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Insects of Medical Importance[edit]
There are many insects (and other arthropods) that affect human health. These arthropods include Diptera, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Phthiraptera, and Siphonaptera. They can parasitize, bite, sting, cause allergic reactions, and/or vector disease to humans. Though it can be impossible to know the full impact that insects and other arthropods have on human health, Medical Entomologists worldwide are working to combat the known effects in order to improve public health.
Personal pests[edit]
Personal pests such as Lice, Fleas, Bedbugs, Ticks, Scabies mites, may vector pathogens. They are hematophagous, meaning they feed on the blood of their host. Nearly all personal pests can be transmitted to an uninfected host with prolonged exposure to an infected host. Lice, fleas, bedbugs, and ticks are known as ectoparasites. Ectoparasites live on the skin of their host. They have adaptations that allow them to access the nutrients inside of the host, such as methods to penetrate skin, insert digestive enzymes and a gut microbiome that can digest the nutrients received from the host[1]. While these ectoparasites feed, the transfer of fluids may transmit diseases such as typhus, plague, and Lyme disease. It is also suspected that bedbugs may also be vectors of hepatitis B[2].
Scabies mites cannot be classified as ectoparasites. The mite that causes scabies, Sarcoptes scabei also known as the itch mite, burrows into the skin of its host making it an endoparasite[3]. The act of S. scabei living in the skin and the allergic response to the parasite is the condition known as scabies.
Biting Insects[edit]
There are many insects that bite including Mosquitoes, Biting Midges, Sandflies, Black flies, Horse Flies, Stable flies. Through feeding, insects or other arthropod vectors can transmit diseases to humans. Medical Entomologists and other medical professionals have helped to develop vaccines that can prevent humans from contracting some of those diseases. They have also developed ways to prevent the arthropods from biting humans. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in May 2018, illnesses caused by insect bites have tripled from 2004 to 2016[4].
- ^ Vingerhoets, Ad (2001-06). "An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology (2nd ed.), Edited by Randy J. Nelson, Sinauer Associates, Sunderland MA, 2000. ISBN: 0-87893-616-5 (pkb.). 724 pp". Biological Psychology. 56 (2): 171–172. doi:10.1016/s0301-0511(01)00068-0. ISSN 0301-0511.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Vector Control - Methods for Use by Individuals and Communities. World Health Organization. 1997. pp. 237–261.
- ^ "Endoparasitic mites - Parasites - ALPF Medical Research". www.alpfmedical.info. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
- ^ "Illnesses on the rise". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-09-07.