Archive for 'pest-borne disease'

Food processing plants can be shut down due to cockroach infestation

Foster Farms truck courtesy of NBC news

Don’t underestimate the power of insect pests over your business.  Business owners in the food and hospitality industry, especially restaurants and hotels, are very conscious of what pests can do to their brand and image.  Food manufacturing firms should be equally aware that infestations can shut their operations down and tarnish their reputation as well. This is what happened to a poultry plant in California where United States Department of Agriculture inspectors found cockroaches in its fresh chicken processing facility.  The inspection and resulting shutdown are in line…

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Dengue Alert: 51,597 Dengue Cases Reported

The Department of Health (DOH) reported 16.43% increase of dengue cases from January 1 to July 14, 2012 compared to the same time period last year (with 44,315 cases). Watch out for more updates from the BUGboard courtesy of the Pest Management Academy of Bio-Tech Environmental Services Philippines, Inc.

Aedes aegypti by Anjo de Batalha

Are you wondering how those pesky mosquitoes find hosts to victimize? Results of flight tunnel studies on the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the vector of dengue fever virus, revealed that carbon dioxide detected as turbulent plume leads to more directed flight upwind by the pest. A plume of this gas that is fluctuating in concentration and mimicking the presence of a live host elicited the best response. Carbon dioxide alone, without host odor, is enough to induce directed flight toward the source. This first encounter with the gas is…

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Leptospirosis kills eight in southern Philippines

Rattus norvegicus

One of the main reasons rats and mice are important urban pests and therefore a target for rodent pest control is its being considered to be primary hosts of Leptospirosis, a water-borne bacterial disease that is more prevalent in tropical areas like the Philippines but has also become a global concern. Leptospirosis grabbed headlines again after floods caused by tropical storm Washi hit two urban centers: Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City in the northern part of Mindanao, the southernmost island of the Philippine archipelago, last month….

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