldn't spread efficiently, largely because of better houses and hygiene such as not keeping the cattle in the same house (room) as the people. Also a lot of breeding ground was dried out and converted to farm land. I'm all for releasing CRISPR on the worst species of mosquitos though. And ticks. They can't serve any function other than killing a few persons each year due to TBE.

charlieflowers 11y ago
It's sad when a chain of logical reasoning points out (again) how weird it is that we cannot solve the real problem, which is "Why is there a third world in the first place?" Why does there have to be a region in permanent squalor? Why can't every place on earth where civilization exists be a decent place for humans to live, with peace, opportunity and sanitation? But ... back down to earth. Since we can't fix that larger problem, at least maybe we can stop malaria by killing all the mosquitoes.
- readams 11y ago
  Malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases are actually a big reason why there is a third world.
  - charlieflowers 11y ago
    Really? How so? (Not attacking ... sincere question). Seems to me that good second-world sanitation might alleviate it. But third world countries lack the sanitation and hence suffer Malaria. Seems the problem is political/social.
    - gohrt 11y ago
      anti-mosquito sanitation is relatively expensive, compared to other forms of sanitation.
- kpil 11y ago
  I'd guess that the climate in Sweden helps too, so I still think we need CRISPR. Coincidentally, there are quite many areas in Sweden were it is impossible to go outside in the summer without mosquito nets, and it is worsening.

ommunist 11y ago

Actually there are some in Crimea and some in Bulgaria. Literally less than 100 cases in 10 years, mostly imported, not endemic. Treated in hospitals.

soundwave106 11y ago

The WHO recently declared Europe "malaria free". http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-europe-malaria-idUKKCN0XH25Q http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-europe-malaria-idUKK... It seems that at least some of the reason why malaria is so prevalent in sub-Sahara Africa has to do with poor housing, poor management of drainage / sewers, and poor roads. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jtm/2012/819563/ http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jtm/2012/819563/ I'm not ruling out eliminating mosquitoes per se, but the United States and Europe managed to largely eliminate malaria in the 1930s-1940s without eliminating mosquitoes. So before I'd start advocating the elimination of entire subsets of species, I'd ask how the US and Europe were successful in their efforts, and wonder why we can't apply those lessons to the rest of the world. Maybe the money spent in targeting the elimination of mosquitoes (which cause a lot of problems) would be better spent in general health and sanitation (the lack of which also causes a lot of problems), for instance.

lucideer 11y ago

I'm not sure where I suggested there are as many cases in Europe? Mosquitoes do exist in Europe; they don't spread malaria because it isn't there to spread, and it isn't there to spread because of effective healthcare. (Europe isn't a great example as the mosquito population is not exactly high, which I guess is climate-related, but the above is also true of parts of the developed world where their populations are higher)