Good morning, dear reader,
the invasion has begun. Small black projectiles whir through the air and pounce on their victims. Swarms invade gardens, parks and forests and multiply at lightning speed. Even in inner cities, people are no longer safe: you hit your suddenly itchy skin, rub small corpses out of the corners of your eyes, and after cycling, you are covered in black bullets.
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No, I am not talking about a new secret weapon from the Kremlin despot, nor about an artificial intelligence or even an extraterrestrial force that is haunting us. I’m talking about mosquitoes. And Snakes. And in Gniz And everything else livestock, that suddenly populated our airspace with the onset of summer. Is it just my subjective feeling that the plague is particularly big this year? Apparently not, at least among friends and colleagues it is mosquito invasion a big issue. At a festival in Nuremberg, visitors struggled with breathing problems because of numerous mosquito bites. Yesterday, a person who should be taken seriously reported to me that Autan had not been enough to ward off the attacks in the evening for a long time. He swears by diluted petrol.
I am not that far yet. But I confess that I have been following reports from North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg with interest for the past few days, where city administrations are asking citizens for support in the fight against the invaders.
At this point at the latest, after 200 words on a topic that seems rather unusual for the daybreak, it is time for a short reflection. Cattle, invasion, attacks: is that actually the appropriate vocabulary for the frequent appearance of little flies, which have the unpleasant property of pricking larger creatures in order to elicit a little blood from them? Mosquitoes are crap: This opinion should have an approval rate of almost 100 percent among the 83 million two-legged inhabitants of our country. They annoy us, they hurt us, they are simply superfluous.
Viewed from a distance, the situation is somewhat different. Not only because mosquitoes and other pests serve as a feast for the little birds in the forest and meadows. They are also an alarm signal.
Other animals suddenly appear in much larger numbers and for longer periods of time in the annual cycle. ticks for example. Or the Asian Tiger Mosquito, which can transport dangerous pathogens – like that zika virus, the Denguevirus or that Chikungunyavirus (yes, there really is). Cases of illness are already being reported from southern Europe; it should only be a matter of time before the first infected people end up in the hospitals in this country. For the past five years, the virus transmitted from mosquitoes to birds has also been circulating in East Germany West-Nil-Virus, that can affect humans as well. The first death occurred three years ago.
Pathogens from other regions of the world make Germany unsafe: That brings us to the point. Because of course it’s not the animals’ fault, it’s us People. As Homo sapiens multiplies unchecked, permanently dispatches goods and conspecifics around the world and transforms the planet into a sauna, he changes it coordinates of nature. A report by the Robert Koch Institute in haunting words: The global warming encourages infectious animals and bacterial pathogens to multiply and spread rapidly in this country. That’s why it’s increasing risk of infectious diseases. “We are facing a really big challenge, also for our healthcare system,” says the scientist Elke Hertig.
The epidemiologist Klaus Stark adds: “There have been clear trends in recent years that some of the climate-sensitive pathogens have increased.” Bacterial resistance and vibrios in the water are also increasing. The latter includes the bacterium with the unpleasant name Vibrio injurious, which is found in sea and brackish water and can penetrate human skin through tiny wounds. “In older people or people with a weakened immune system, these infections can lead to severe wound infections or severe blood poisoning, warns Mr. Stark. If treatment is not immediate, those infected could die.
That sounds worrying, but it’s not the animals that are at the root of the problem, it’s man-made climate change. Those who curse through the air these days or smear a double portion of anti-hum on their neck should bear this in mind. “Climate protection is the most effective form of health protection,” says scientist Elke Hertig. It is therefore in our own hands to maintain a safe living environment. Or if we’ll have to surrender to the invasion at some point.
What’s up?
It’s Exotic Destinations Day: foreign minister Annalena Baerbock visited Panama. World trade and the climate crisis are the focus of the talks. SPD boss Lars Klingbeil stops at the end of his trip to Asia Mongolia. He wants to sign a “declaration of intent” there with the Mongolian People’s Party.
More results should the meeting of EU justice ministers Luxemburg produce: It is about guidelines to combat violence against women and domestic violence as well as the effective enforcement of sanctions against foreign aggressors and criminals.
The Evangelical Church Congress is taking place in Nuremberg. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder Come to Bible study, climate minister Robert Habeck may explain the higher orders of the heating law, it should also one Worship service with artificial intelligence give. Honestly, I can do without all three offers.
