We are all painfully aware of the fact that Miami Beach has been sprayed by the toxic chemical, Naled, very frequently of late (and you all know how I and many others feel about that). Thankfully, just last week the Miami Beach City Commission voted, after two weeks of intense protests which made national and global news, to URGE government officials to end the spraying and instead implement an alternative to the chemical- which has been banned in the EU since 2012.
From the article:
“Global expert Dr. Michael Callahan says that it’s not only an ineffective strategy to combat the aedes aegypti mosquito which carries the tropical disease he termed “dengue fever light,” but it may be counterproductive by wiping out predators who might eat carrier mosquitos.”
Why don’t officials listen to wisdom like this? Is anyone else tired of hearing the answer be money? Cuz I know I’m tired of saying it…
Check out the video below where Dr. Callahan, the co-founder of the Zika Foundation, explains that officials are implementing a mosquito control plan appropriate for West Nile disease and one that isn’t likely to fix Miami Beach’s public health problems:
“We can tell you what hasn’t worked in the past with aerial spraying with this mosquito. There’s been a lot of money wasted in Singapore, Taiwan and Japan and several Central American countries, trying to control aedes aegypti with aerial spraying. It does not work. It is an indoor resident. About 60-70 of our total community population is indoors and it is not flying around at night when the aerial spraying controls. What you see in Florida is the adaptive plan for West Nile mosquito… Aerial spraying with naled or many of the other insecticides have been proven systematically to be less effective. For aedes aegypti you need on the ground spray, houses and yards and absolutely control breeding sites by getting rid of standing water.”
Dr. Callahan, who is based at Harvard, has practiced on over 2,000 Zika patients over the years and until 2013, there was ZERO history of pregnancy-related illness linked to Zika Virus. In fact, it was considered more of a children’s disease and thus children were taught the rhyme:
“Black and white, indoor bite, silent flight and you’re safe at night.” (The aedes aegypti mosquito is known for its black and white stripes.)
Dr. Callahan also teaches that lemon eucalyptus repellant is a safe, natural product to use as protection against bites (not Naled) and explains that the aedes aegypti mosquito usually prefers to bite on the back of the neck, though more than 65 percent of bites come below the knees.
Source: The Huffington Post
