Single Mosquito Bite Is Enough To Transmit Multiple Viruses - Study

Mosquitoes are annoying and their bite will give you an itchy pink or reddish skin bumps. They can also cause serious public health issue like the mosquito-borne Zika outbreak that spread all over the world last year. Not only that according to a recent study published in the Nature Communications journal reports that mosquitoes might be even more adept at spreading disease than previously thought. The research was aiming to find out if the infamous Aedes aegypti mosquito may be able to spread multiple diseases at once. Aedes aegypti mosquito, also called the cockroach of mosquitoes, is known to be among the primary way diseases like chikungunya, dengue and Zika virus spread.

Researchers from Colorado State University exposed hundreds of mosquitoes to either chikungunya, Zika or dengue and different combinations of the three. They also exposed 48 mosquitoes to the three viruses namely chikungunya, Zika and dengue so that they can analyze if one or all three of the diseases could appear in the saliva, which could then potentially infect a person.

The researchers examined the saliva, gut and legs of the insects for signs of viral infection. They found that 92% of the mosquitoes tested positive for all three viruses. Of the 48 just one remained uninfected.  

They found that 6 saliva samples from the mosquito tested positive for all three viruses 14 days after the insects were exposed. Another two saliva samples tested positive 21 days after exposure.

Even if not all the insects had the virus in the saliva, the researchers said that the virus' presence in the saliva happens only after the infection has traveled through the body. As a result, the other mosquitoes that tested positive may still have been able to transmit the disease in the future even if the virus was not found in the saliva.

 "Based on what I know as a virologist, epidemiologist and entomologist, I thought that the viruses would either compete or enhance each other in some way," Greg Ebel, director of the Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory and co-author of the study, said in a statement today. "On the one hand, all of these viruses have mechanisms to suppress mosquito immunity, which could lead to synergy. On the other hand, they all likely require similar resources within infected cells, which could lead to competition."

But Ebel said, "we didn't see much evidence of either one of these things in mosquitoes that were infected in the lab by multiple viruses."

According to CDC the only way to protect yourself and your children from mosquito-born illness is to prevent the bite by using insect repellent. The CDC recommends using EPA-registered insect repellents that include at least 20% DEET. Though products with higher DEET concentration does provide longer protection, this peaks around 50% DEET.



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Common Painkillers May Cause "Heart attack risk"

According to the new study, there may be a link between taking high doses of common anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen and heart attacks. Over-the-counter common painkillers known as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen are sold under brand names that includes Motrin or Advil, these are used to treat minor pains and aches, it also reduce fever.

People who take these medicine have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke, according to National Institutes of Health. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682159.html
The likelihood of experiencing a heart attack was calculated to increase by an average of 20% to 50%, compared with someone not taking the drugs, regardless of the dosage and amount of time  they are taken.

The findings are observational and based on an association, however, with the drugs not proved to be a a direct cause of heart attack.

This group of drugs includes ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib and naproxen, which are available over the counter or by prescription for higher doses, to relieve pain or fever resulting from a range of causes that may include flu, headaches, back pain and menstrual cramps. Their range of uses also means they are often taken as needed, for short periods of time.

The level of risk increased as early as one week into the use of any drug in this category and at any dose, and the risk associated with taking higher doses was greatest within the first month. The overall findings suggest that people who take any dosage of these drugs for one week, one month or longer was linked to an increased risk of a heart attack. The risk appeared to decline when these painkillers were no longer taken, with a slight decline one to 30 days after use and a greater decline, falling below 11%, between 30 days and one year after use.

"We found that all common NSAIDs shared a heightened risk of heart attack," said Dr. Michèle Bally, an epidemiologist at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Center, who led the research. "There is a perception that naproxen has the lowest cardiovascular risk (among the NSAIDs), but that's not true."

Cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization, with 80% of all deaths in this category due to heart attacks and strokes. Each year, it's estimated that 735,000 people in the United States have a heart attack. In the United Kingdom, more than 200,000 hospital visits each year are due to a heart attack.


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