Zika virus infection 2015-16 Epidemic
April 12, 2016 Update
Paul Herscu ND, MPH
Herscu Laboratory
The Time is NOW for Some
Mosquitoes to Go
This article deals with only one aspect of prevention of
Zika virus caused disease, and is the fourth of a series. For previous writings
on the subject and to contextualize this writing, see: http://www.paulherscuepidemics.blogspot.com/
When my older son was entering middle school, he and I
attended several Bioblitz events, which are 24-hour inventories of all species
in a certain area. We got into the concept, after he read a book written by
E.O. Wilson, Consilience. He later met Dr. Wilson, exchanged
correspondence, joined the Explorer's Club and eventually gave lectures on the
concept of the bioblitz. He also had the idea of connecting the E.O. Wilson's Encyclopedia
of Life (http://eol.org) project with the Bioblitz
events that occur in the National Parks of the USA. If you want to read about
how the Bioblitz concept began, please see this link:
The reason I highlight this concept is to say that my family
is and has always been very environmentally friendly. We have worked for and
continue to work towards a stable, robust biodiversity, not only for trophy,
keystone, or umbrella species, but for all species. Diversity is essential for
our own species to survive and thrive.
That said, and as an environmentalist, I believe the time
has arrived for us, as a species, to drive into functional extinction a few mosquito species or species groups. The
reasons are compelling, rational, ethical, and scientific. I would like to
place this topic in context.
