Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!yale!kauffman-jon
From: kauffman-jon@CS.YALE.EDU (Jon Kauffman)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: What's the Why and How of Mosquito Bites?
Summary: Mosquitoes not a vector.
Message-ID: <69832@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 17 Aug 89 02:27:44 GMT
References: <5399@mtgzy.att.com> <4948@tank.uchicago.edu> <9263@chinet.chi.il.us> <6704@cs.utexas.edu> <9279@chinet.chi.il.us> <24875@joyce.istc.sri.com>
Sender: root@yale.UUCP
Reply-To: kauffman-jon@CS.YALE.EDU (Jon Kauffman)
Followup-To: sci.bio
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept, New Haven CT  06520-2158
Lines: 26

Um, I seem to remember an article which describes a study in St
Augustine, Florida, a locale know for its mosquito population.

The idea is that many other things being equal (I cannot comment on how
equal they really are), if mosquitos were a vector, then all age groups
would be affected equally, since mosquitoes aren't particularly choosy.

The study concluded that this was not the case: there were few (maybe none,
at least in the sample, don't really remember) cases among the elderly and 
pre-adolescents.  I assume that the inhabitants of the city all had about
the same chances of being bitten.

I apologize for not being able to quote a real source, hopefully someone
in net.land can help me out.  If someone wants to claim that the 
elderly and young are protected in some other way, or that they somehow
avoid mosquito bites, you're welcome to do so; I claim no expertise in
epidemiology/insect vectors.

Just hoped I could muddy the waters a bit more.

/jon

======================================================================
Jonathan Kauffman 				  kauffman@cs.yale.edu
Yale CS Facility			{harvard,decvax}!yale!kauffman
======================================================================