CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, September 16, 2019

Malaria: Mosquitoes are not solely to blame

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports malaria is on the rise in the United States, a rise that represents a decades-long upward trend of confirmed cases. Now, get ready for some fake news.

Watch for the open-borders-loving main-stream media (MSM) to blame the increase in US malaria cases on an increase in the mosquito population due to (drum roll) global warming. Here’s why that is not true.

The only way to transmit malaria is for a female Anopheles Mosquito to take blood from a person with the malaria parasite in their bloodstream and inject that parasite into the bloodstream of another person. The female Anopheles Mosquito is NOT the source of malaria. While the female is the only mosquito equipped to draw out blood, she is merely the carrier of the malaria parasite.

In other words, if no human being has the malaria parasite in their bloodstream, female Anopheles Mosquitoes by the millions can feast on human blood all they want and no one is going to get malaria.

Now, we come to the bloody truth the MSM and the global warmers do not want to admit: The rise in malaria cases in this country is due to an increase in the numbers of people from malaria-ridden countries who have flooded across our virtually non-existent borders over the last decade.

Meanwhile, as the Trump Administration struggles to get our borders under control, there are steps we can take to reduce the number of malaria transmissions: Declare war on all mosquitoes. Wherever possible, get rid of standing pools of water and/or give small pools a shot of motor oil to deny oxygen to mosquito larvae. Wear mosquito repellent.

Serving overseas, our armed forces take chemoprophylaxis medications to prevent or kill the malaria parasite. They also use protective clothing and netting to protect their skin from mosquito bites. But the most effective step is to, whenever possible, stay a certain distance away from malaria-infected populations.

A certain distance? Yes, a mosquito never flies more than three miles away from the place where it was hatched, most often, far less. We learned that fact in Vietnam and Cambodia. So, whenever the tactical situation allowed, we set up our night defensive positions (NDPs) at least three miles away from malaria-ridden Vietnamese, Montagnard, or Cambodia hamlets and villages.

Moreover, mosquitoes can only fly about 25-feet above the ground. Yes, mosquitoes can be hatched at very high altitudes above-sea-level. But mosquitoes cannot fly higher than about 25-feet above the elevation where they are hatched. On purpose, we built our upper deck several feet higher than our local mosquitoes can fly. Our deck is mosquito-free.

Should Americans be worried about this influx of people from malaria-ridden countries? Yes. According to the World Health Organization, "Malaria kills around 800,000 people a year and is second only to tuberculosis (TB) in its impact on world health. The parasitic disease is present in 90 countries and infects one in 10 of the world’s population..."

Back in the days of Ellis Island and effective border control, legal immigrants were screened for infectious diseases. Today, illegal aliens flood across our borders without any kind of screening. We allow this to continue at our peril.

©2019. William Hamilton.

William Hamilton, is a laureate of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame, the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma University Army ROTC Wall of Fame. Dr. Hamilton is the author of Formula for Failure in Vietnam: The Folly of Limited Warfare, McFarland Books, (2019). For pre-publication orders: Toll free: (800) 253-2187 "Central View," can also be seen at: www.central-view.com.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com