After the
past Fourth of July weekend, summer is felt in full bloom: BBQ get-togethers,
summer vacations at exotic places, long lines outside Haagen-Dazs on a hot and
humid day, the beautiful late-setting sun. And unfortunately, with the full
bloom of summer comes the full bloom of mosquitoes. The daunting humming noise they make as they
fly around waiting for the exact moment to strike at our epidermis and the
grotesque, sleep-disrupting bumps that result from their blood-sucking
activities are enough visuals to make anyone cringe.
While most
mosquitoes are just annoying and not dangerous (thank goodness - otherwise we'd
all be suffering from West Nile or some other scary disease), one type of
mosquito to be aware of is the Aedes aegypti - or A. aegypti. These nuissances
can be easily recognized by white markings on their legs and a marking in the
form of a lyre on their thorax - not that ugly, right? Originating in Africa,
they now inhabit various tropical and subtropical regions throughout South and
Central America and Africa. Seems pretty harmless. So why do we care about
them? They are commonly connotated with carrying the YELLOW FEVER VIRUS, an
acute viral hemorrhagic disease.
Perusing
the WebMD page for yellow fever may be a little worrying; descriptions of the
disease include "damage to the liver, kidney, heart, and gastrointestinal
tract" and major symptoms include "jaundice and hemorrhages".
The Wikipedia article is even more intimidating: the symptoms list expands to
include "fever, chills, anorexia, nausea, muscle pain (with prominent
backache) and headache" with "no causative cure." The Wiki page
then proceeds to throw descriptions like "positive sense single-stranded
RNA is approximately 11,000 nucleotides long and has a single open reading frame"
(translation: the viruses have single-stranded genetic material that are
directly translated into proteins in a certain pattern after the genetic
material enters the nucleus of the host cell; the resulting protein consists of
about 3000 amino acids, which isn't huge for a protein); "viruses
affect...
monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells... attach to the cell
surface via specific receptors and are taken up by an endosomal vesicle"
(translation: viruses attach to the surface of large white blood cells, foreign
particle-engulfing cells, and immune system messenger cells at specific
locations in order to insert their genetic material into the nucleus of the
host cell); and "the viral genome is replicated in the rough endoplasmic
reticulum (ER) and in the... vesicle packets" (translation: the protein
that this 'scary' virus codes for is produced in the endoplasmic reticulum, an
accordion-like structure that houses little round organelles called ribosomes,
which translate the jumbled A's, C's, G's, and U's of RNA into proteins).
Seen in the
translated light, the yellow fever virus isn't that bad. The best part? This
disease is easily preventable through vaccination, which are available at
designated vaccination centers (AND they'll give you proper verification
paperwork). This preventative measure is highly advised for people 9 months
through 59 years of age traveling to a location where the risk of yellow fever
is known to exist. In addition to receiving the vaccine, the CDC also highly
advises people in areas where the pesky A. aegypti are to take preventative to
avoid mosquito bites.
If you're a traveler living in New York City and would like to take care of yellow fever vaccination, visit Travelclinicny.com to avoid painful symptoms during an
exotic vacation. Log on to find out all the information you need, or simply
dial 1-212-696-5900 to speak to a friendly staff member and arrange an
appointment today. Located in midtown Manhattan, Walk In Clinic of New York is
easily accessible by bus and subway.