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Thursday, September 14, 2006



Thirteen Medically Significant Arthropods

Once upon a time, I was a 91S in the army, and I made a lovely collection of these things. So I thought I'd share. You're welcome.


the bugs:

  1. Centipede. From the class Chiropoda. Okay, I'm starting with a lie, but they're just so cool-looking. The only medical significance of centipedes is that their bite can be painful. Unless you've an allergy to their venom, it's mostly just ouchy rather than dangerous.



  2. Cockroach. Class Insecta, order Blattaria. Ugly suckers. They're implicated in allergic reactions that are linked to asthma.



  3. Lice. Head lice (Pediculus capitis), body lice (Pediculus humanus), and pubic lice (Pthirus pubis). The one shown is a pubic louse. They're mainly medically significant due to secondary infections that arise because of the irritation--broken skin from scratching, but they can also spread Epidemic Typhus.



  4. Kissing bugs. Class Insecta, order Hemiptera, family Reduviidae. Despite the friendly-sounding name, these aren't friendly. They feed off blood, usually biting around the lips--hence the name. They're vectors of Chagas' disease.





  5. Fleas. In particular, the rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, but regular dog and cat fleas (Ctenocephalides canis & C. felis respectively) can do the job also. They're most commonly known for spreading Plague, but also spread Murine Typhus.


  6. Mosquitoes. Irritating, yes, but they're arguably the most dangerous animals in the world. There are several types, but we focused on the genuses (geni? my Latin sucks) Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex. They spread malaria, heartworm, dengue fever, yellow fever, and various forms of encephalitis including West Nile Virus.

  7. Black flies. Specifically, those from the family Simuliidae. They transmit Onchocerciasis, or River Blindness.




  8. Tsetse fly. From the family Glossinidae. Everybody knows these. They transmit sleeping sickness.




  9. Sandfly. From the family Psychodidae. These are most well-known for transmitting Leishmaniasis, but they're also vectors for Oroya Fever, Sandfly fever, & Toscana virus.




  10. Spiders. These were the only things we collected that were dangerous in and of themselves instead of just being carriers. We collected two:
    Black Widow spider, of the genus Latrodectus, as an example of a spider with neurotoxic venom, and
    Brown Recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa, as an example of a spider with necrotoxic venom.

  11. Scorpion. From the order Scorpionida. Most aren't harmful to humans, but a couple, including the fat tailed scorpion (Androctonus australis) pictured here, are venomous enough to be a danger.



  12. Mites. Obviously, we didn't collect any of these, but they're still medically significant arthropods. Parasitic mites (Sarcoptes or Acarus scabiei) cause scabies, and the dust mites (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) are related to asthma.


  13. Ticks. There are a variety of these, from the superfamily Ixodoidea. Bloodsuckers, after mosquitoes they're the most common vectors of human diseases. Everyone's heard of Lyme disease; they also transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Relapsing Fever, and Tularemia.





Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

  1. Just how musical is Carmen?
  2. What's baffling Norma?
  3. How many zingers can Raggedy come up with?
  4. How does Ma know she's in Hawaii?
  5. Will Zeus's ministrations help his sick human?
  6. Why can't Jersey Girl wait to go to WDW?
  7. Does Doug know any other interesting docs?
  8. Why should you vote for Kate?
  9. If Cheysuli comes for dinner, what should you serve?
  10. What does Caylynn love about Munich?
  11. How can CandyMinx save the world?
  12. What's Brony making out of life's lemons?


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




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// posted by Darla @ 9/14/2006 11:59:00 AM
Comments:
ok, now I have the heeby jeebies. :)
# posted by Blogger Carmen : 9/14/2006 3:12 PM
 
This will be the most interesting TT I'll read today. But then I used to work in a veterinary library and love this stuff.

My TT is up.
# posted by Blogger Norma : 9/14/2006 3:24 PM
 
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
Yikes!
The pictures said it all....
I just finished Memory in Death..
Caught glimpse of the book there while writting this comment.
Happy Thursday...
*sets off a big bug bomb and heads out..
My tt is up
# posted by Blogger Raggedy : 9/14/2006 3:38 PM
 
Wow. Very interesting and good to know. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for stopping by.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 9/14/2006 3:45 PM
 
Hee. I should have included a link to purchase some Off or Raid. ;)

Oh, cool. Did you like it, Raggedy?
# posted by Blogger Darla : 9/14/2006 3:54 PM
 
I don't think I will ever go outside as long as I live. I don't know that I even want the human to go outside now. In fact, let's let no one go outside. I think we're all better off, and we can all communicate with one another via blogging.

Happy Thursday to you, and thank you for visiting me this morning!
# posted by Blogger Zeus : 9/14/2006 5:24 PM
 
I found your list interesting. The woman just said EWWWW!!!
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 9/14/2006 5:53 PM
 
Centipedes are only ouchy? Trust me on this one -- it's considered one of the most painful arthropod injuries out there!

Lovely list, Darla. I like my critters.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 9/14/2006 7:04 PM
 
Interesting list! Hubby (an army officer in the Canadian Forces) has had to watch out for some of these on various missions (Scorpions in Eritrea) and been vaccinated against others (Plague during the first Gulf War.)
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 9/14/2006 7:30 PM
 
Ah yes, what a lovely list. I'm itching all over now! ;)

Happy TT, my list is up too!
# posted by Blogger Eveline : 9/14/2006 7:36 PM
 
Yeah, Doug, I know. In our ento class, the instructor picked up one of the really big ones to show us and it latched on to his finger. It made an impression. :)
# posted by Blogger Darla : 9/14/2006 8:20 PM
 
Whoa, what a list, I'm afraid to go outside right now ha ha! For sure a very different list. You must have had some wild expereinces in those days!

Here is my list...

http://gnosticminx.blogspot.com/2006/09/thirteen-things-i-can-do-to-save-world_14.html
# posted by Blogger Candy Minx : 9/14/2006 8:40 PM
 
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

ugh.

eeeewwwww
# posted by Blogger Kate : 9/15/2006 12:30 AM
 
Eeks, some of the creatures give me the creeps, but thanks for the informative list Darla!

Melody
# posted by Blogger Melody : 9/15/2006 2:05 AM
 
I love it. I may link to it from my Worthless Trivia site tomorrow.

Happy TT. Mine is up.
# posted by Blogger BlondeBrony : 9/15/2006 7:40 AM
 
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