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Essay / Genetic modification of mosquitoes: preventing the spread of different diseases
The deadliest executioner in human history will probably not be guns, bombs, cancer or benders. It's a bothersome insect that most of us don't think about: the mosquito. Mosquitoes are probably the most dangerous animals on earth. They carry infections, microorganisms and parasites, which they transmit through bites, infecting approximately 700 million individuals and killing more than a million each year. With travel, migration and environmental changes across the world, these infections are no longer limited to tropical and subtropical growing countries. Currently, control of these diseases is limited primarily to broad-spectrum insecticide sprays, which can harm both humans and non-target animals and insects. Consider the possibility that there may be an approach to controlling these staggering diseases without the ecological problems associated with unrestricted use of insecticides. Genetically modifying mosquitoes to prevent disease may sound like science fiction, but the technology has advanced in recent years to the point that it is no longer a scenario relegated to late-night movies. In fact, it's not even a new idea; As early as the 1940s, scientists were talking about altering insect populations to fight disease. Today, genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, developed over the past decades of research in university laboratories, are used to combat mosquito-borne pathogens. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Mosquito-borne diseases are those spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. Major diseases transmitted to humans by mosquitoes include Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue fever and malaria. Zika Virus For most people, the symptoms of this virus are mild: just a fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. The real threat could be to pregnant women and their babies. It is linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, which causes small heads and brain damage. Mosquitoes spread this disease in many parts of the world, including Brazil and other countries in South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. The dengue virus is rare in the United States, but it appears in major tourist areas, such as Puerto Rico, the Pacific Islands, Latin America and Southeast Asia. By the time you get it, you might have problems like rash, fever, migraines, simple bruising, and bleeding gums. Sometimes this causes hemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal. The only FDA-approved vaccine is for children ages 9 to 16 who have previously been infected with one of the four dengue infections to avoid getting the disease again from any of the other viruses . West Nile virus. If you are bitten by a mosquito carrying this infection, you probably will not have any side effects. However, some people experience fever, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting, or a rash. You should watch out for rare complications, similar to brain infections called encephalitis or meningitis. There is no vaccination against this disease, which appears in every state except Alaska and Hawaii. Chikungunya, the name comes from a languageAfrican and alludes to the hunched appearance that individuals may have in light of severe joint pain. You might also experience rashes, headaches, nausea, and tiredness. The infection is present in Asia and India, and it has started to spread to Europe and America. There is no cure, but many people recover. In some cases, symptoms can last for months or years. Malaria is rare in the United States, but a large portion of the total population is at risk for this disease. Most cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, but transmission also occurs in South America, South Asia, and many other regions. Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, and vomiting. If you are traveling to a country where there is a problem, rest under an insecticide-treated mosquito net and take antimalarial medications. Yellow fever, La Crosse encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, Jamestown canyon virus, snowshoe hare virus are some of the different mosquito-borne diseases. The main question is “Should we completely eradicate mosquitoes?” "There is certainly a moral argument to be made that these diseases are devastating human populations and we should try to eradicate these diseases. Biologically there is an argument one way, but morally there is an argument the other way. This is a question that scientists and biologists have pondered. To use the Star Wars analogy, there is a balance in the Force. And when there's a disturbance in the Force, things go wrong. Disrupting this balance by encroaching on natural selection to eliminate all mosquitoes is not what anyone is promoting, since there are 3,500 species of mosquitoes and very few transmit disease, eradicating those that transmit disease is maybe extreme. Still, many scientists are looking for ways to modify the DNA of mosquitoes, making them incapable of transmitting diseases, but without harming the mosquitoes themselves. Mosquito control will be divided into two areas of responsibility: individual and public. Mosquito control is divided into two areas of responsibility: individual and public. most often it is carried out according to the concept of integrated mosquito management (IMM). IMM is based on ecological, economic and social criteria and integrates multidisciplinary methodologies into pest control strategies that are practical and effective in protecting public health as well as the environment and improving living standards. IMM strategies are used with the insecticide. These include source reduction, which includes physical control (digging ditches and ponds in the target marsh) and biological control [placing live mosquitofish (Gambusia) in ditches and ponds to eat the mosquito larvae]. Other non-chemical control methods include invertebrate predators, parasites and diseases to control mosquito larvae. Biological control of adult mosquitoes using birds, bats, dragonflies, and frogs has been used by various agencies. However, the supporting data is anecdotal and there are no documented studies showing that bats, purple martins, or other predators consume enough adult mosquitoes to be effective control agents. Pesticides are also applied to control larvae (larvicides) or adults (adulticides). Applications of adulticides or larvicides are made after the presence of mosquitoes hasbeen demonstrated by monitoring procedures. The application is formed by prescribed standards. All insecticides must carry the name and amount of active ingredient (AI) on the label; examples are DEET and pyrethroids. No pesticide is 100% safe and caution should be exercised when using any pesticide. Larval Control, An effective way to control mosquitoes is to seek out and eliminate their larval habitat. Elimination of large larval development sites (source reduction) such as swamps or slow-flowing streams or ditches may require a community-wide effort. This is often a task that falls under your organized mosquito control program. they could impound an area of water, establish ditches or canals, or control aquatic weeds (cattails, Pistia stratiotes, etc.) on a body of water. The second method employed by organized mosquito control agencies is the use of larvicides. This uses the application of insecticides targeted to immature mosquitoes – larvae or pupae. Controlling adults, there are two kinds of methods: mosquito traps and space sprays. Bug zappers and mosquito trapping devices are 20th century control measures. Manufacturers have retrofitted 19th-century mosquito trapping devices, like the New Jersey light trap, with more "bells and whistles" to boost their appeal to the general public. Insect Electrocution light traps have been widely marketed for several years, claiming that they will relieve bites from mosquitoes and other pests in your garden. Mosquitoes are usually killed inside the house using a flute gun. Home aerosol space sprays containing synergized pyrethrum or synthetic pyrethroids (allethrin, resmethrin, etc.) are now available. The main advantage of space treatment is its immediate reversal, rapid application, and relatively small quantities of materials required for treatment. Space sprays are best indoors. Outdoors, insecticide particles disperse quickly and should not kill many mosquitoes. The most significant disadvantage of space spraying is that it cannot manage insects for long periods of time. Genetically modified mosquitoes help decrease mosquito populations and reduce the spread of disease. There are two general ways to combat genetically modified mosquitoes: modifying the reproductive capacity of male mosquitoes so that they cannot produce offspring, modifying male and female mosquitoes so that they are impervious to diseases or unable to infect them transmit to other species. The main approach against genetically modified mosquitoes has been field tested in parts of Brazil, the Cayman Islands and Malaysia. These male mosquitoes mate with a female, exchanging a mutation that causes the larvae to die unless they are given an antibiotic. These trials were shown to reduce mosquito populations by 80 to 95 percent, thereby reducing cases of dandy fever by 91 percent. The genetic approach to making insects sterile or disease resistant is based on the sterile insect technique (SIT). SIT was developed in the 1930s as the simplest way to reduce insect populations. This technique renders male insects sterile by exposing them to extremely high levels of radiation, before releasing them to mate with females. The technique was very successful, eradicating]