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Big_Bird
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...
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 Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 11:16 pm Post subject: Keep these Asians out of Britain! |
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A wave of immigration we certainly do not want! The Asian tiger mosquito may be on its way to the UK.
Mosquito invasion brings disease risk to UK
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An Asian mosquito species is poised to arrive in Britain, bringing with it the risk of a potentially lethal disease that the insect can pass from one person to another.
The Asian tiger mosquito has already established itself in northern Italy where it has transmitted chikungunya fever to scores of people. The insect has also been detected in a dozen other European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands.
Health experts are concerned that Britain could be the next country to be invaded after scientists at the Government's Health Protection Agency (HPA) at Porton Down in Wiltshire found that the UK climate is suitable for the mosquito to breed.
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has spread rapidly around the world due to the international trade in used car tyres, which carry the mosquito's eggs in trapped water inside the rim of the tyre. However, the popularity of lucky bamboo � a Chinese house plant that is transported in water-filled pots � has also spread the insect through ports such as Rotterdam.
A study by HPA scientists found that "widespread establishment" of the Asian tiger mosquito across England and Wales is possible in the warm, damp conditions of the British summer, which would increase the risk of chikungunya fever spreading among the local population.
"The mosquito has popped up across Europe and although we haven't found it yet in the UK, we have identified the potential for it to come here," said a spokesman of the HPA's Porton Down laboratories.
There has been a dramatic increase in the number of British people returning from South-east Asia with chikungunya virus over recent years � from about six a year in 2004 to more than 130 in 2006 � and if the tiger mosquito becomes established here it could create a locally spread epidemic. "You do need several steps in the chain for it to become an issue, but it's something we've been keeping an eye on. Most people think of malaria, but there are other things you can catch from mosquitoes," the spokesman said.
People with chikungunya develop a fever that lasts a couple of days but they go on to suffer intense headaches, joint pains and insomnia for days or weeks after they are bitten. One woman died during last year's Italian outbreak. The virus was confined to certain parts of south-east Asia but in recent years it has spread across the Indian sub-continent, aided by the tiger mosquito. The start of the Italian epidemic was traced to an Italian tourist who had returned last June from the Indian state of Kerala with a fever.
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Here is a photo of the offending party:
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 6:50 am Post subject: |
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| Unfortunately climate change is having all sorts of unforeseen consequences. |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 11:12 pm Post subject: |
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| For a minute there I thought you might be National Front. Or making a thread to inflame fromtheuk. |
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bookemdanno
Joined: 30 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 12:56 am Post subject: |
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Naw, Big Bird is a good ol' lass even though she has her histrionic moments.
She's also sharp as a tack and well traveled, I must say.
And she's thick skinned, more than most of the men on this forum, I might add.
Too bad we don't have more fine feathered friends like her. |
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