Public health
Gull management: A year-round concern
One of the perennial challenges faced by the pest control sector is that most work is reactive. If there are no obvious signs of a pest problem, then it is easy to neglect an issue until it (inevitably) rears whatever passes for a head in a particular scenario. However, it is very difficult to ignore […]
Malaria Control: Better Health, Better Future 2016 – Eradicate Malaria for Good
Following on from the World Malaria Day (WMD) celebration initiative and the subsequent commitment by SCI in 2015 to be part of the global millennium development goal to eradicate malaria, this year’s theme is “Eradicate Malaria for Good”. The millennium development goal is to decrease malaria by 90% by 2030. In spite of the encouraging […]
Insecticide Treated Bednets for Malaria Control
Mosquitoes have been disturbing humans ever since both have co-existed. The earliest records of nets being used to protect people from mosquito bites are from ancient Egypt, but it was not until the early 1980s that the first trials of insecticide impregnated bednets took place. As evidence for the impact of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) […]
Insecticide Resistance: Are We Losing the Battle to Control the Mosquito Vectors of Malaria?
In the twenty first century malaria still holds a terrible grip on the lives of millions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. However, since the turn of the millennium there has been a 40% reduction in the incidence of clinical disease, averting an estimated 663 million clinical cases. It has been estimated that the majority of this […]
Hassle-Free rodent control for professional pest control
The pest control industry is undergoing one of its biggest legislative changes in decades, and product choice looks like being more important than ever. In the UK, for example, legislation is being phased in which will effectively mean that only professional pest controllers who hold an approved CRRU training certificate can purchase or use products […]
What is resistance (and why does it matter?)
In the 1920’s, cattle farmers in Alberta, Wisconsin started to lose cattle to minor routine procedures like castrations and dehorning. These normally simple procedures were frequently ending in the death of the animal through major haemorrhaging. It turned out that the sweet-clover feed, that the animals had been eating, had been naturally producing a chemical […]
Driving integrated vector control in the global sustainable development framework
The Aedes mosquito and other vectors of disease are currently receiving unprecedented global attention and scrutiny following recent outbreaks of infectious diseases including Zika and dengue fever and the world is looking for adequate response and a wide range of solutions to tackle these threats to global public health. Controlling these vectors successfully would not […]
Simple innovation for killing mosquito eggs
With Canadian Government funding, a team of innovators from Canada and Mexico have successfully tested a low cost, environmentally-friendly way of destroying the eggs of the mosquito genus that spreads dengue, and is likely spreading the Zika virus. The 10 month study, conducted in a remote, urban area of Guatemala, shows the successful development and […]