Well, well, well - what have we here? Not one, but TWO mosquito-borne diseases to worry our hypochondriacal little heads about!
Well, MY hypochondriacal little head, anyway...
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| Obligatory photo of enlarged mosquito |
Move on over, West Nile - there's a new kid in town. Let's all say hi to
chikungunya, the latest present brought to us by our friends the Asian tiger mosquitoes. You see, it's not enough that this particular breed of mosquitoes is out in full force ALL DAY (rather than just the evening, like those garden-variety mosquitoes you New Englanders complain so vociferously about). Oh, no - the Asian tiger variety now has the proud distinction of carrying 2 fun diseases: good ol' West Nile virus and this lovely new disease with the hard-to-pronounce name, fresh from the Island of Hispanola.
Isn't that fun? Now those of us living in these parts can come down with a flu-like illness that occasionally invades the central nervous system to wreak all sorts of havoc OR enjoy the gift of joint pain that lasts for months. Gosh, I hardly know which one to pick. In fact, I haven't had this much fun since I lived in the desert for 3 months and had to shake scorpions out of my shoes before getting dressed. Isn't nature great?
[Mosquito image: Wikipedia]
We were just down in the DC area to visit my brother. He mocked us for wearing long pants and spraying our ankles and wrists with bug spray when we went out to see fireworks. In the end, I know that the mosquitoes will win...
ReplyDeleteMosquitoes love me. I am quaking bait.
ReplyDelete