Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
7 House Screening
Matthew J. Kirby*
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Malaria Consortium,
London, UK
If we can sequence the human genome and clone sheep, surely we can design and implement an
af ordable, well-ventilated, screened house that keeps the mosquitoes out. The end users certainly want
one.
(Walker, 2010)
7.1 Introduction
are even more favourable than, ancestral
ecological niches. Rice fi elds and irrigation
systems, often established close to community
housing, are also suitable environments for
aquatic larvae of insect vectors and for snail
hosts of schistosomiasis (see Konradsen et al .,
Chapter 9, this volume). When we cook indoors
with biomass fuels, the resultant air pollution
can cause a spectrum of pulmonary diseases
(Smith, 2002). We dispose of our organic waste
inei ciently and close to our houses, in-
advertently encouraging intermediate hosts and
vector species such as rats and housefl ies
(Rozendaal, 1997). Poor hygiene in food
preparation contaminates our cooking utensils
(Unnevehr and Hirschhorn, 2000); inadequate
latrines contaminate our households with faecal
waste. When we house our domesticated
animals under the same roof, or in close
proximity, we increase the risk of zoonotic
diseases (Gürtler et al ., 1991; Barnett et al .,
2005).
The ancient Greek term 'oikos', from which the
word 'ecology' is derived, literally means house
and household. Today when considering the
ecology of many diseases, both infectious and
non-communicable, we often fi nd that the house
and peri-domestic environment are the most
important foci. Humans are sometimes con-
sidered unique in the animal kingdom insofar as
we manipulate the landscape around us to suit
our needs rather than adapting our behaviours
and requirements to the local environment. This
approach can bring quick rewards, but without
careful planning it can also lead to considerable
costs, particularly in the tropics and subtropics,
where many diseases are most prevalent and
medical care often inadequate. To exemplify,
when we create collections of water in and near
our houses by design or accident, we create
breeding sites for mosquitoes. Sometimes we
create domestic environments that replicate, or
* mattkirby.tanga@gmail.com
 
 
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