World Mosquito Day

Today, 8/20/2016, is not only National Honeybee Day. It also is World Mosquito Day.

Until the recent emergence of Zika virus in the western hemisphere, mosquito-borne disease has not garnered much media attention. Now, Zika is in our national & Florida news daily.

Initially, local transmission in Florida was thought to be limited to Wynwood, a mile-square area north of Miami. Now, transmission has been documented on Miami Beach, and the Center for Disease Control has issued an additional travel advisory for part of Miami Beach.

With air conditioning, screens, and a centralized water supply, most U.S. residents are fortunate to be spared the devastation of many mosquito-borne diseases. Malaria, a protozoan parasite transmitted by Anopheline mosquitoes, afflicts from 350 to 500 million people worldwide each year. More than 1 million people, mostly young children in sub-Sahara Africa and Asia, die of malaria each year.

Protect yourself!