I don't know about you, but I hate mosquito bites. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that may be as universal a sentiment as you can get. They're itchy, they're ugly, and they always pop up in the most inconvenient of places. However, as annoying as mosquito bites can be, when traveling to tropical locations such as the Pantanal, carrying some hydrocortisone cream may be the least of your worries. That's because in areas like Brazil, mosquito bites may not only make you itchy, they can also transfer viruses like dengue, a disease that plagues more than 100 million people each year (CDC). According to the CDC, travelers should be wary of symptoms such as "high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash, and mild bleeding" (CDC). Yeaahhh, not exactly the best trip souvenir ever.
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Luckily though, there's hope! And this hope comes in the form of some plants in the Pantanal! Just last month, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation reported that they found three species of plants that inhibit the replication of the dengue virus, specifically types 2 and 3. These new breakthroughs are thanks in part to the decentralization of the foundation's efforts and partnering with local groups and institutions. In the Pantanal, the Cruz Foundation has been working with the Universidade Anhanguera-Uniderp, which has an impressive catalogue of 4,000 Pantanal plants. At least, this is what I gathered from Google Translate's version of a Portuguese article I read.
I was looking for more information on the specific plants themselves, but couldn't find much. It's quite exciting though if these plants do end up helping treat dengue. Sadly, we won't be able to avail of these magical plants this summer, as they still have to test the plants' toxicity on animals, and go through a number of steps before they reach our local CVS.
Until we get to see this Pantanal plants in action, however, we'll just have to take precautionary measures against those pesky mosquitoes. As such, I think it's time to stock up on some Off! See you all tomorrow!
- Sarah
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| At least your skin will be smooth! Yay! |
Sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/
http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/vidae,plantas-do-pantanal-combatem-a-dengue,1120101,0.htm
http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/ciencia/pesquisadores-encontram-plantas-no-pantanal-que-combatem-virus-da-dengue
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