World Mosquito Day: how to celebrate the most “bloody” holiday

A reason to celebrate can be found every day. This optimistic statement is confirmed, for example, on August 20. At the end of the third week of the last summer month, World Mosquito Day has been celebrated for more than 90 years – World Mosquito Day.

It will probably seem to many that this is a very strange idea. Honor tiny winged bloodsuckers? Why, it will turn out just like in the famous song – “a holiday with tears in your eyes.”

However, such straightforward reasoning is inappropriate in this case. In fact, this is not a “mosquito”, but an “anti-mosquito” holiday.

This is exactly how it was conceived by the initiator – the researcher, physician and parasitologist Ronald Ross, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his most important discovery. Dr. Ross was able to prove that one of the most destructive diseases on earth – malaria, is transmitted precisely through mosquito bites.

The scientist was engaged in research in this area at the end of the 19th century, being an employee of the British organization Medical Service of India. The population of this British colony suffered greatly from the widespread malaria. Trying to get to the bottom of the root causes of this disease, Ronald Ross was eventually able to experimentally prove that the main culprits in the spread of malaria are biting tropical mosquitoes.

Having become the laureate of the most prestigious award, Ross proposed to celebrate World Mosquito Day every year in honor of his scientific achievement. Moreover, as the main goal, his scientist called raising awareness of the general population about malaria, methods of prevention and control of it.

The idea of ​​Ronald Ross did not materialize immediately. World Mosquito Day has only been celebrated since 1930.

Anti-mosquito holiday over the past few decades, alas, has by no means lost its relevance. According to modern studies published by the World Health Organization, in our “advanced” XXI century, malaria continues to be a serious threat to almost 40% of the world’s population. The numbers look very impressive. Every year in hot countries where mosquitoes-carriers of the disease live, up to 500 million cases of malaria infection are recorded. At the same time, over a million unfortunates become victims of an evil fever, “given” to them by insects.

Fortunately, the majority of the Russian population remain “outsiders” during this mosquito revelry: the climate in the main part of the territories of our country is too cold for a comfortable life of malaria mosquitoes, so almost all cases of malaria recorded in our country are imported.

Scientists have counted more than 3.5 thousand species of mosquitoes living on the globe. I am glad that Russia cannot boast of a special wealth of their assortment – only a hundred species have “registered” in our country. Moreover, 24 of them were found on the territory of the Mother See.

In the future, the situation with the geography of distribution of “mosquito nationalities” can change. According to the opinion expressed by some researchers, due to global warming on the planet, the boundaries of the distribution of bloodsucking insect species dangerous in terms of the transfer of malaria may move further north. And then the problems of malaria prevention and treatment will become much more relevant for Russians.

So long live World Mosquito Day!

However, even the relatively harmless Russian peeping mosquitoes are by no means a gift.

The one who called these tiny six-legged vampires “the death of the human race” was right. There is sad statistics: researchers have calculated that at the height of the summer season, a person who finds himself somewhere in the middle of a damp Central Russian forest in the evening is attacked every minute by about 40 hungry mosquitoes (more precisely, mosquitoes)! And in the middle of the swampy lowland, up to 60 assassination attempts await you. One every second! Even in urban environments, one cannot count on complete safety. Deciding to take a walk in a shady park, you should also be prepared for the attacks of these insects.

But still, residents of the capital region can take comfort in the fact that the local mosquito is not a match for its taiga and tundra tribesmen. That’s where the real animals live. And in countless quantities!

The author of these lines once happened to be part of an expedition in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. On a fine July evening, we conducted an experiment to determine the “damaging effect of the human palm.” After a “control” slap on the encephalitis in which our comrade was dressed, they began to count the bloodsuckers killed at the same time. When their number exceeded 70, they simply got tired of continuing the count.

And according to the memoirs of the prisoners of the Stalinist camps, in the 1930s and early 1950s. in the north, a savage method of punishing prisoners was common, which was called “putting“ on a mosquito ”.

The guilty convict was stripped to his underwear (or even completely naked!), Taken to the edge of the zone – under the watchtower or to the watch house – and tied to a pole. Literally five minutes later, blood-thirsty insects stuck around the unfortunate man in a dense layer, so that from the side it seemed as if the person was dressed in a gray fluffy overalls. And it was only necessary to hold a hand, and it became bright red.

If, at the whim of the camp guards, the punishment was delayed, the matter could even end in the death of the prisoner.

Thanks to modern developments, we have the opportunity to quite reliably protect ourselves from mosquito attacks – repellents, fumigators, comfortable protective clothing … However, the use of special equipment in each case should be selected individually for yourself, your loved one. Specialists in medical entomology emphasize that some people may have an allergic reaction not only to mosquito bites, but also to those drugs that are designed to repel annoying insects. Therefore, an experimental stage in defense against tiny winged biters is indispensable.