Why Mosquitoes Are a Bigger Concern Than Ever
The mosquito, an entirely self-serving creature, is unconcerned with the stress and distress it afflicts upon the human race. We have no alternative but to be concerned about it.
Why Mosquitoes Are a Bigger Concern Than Ever
The History and Reality of Mosquito Concerns
When we think of pests that can give us diseases we often think of mosquitoes, and perhaps the disease that first comes to mind is malaria. Malaria, which is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite, infects millions and kills many thousands of people every year. According to the CDC website, in 2018 there were 228 million cases of malaria worldwide, with an astounding 405,000 deaths.1 Those numbers, as of this writing, far eclipse COVID-19, and of course malaria or some form of it has been around for thousands of years, making COVID-19 seem almost insignificant by comparison. But Malaria is hardly the only disease that mosquitoes can transmit to people.
Mosquitoes are also known to be disease vectors for Chikungunya virus, Dengue fever, various forms of encephalitis including Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile Virus, and Zika virus, among others. When all of these diseases are factored in, the total number of human fatalities rises unthinkably to over 1 million people every year. AstheAmericanMosquitoControlAssociationhassaid, “mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism.”2
Perhaps you and I hardly think about this because it’s not an “in our backyard” kind of problem (although it really is). However, as we just start to begin transitioning into a post-COVID-19 lifestyle, public health and safety, and having the appearance of public health and safety, are more important than ever. The presence of mosquitoes will now make customers at restaurants and residents in buildings more uncomfortable than ever before. An increased feeling of vulnerability to the littlest threats, the little foxes that spoil the vines, has changed our perception of the world which we share with these pesky and dangerous mosquitoes.3
Apparently, nothing eats the mosquito, nothing is pollinated by the mosquito, and no one but entomologists and exterminators benefit from getting to know the mosquito.4 In that sense, the mosquito appears to be an entirely self-serving creature, completely unconcerned with the incalculable stress and distress it afflicts upon the human race. We have no alternative but to be concerned about it. These concerns include the following:
Concern for the homeowner/ building resident/ hotel guest
In the 1991 film Barton Fink, the hero’s sense of peace and safety is continually disrupted by the mosquitoes that plague him at night in his hotel room. We can relate in that it is probably difficult for us to go to bed if we know there are mosquitoes in our room. We must check: are windows sufficiently screened to keep mosquitoes and other flying pests out? Has standing water, the mosquito’s necessary breeding ground, been identified and eliminated? Also, spray treatments can be performed on an “as needed” basis to knock down existing populations and prevent potential reintroductions.
Concern for the hospitality professional
With outdoor dining reopening in NYC this summer, mosquitoes are a big concern. Outdoor plantings can be treated regularly with a variety of products that actually inhibit mosquitoes at their earliest stages. Repellants may be employed to create barriers. Again, water, the source of life, is to be considered as much our enemy as the mosquitoes themselves if it is standing on the ground or in any containers where breeding can happen. The thought of customers waving away mosquitoes during dinner has always been unpleasant, but this summer it will be a panic trigger, as people who have been attempting to avoid one disease (and to dine out in spite of it) will suddenly have other diseases on their mind courtesy of the buzzing of this little winged pest.
Concern for the health-conscious
Obviously, we are all health-conscious, but for those who have tested positive for COVID-19 or who are in the extra precautionary categories (elderly, pre-existing conditions, etc.), the thought of dealing with a mosquito-borne illness on top of all this is just too much. The new normal includes all of us doing more now than ever to eliminate these pests from bringing deadly diseases to our doorsteps. Through increased inspections for breeding sites and periodic treatments to control populations, mosquito-related concerns can be decreased.
________________________________
1 https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/malaria/index.html 2
2https://www.mosquito.org/page/diseases#:~:text=Mosquitoes%20cause%20more%20human%20suffering ,mosquito%2Dborne%20diseases%20every%20year.
3 The NY Post recently reported on this:https://nypost.com/2020/06/11/deadly-mosquito-borne-disease-eee-reportedly-on-the-rise/
4 For more on this topic see the excellent work by Andrew Spielman Sc.D and Michael D’Antonio, Mosquito: A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe (New York: Hyperion, 2001).
About NYCHG
Established in 2009, The New York City Hospitality Group ("NYCHG") is a New York City-centric organization dedicated to serving the restaurant and hospitality industry. NYCHG is comprised of the best in class professionals that act as a resource to each other and the hospitality community.