Insect Bite News and Research

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Insect bites and stings may cause minor pain and irritation but some may be extremely painful and may also trigger a serious allergic reaction.

Scientists decipher the structure of protein found in parasites that cause neglected tropical diseases

Brazilian researchers have managed to decipher the structure of a protein found in parasites that cause neglected tropical diseases, paving the way to the development of novel medications.

8 Jan 2021

The first locally transmitted cases of Zika have been confirmed in Europe

The first native cases of Zika virus have been confirmed in Europe. Experts are calling it a wake-up call as warming global temperatures could lead to more cases across the continent.

8 Nov 2019

Bees pose biggest public health threat in Australia, research shows

An Australian-first national analysis of 13 years' data on bites and stings from venomous creatures reveals Australia's towns and cities are a hot-spot for encounters.

18 Jan 2017

Humans can tolerate parasites responsible for sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis

Humans can tolerate the parasites responsible for the sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis for many years.

12 Feb 2016

Insect-borne diseases increase with warmer climate

Insects, such as mosquitoes and ticks, are responsible for transmitting a range of diseases, such as malaria, chikungunya, dengue fever, and West Nile virus. The risk of contracting such illnesses is generally only considered when booking an exotic holiday. However, experts from the Emergency Response Department at Public Health England have warned that climate change could allow such vector-borne diseases to emerge closer to home.

23 Mar 2015

Good first aid kit can help make your vacation perfect

Planning a vacation? Make a little room in your luggage for a travel first aid kit. It won't cost much, and it won't take up much space. Once you reach your destination, you won't need to reach any further than your suitcase to relieve those minor aches and pains that can put a major damper on your plans.

9 Dec 2014

Malaria elimination and insecticide resistance: an interview with Professor Hilary Ranson, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

The first malaria elimination programme was in the 1950s and 1960s. Malaria was eliminated from many countries in Asia and the Americas, largely by indoor spraying with insecticide. But the campaign had very little impact in Africa and eventually resources were moved away from malaria control.

30 Oct 2013

Symptoms, first-aid treatments and prevention tips for insect bites

Whether they are invading your picnic, hitching a ride on your skin or just buzzing around your head, bugs are an annoying and unavoidable part of summer. Still, there are times when bugs are just a nuisance and times when they can cause serious illness or injury.

24 Jul 2013

Malaria control strategies: an interview with Sir Richard Feachem, Global Health Group, University of California, San Francisco

Exciting progress has been made in the global fight against malaria. The malaria map continues to shrink each year; in the last ten years four countries have been certified malaria-free, and thirty-four additional countries are now working towards malaria elimination targets.

17 Jun 2013

Mosquito repellent and human odour: an interview with Dr James Logan, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Mosquitoes can carry parasites and other organisms that cause deadly diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. So, protecting yourself against their bites is very important.

28 May 2013

Malaria control strategies must adapt to rapidly changing patterns of infection

Malaria control strategies must keep up with the rapidly changing patterns of malaria infection in low transmission settings, according to the authors of a new Review, published in The Lancet. Whereas women and young children suffer from the greatest burden of malaria in high transmission areas, an increasing proportion of malaria cases in low transmission settings are occurring in adult men, sometimes concentrated in small geographic areas and sharing certain occupations or behaviours.

15 Apr 2013

Malaria control: an interview with Dr Jo Lines

Malaria is a tropical, mosquito-borne disease. It is found all over the tropics, in every continent but diminished now a great deal in most of Latin America, most of Asia. Still 90% of the world’s deaths due to malaria – are in Africa and most of them are in young children in Africa.

16 Jan 2013

Five tips for safety at home during holidays

The holidays are a time to share joy with our friends, families and communities. They are also a time of great hustle and bustle with millions of us converging upon malls, salons and boutiques. The excitements experienced during the holidays are second only to the great memories we create.

19 Nov 2012

New malaria-transmitting mosquitoes: an interview with Jennifer Stevenson, Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

In the area in which we carried out the study, which was in the western Kenyan highlands, the main mosquitoes that have been confirmed to transmit malaria are the females of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles funestus.

28 Sep 2012

Bed nets and insecticides could fail to protect people from new malaria-transmitting mosquitoes

A potentially dangerous new malaria-transmitting mosquito has been discovered in Kenya by scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. This species, which has never been implicated in the transmission of malaria before, poses a threat because it bites humans at times when they are not protected by current malaria control techniques.

17 Sep 2012

FDA approves Intelliject's Auvi-Q for anaphylaxis

Intelliject, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Auvi-Q (epinephrine injection, USP) for the emergency treatment of life-threatening allergic reactions in people who are at risk or have a history of anaphylaxis. This is the first-and-only compact auto-injector with audio and visual cues that guide patients and caregivers step-by-step through the injection process.

13 Aug 2012

Steak and ticks: A potentially life-threatening experience

Tick bites can trigger a severe, delayed allergic reaction to red meat, suggest findings published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

27 Jul 2012

Tips to deal with insect stings

With the start of summer comes the appearance of common stinging insects, such as bees, wasps, hornets and yellowjackets, and the various related health risks that range from irritating but relatively harmless stings to the threat of serious allergic reaction. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) stresses that when it comes to stinging insects, the best way to avoid the associated health risks is to practice simple prevention and treatment tips.

27 Jun 2012

Over-the-counter insect bite remedies not very effective

Research suggests that most victims of home-bred midges, mosquitoes, flies, bedbugs and fleas will get better without any treatment at all. The review in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB), which offers impartial advice to doctors, admits that getting bitten may be horribly uncomfortable but there is little evidence that over-the-counter remedies work. Putting a cold compress to relieve pain and swelling could be a better option say researchers. Medical help should clearly be sought if serious symptoms, such as infections or anaphylactic shock, developed the DTB added.

12 Apr 2012

Water-associated disease outbreaks more likely to occur in high population density areas

Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region's population density is growing, according to a new global analysis of economic and environmental conditions that influence the risk for these outbreaks.

15 Feb 2012