ACBS 457 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Myiasis, Cutaneous Condition, Exsanguination
1 Nov 2018
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Direct effects of insects are the host reactions & indirect effects of insects is the disease transmission. Direct effects include: mechanical reactions, dermatosis, dermatitis, itching, exsanguination. Loss of blood, annoyance: myiasis, fly larvae invading living tissue, toxin & paralysis, venomization, allergic reactions, anaphylaxis. Indirect effects are more important because it is the capability of transmitting a disease: three things are required for vector-borne disease transmission, a competent arthropod vector, a susceptible host, a pathogen. Question #1: how did blood feeding evolve: prolonged association with vertebrates, morphological pre-adaptation for piercing. Questions #2: discuss two challenges that insects feeding on blood face. When an insect feeds on blood they have the possibility of being killed themselves by the host or reservoir. Another challenge an insect feeding on blood faces is the digestion of blood. Large blood meals are rich in protein that must be quickly digested. There could also be a buildup of toxic heme.
