| Edition |
1st pbk. ed. |
| Description |
xix, 247 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm |
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Contents |
Pt. 1. Magnificent enemy. The mosquito herself -- An insect's world -- Tigers and tires -- pt. 2. The mosquito and disease. Agent of history -- Vector -- Man against mosquito -- pt. 3. The balance. The great mosquito crusade -- Disease without borders -- Living with mosquitoes -- What did I just swat? |
| Summary |
From its irritating whine to the itch of its bite, the mosquito is one of our least favorite creatures. Not merely a seasonal annoyance, this tiny insect transmits dozens of devastating diseases, including dengue, elephantitis, and malaria. Now, from a world-renowned expert on mosquitoes and a prize-winning reporter comes a lively and comprehensive portrait of the insect itself, its role in history, and its threat to mankind - from the malaria that devastated invaders of ancient Rome, to the yellow fever epidemics that plagued the Civil War-era population of New Orleans, to the current widespread West Nile fever panic. Present throughout the book are riveting stories of the eccentric pioneers and heroic scientists who, in the late nineteenth century, made the connection between mosquitoes and disease, and who, in the twentieth century, tried to wipe mosquito-borne disease off the face of the earth. -- p. [4] of cover. |
| Subject |
Mosquitoes.
|
|
Mosquitoes as carriers of disease.
|
| Added Author |
D'Antonio, Michael, 1955-
|
| ISBN |
9780786886678 (paperback) |
|
0786886676 (paperback) |
|
