The Modern Vampire

Bram Stroker once wrote “a vampire's greatest strength is people' refusal to believe in them”. While vampires are mythical, many infectious bugs and animals do bite people at night. This risk is often underestimated among travellers.

There are some unpleasant diseases that can be stopped if you know who and when to avoid. Seasoned travellers are familiar with night-time-biting malaria mosquitoes. While it is good to take ant malarial medications (to kill parasites if they enter your blood stream), it is still better to avoid being bitten in the first place.

Fortunately, the best things to prevent malaria also prevent travellers from other night-acquired diseases. Such prevention measures include the use of a mosquito net, DEET on exposed skin and good clothing. Know the behaviour of individual disease-carrying bugs helps as well. Sand flies, for instance, transmit Bartonelosis and Sandfly fever. They are small enough to go between the mosquito net holes. However, applying Permethrin insecticide to your net, blocks the sand flies from passing through.

Cone bugs (kissing bugs) transmit Chaga's disease by biting and defecating parasites on to night time sleepers. They literally crawl out of the wood work in old South American houses. Fortunately they are also blocked by a well-fitted Permethrin-treated net provided they cannot crawl beneath it. Travelers are also better prepared by not choosing locations known for these assassin bugs.

Lastly, vampire bats have been known to enter houses and feed on people with their needle-like teeth. Sleepers are often not even aware of this. If a vampire bat is discovered inside a bedroom, sleepers have to assume they may have been bitten and seek medical advice immediately.

In all instances, these dangerous pests can enter even secured tents or bedrooms. This is why, like the vampire, it is never a good idea to, in any way, invite them in past the threshold and make it hard for them to get a night time snack.

To learn more about the habits of malarious mosquitos the website malaria.org has lots of information.

Chaga's disease is a very serious threat in some South American countries and affects 16-18 million people are infected in 18 countries of Latin America. The World Health Organization has prepared information where Chaga's disease occurs at http://www.who.int/topics/chagas_disease/en /