Medical & Veterinary Entomology
Medical and veterinary entomology is the branch of science that deals with how human and animal health is affected by the health of the environment. More specifically it looks at how diseases within insects can be transferred to human beings and animals as an infection.
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The Significance of Medical Entomology
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The significance of medical entomology is that it is an in-depth study on how arthropods or insects become carriers of disease. This is important as insects can multiply at quite a fast rate. Diseases spread by insects and arthropods will become a public health emergency when the disease spreads to humans, and humans go on to infect other humans.
Who Uses Entomologists?
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The job role of medical and veterinary entomologists is quite varied in this regard, and they are usually employed by federal health organizations, and local hospitals. The significance of medical entomology is also seen in its use with chemical companies. A veterinary entomologist will monitor the environment for increased cases of a certain disease, and after collecting samples, inform the public and carry out public health safety measures. Entomologists can be used to help develop pesticides to kill insects and arthropods that spread disease.
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Malaria
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An example of the type of disease medical entomologists will monitor for is malaria. It is transmitted mainly by the bite of the Anopheles species of mosquito. The person will suffer uncontrollable bleeding and fever as its main symptoms. Certain insect related infections such as malaria have killed a large number of people, and it is estimated that the number of malarial deaths is about one million worldwide.
The Significance of Veterinary Entomology
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The significance of veterinary entomology is how the insects that cause disease can infect other animals. However, the problem then arises that the virus or bacteria mutate to go on to infect humans. This is the primary concern when looking at this branch of entomology. In some instances, the animal might only be the intermediate host after becoming infected by the insect. However, either through direct contact with the animal or eating the animal’s meat, the infection is spread to humans.
Typhus
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Typhus is one example of a disease that veterinary entomologists can monitor. It can be transmitted by fleas. The fleas are carriers of the typhus bacteria, and they bite cats and dogs. The infection will remain in the pet, and will be transferred to other fleas who bite the cat or dog. Humans having contact with the pet will be bitten by the flea and can become infected by typhus. The symptoms of typhus are fatigue, glandular fever and vomiting.
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References
- Photo Credit insect image by Sergey Baranov from Fotolia.com
