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Domagoj Hackenberger

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Is the total eradication of mosquitoes a true solution?

Mosquitoes have a massive ecological role in nature. Especially as main food source for great number freshwater fish and birds.

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Topics: balance biology ecology mosquitoes population
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    daniel orupabo

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    Jan 13 2013: This issue very well touches me cos its very particular to Africa. The devastation of malaria which directly results from mosquito bite is well known globally. Matter-of-factly, I'm just recovering from a bout of malaria, you can imagine how it feels to be sick... I mean malaria makes you useless as a human not mentioning productive man hour lost to this sickness Africa wide. Please complete eradication from Africa is what I advocate. If mosquitos are useful in other continents well..., but they aren't welcome in Africa
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      Erik Nyquist

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      Jan 14 2013: In light of this vein of thinking, it is quite understandable if mosquitoes sought to remove humans from Africa. That is, in the hypothetical instance in which they were intelligent.

      But the negative consequences of eradication are more far reaching than most people understand. The complexities of ecosystems can be difficult to understand, and removing a significant part of one can have dramatic consequences that go well beyond just one species. You might find that the elimination of mosquitoes also harms all creatures that feed on them and their larvae: Fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

      How many people in Africa need Fish for their food? How about birds?

      What if mosquitoes play some essential role in nature, as bees do? We might not understand it until it is too late and thy are already gone.

      A better system is to deal with the specific problem: the diseases carried by mosquitoes and similar biting iinsects. In the United States (a country whose mosquito population in some parts would horrify even people from the Tropics....they can come in clouds sometimes), mosquitoes are controlled in heavily populated areas with pesticides, but live out their lives uninterrupted where there are few humans.

      For prevention of diseases born by mosquitoes like malaria and certain kinds of flu, an extensive program of vaccination also is in place. Tonic (quinine) is also still used as a prophylactic even today as well.

      It is possible to strike a balance with nature, you see. Try to fight it and it will fight you back; work with it and it will find room for you.

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