Head lice are small, pesky bugs that spend their days living on the human scalp and feeding on human blood. These parasites are a common problem world-wide with more than 6 million cases per year solely in the United States (Bartels, Peterson, & Taylor, 2001). A study recently conducted in the United States shows that most head lice have become resistant to over- -the-counter medications, making it harder than ever for people to get rid of the parasites. The study took lice from 48 states and through genomic DNA extraction between lice of the same sex and life span found that one to three genetic mutations that are giving lice the ability to endure the most popular over-the-counter treatments, specifically insecticides called permethrins and …show more content…
Reported cases of resistance have been shown all over the world including in Israel, the United Kingdom, France, Argentina, Czech Republic, and the United States (Bartels et al., 2001). Two different studies have been published in Israel regarding the resistance of head lice, and there have even been proposed means for the resistance including GST, increased monooxygenase, and kdr (Bartels et al., 2001). All of these are different enzymes found in head lice’s makeup that are either are increased in number or decreased to create a resistance to different insecticides. In order to treat head lice affectively, doctors have to consider patterns of resistance, as well as the obvious safety, cost, and comfort of use (Frankowski & Bocchini, 2010). Researchers and doctors are being forced to use new medications and the development of new treatments in the future may even become necessary. Most are not surprised to find proof of resistance because head lice are not the only insects that have developed this to different …show more content…
DDT, one of the first insecticides, showed resistance to a species of insects starting as early as 1946, and this resistance has continued to progress and become documented showing that insects can become resistant to any insecticide. (“Insecticide Resistance,” 1958). Insecticide resistance has been shown in four major ways: behavioral resistance, penetration resistance, knock-down resistance (kdr), and metabolic resistance (Bartels et al., 2001). All of these types of resistance are allowing insects to avoid the effects of the insecticide either by physically avoiding through their behavior, or in the case of knock-down resistance, a phenotype trait is inherited giving the insect nerve insensitivity of the major insecticides – DDT, pyrethrins, and pyrethroids – through a point mutation (Gellatly et al.,
10. How might insects develop a resistance to Bt toxins? What ecological risks would this have? What could be done to combat this, and do you think that it would be effective?
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known as DDT is a notorious organochlorine pesticide that is created by the reaction of chloral with chlorobenzene in combination with sulfuric acid(Britannica p.1). It was first used as an insecticide in 1939 by Hermann Muller in Switzerland. DDT works as an insecticideby acting on the nervous system to generate the same neural impulse over and over causing body tremors and eventually death. DDT is an extremely stable chemical compound containing C14H9Cl5 which leads to some significant resistance issues when used as a pesticide. The most problematic property of DDT is its high fat solubility and extremely low water solubility meaning that it has a tendency to stick around in the environment for longer than we want since it is readily taken up in the bodies of nearby mammals.
3. With regards to the genetic makeup of target insect populations, heavy pesticide use can alter their DNA to the point where the insects develop a resistance to certain insecticides like malaria mosquitoes to DDT. These effects can be counterproductive to long-term insect control because one the
The Collaborative Strategy on Bed Bugs was developed by the Federal Bed Bug Workgroup1, to explain the federal role in bed bug control and highlight ways that all levels of government, community, academia and private industry can work together to reduce bed bugs across the United States. Adjusting bed bugs can be very expensive and nearly all communities and states are currently facing issues with enough resources for individual families. The strategy used has four priority areas for bed bug control; Prevention, Surveillance and Integrated Pest Management, Education and Communication, and Research. Each of these areas is critical to national and local efforts, to raise awareness within communities and prevent future outbreaks. (Public Health Systems and Emerging Infections,
Ethical, articulate, forceful, cynical, irreverent and sometimes scathing aptly describes Antonin Scalia. Esteemed to be the only son of S. Eugene and Catherine Scalia, born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Queens, New York, Antonin Scalia is the first American of Italian heritage to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
DDT use can lead to horrible effects in humans and we can not become immune to these horrible unlike the flies that we are trying to kill. We think we have all this superiority over little insects when in fact they have the hand over us. Not because they are more intelligent than us but because we are too intelligent for ourselves. Conniff’s essay shows how our own superiority can lead to our demise.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) has had a huge impact on the fight against malaria, helping to ensure the control or eradication of malaria in many countries around the world in the mid-twentieth century. However, since its peak in the 1960s, succeeded by environmental and health concerns about the usage of the insecticide, more and more countries have been banning the use of DDT.
There are several types of mites that can live in the dog's ears, but the most common is otodectes cynotis/Otodectic Mite, i.e. are small eight-legged parasites that feed on wax and oil on the dog's ear canal. A mite have a life cycle for 3 weeks, and can be seen with the naked eye. These mites can cause irritation and inflammation, can infect the outer ear canal and in, and can also cause skin infections or ear infections are more serious if left untreated. When the infection usually results in a distinctive black muck, and in some cases, the ear canal can become completely clogged by dirt-black.
First, Super Lice has mutated into another version of Lice. This means lice is now resisting pyrethoid or over the counter medications. Doctors noticed a change in treating Lice, this caused research to be done. Researchers found, that head lice have developed a gene mutation that essentially teaches them to resist common treatments (Costa, 1). Researcher Kyong Yoon says, “104 out 109 lice populations tested has had high levels of gene mutations” (Costa 11). Researchers have also found a change in how the lice reacted to the chemical pyrethoid in the medication. Pyrethoids products were first introduced into the market in the early 1990s. Easy to use, they become many families preferred first-line defense. Before, pyrethoids had no problem getting rid of the itchy bugs in your hair. But much has changed since then. This causes many to wonder, if lice have mutated, is it really just your everyday lice?
Genetically modified crops are being developed to produce their own pesticide. This will bring the rapid appearance of resistant insects. Even worse, these pesticide producing plants have killed some beneficial insects and pests that many farmers use in their crops. For example, inserting a gene from a snowdrop, a perennial herb found in Europe and Asia into a potato, made the potato resistant to the green fly, but killed lady bugs that feed on green flies.
For past nine years, I am working as a school nurse in a suburban town where people are considered to be of middle and high-income class. Working at the elementary school, I came across a problem that I felt I needed to do something about it. Too many times I witnessed or heard about how children and adults deal with head lice – not head lice infestation, but rather a stigma associated with having lice. The stigma could be potentially more harmful to a child than the head lice itself. After reading this week assignment, I learned that according to Polit & Beck (2014) my study question in PIO format could have been: “What is like for school age children to experience stigma associated with having lice?”
Head and pubic lice must be treated through the manual removal of the louse with a comb, then pediculicides will be used. No non pesticide lotions are currently available in the United States, but they can be purchased in the United Kingdom, and they have the best treatment results for head lice. Treatment for lice infestations exceeds 1 billion dollars every year. Due to the overuse of pediculicides new infestations of lice are becoming resistant to typical treatments and new treatments are being considered and studied, such as essential oils and suffocation
a. Selection of drug-resistant mutant happens when the parasite is exposed to subtherapeutic drug concentrations
Being a concerned and involved parent, you do everything you can to look after your children and their well being. Issues occasionally come up which can run the gamut from health, school or personal life issues that have to be dealt with. Head lice may be one such situation that you didn't know you would have to contend with. Kids are especially likely to get this problem because they frequently engage in the kind of close physical contact that fosters their spread.
Myiasis (from the Greek “myi”, fly) is defined as the invasion of living tissue by dipterous larvae. Several fly species such as Oestrus ovis have been reported to cause myiasis, affecting humans either directly, when the female fly deposits the larvae on the conjunctiva or eyelids of a human host rather than a sheep or a goat, or indirectly, through dirty hands.