Buzz Off 🦟

Shut the front door! Don’t you know there are disease carrying mosquitos that could come in! Now you may be thinking this is just a problem for developing countries, but don’t be so naive. Dr. Osterholm’s own son was bitten by the Aedes triseriatus mosquito right in Minnesota and then developed La Crosse encephalitis. The U.S also used to have many cases of Yellow Fever, but fortunately efforts of the government helped to eradicate this virus. However, now it is slowly creeping back. This seems to be the general trend for other mosquito-born illnesses throughout the world as well such as Malaria, Dengue, Zika, and Chikiungunya, as temperatures and population increase. There are preventative measures such as bed nets, sprays, creams, and vaccines, but will they be enough? We may need to rely on gene editing to get the job done once and for all. Tune in to this week’s episode to hear all about the threat that mosquitos pose and what we’re doing to protect ourselves.🚨Disclaimer: Elsa and Riya are not licensed medical professionals and therefore all things discussed in this episode, as well as past and future episodes, are for the purpose of entertainment only. 🚨