A female Aedes aegypti mosquito while she was in the process of acquiring a blood meal from her human host, who in this instance, was actually the biomedical photographer, James Gathany, here at the Centers for Disease Control. You?ll note the feeding apparatus consisting of a sharp, ?fascicle?, which while not feeding, is covered in a soft, pliant sheath called the "labellum?, which is seen here retracted, as the sharp ?stylets? contained within pierced the host's skin surface, as the insect obtained its blood meal. The fascicle is composed of a pair of needle-sharp stylets. The larger of the two stylets, known as the "labrum", when viewed in cross-section takes on the shape of an inverted "V", and acts as a gutter, which directs the ingested host blood towards the insect's mouth. This female?s abdomen had become distended due to the blood meal she was ingesting, imparting the red coloration to her translucent abdominal exoskeleton. DF and DHF are primarily diseases of tropical and sub-tropical areas, and the four different dengue serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4), are maintained in a cycle that involves humans and the Aedes mosquito. However, Aedes aegypti, a domestic, day-biting mosquito that prefers to feed on humans, is the most common Aedes species. Infections produce a spectrum of clinical illness ranging from a nonspecific viral syndrome to severe and fatal hemorrhagic disease. Important risk factors for DHF include the strain of the infecting virus, as well as the age, and especially the prior dengue infection history of the patient. 2006 Prof. Frank Hadley Collins, Dir., Cntr. for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Univ. of Notre Dame

China’s Zika Rules Raise Fears for U.S. Exporters

Dan General, Industry News Release

zika

Image credit: Sanofi Pasteur (Flickr)

China’s recent move to add the U.S. to a list of Zika-infected countries is worrying U.S. exporters. Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports U.S. exporters fear they will be required to fumigate all containers destined for China, costing an estimated $100 to $200 per container. Exporters who ship everything from agriculture products and chemicals to engine parts say they fear that conflicting information from Chinese customs officials about the new requirements could result in delays and lost business. Small and medium exporters say they stand to be hurt the most from any supply-chain disruptions. American exporters ship about 5.1 million containers, worth about $255 billion a year to China, according to the Agriculture Transportation Coalition.

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.