Of flies and men

[image source: http://www.gibbleguts.com/funny/wp-content/uploads/fruitfly.jpg]

As I was entertaining my self via youtube.com videos, I came across one Animal Planet short documentary on bot fly (watch video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2kuGGmx6DU). I also went about checking other videos on extraction of bot fly larvae from a human host (see some of the videos below).

The bot fly belong to the family of Oestroidea, a hairy flies whose larvae parasitically live within the bodies of mammals. There are about 150 known species worldwide. Human bot fly (Dermatobia hominis) is the lone species of bot fly identified to use humans as the host to its larvae.

Bot flies deposit its egg directly in the host body or sometime use another insect – flies or mosquitoes to transfer their eggs to the host body (may middle man kung baga). How does the bot fly go about it? They catch and attach their eggs to the smaller insect (fly or mosquito) and then release them. Then the larvae from the bot fly eggs, by law of thermodynamics and gravity, fall onto the human skin while in contact with the feeding mosquito or the resting fly. Some forms of bot fly also go and develop in the digestive tract when taken in by a licking action.

Since the botfly larva have spines, they cause an extremely painful condition under your skin. According to Wikipedia “In cattle, the lesions caused by these flies can become infected by a bacterial causes lechiguana, characterized by rapid growing, hard lumps beneath the skin of the animal. Without antibiotics an affected animal will die within 3–11 months.^”

The larvae develop under the skin for about eight weeks. After which they will just hatch or fall off and leave the host’s skin. Complications will only arise when infection occurs in the affected area.

The bot fly larvae can be successfully removed from the skin by suffocating it. So applying several coat of nail polish to the of the larva’s entrance, applying petroleum jelly or covering the affected area with duck tape should do the trick. However the latter is not highly recommended since the larva’s breathing tube (it’s part that’s attached to the opening on the skin) is sensitive and would be broken during the removal of the tape, causing most part of the larva behind. After doing this, wait for a day and you can squeeze out the suffocated, dead larva.

Another way to make the larva come out is to put raw meat on top of the affected area. This should lure the pest to come out of the skin. And if you’re from Costa Rica, one option to kill the larva is to use the tree sap of the matatorsalo.

This is really creepy but we need not worry to much since The Philippines does is not included on the list of countries with known bot fly cases. The list mostly consist of countries with warm and damp climates like (most of) Brazil and Chile, as well as far north as the southern United States.

Here are the list of other countries with identified bot fly occurrence: Adelaide - Elizabeth, Davoren Park, Argentina, Bolivia, Canada - Northern British Columbia, Southern Ontario, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, The coast of Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Mexico, , New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Several small countries in Africa

Nevertheless, with the current climate change and situation of global warming, we can never be too sure that bot fly will not infest our country. Therefore, prevent yourselves from being bitten by mosquitoes. Make sure to prevent fly infestation and stay away (as much as possible) from places with mosquito and fly infestation. Stay hygienic and sanitary.

And for Poz girls and guys out there... make sure to stay away from insect bites. We don't want to have any infections going on there.

Bot fly by National Geographic

Bot fly extraction from the man’s back

Moral of the story

[image from www.urlesque.com]

I’d like to share these stories with you.

I think this message is circulating through email since I received this via my spam folder.

Whoever wrote this is very wise. It talked about situation in the work environment (or life in general) and sensible decisions we should take in consideration.

So before making hasty decisions, remember the man and his wife, the Priest and the Nun, the Sales Rep, the Admin Clerk and their boss, the eagle and the rabbit, the turkey who ate the bull's shit, and the bird under the cow's dung.

**********

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.' After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?' 'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies.

'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:

A priest offered a nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.

The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'

Moral of the story:

If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'

'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.' Puff! She's gone.

'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.' Puff! He's gone.

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'

Moral of the story:

Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?' The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.'

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:

To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. 'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.' 'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.' The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story:

Bullshit may get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson 6

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of the story:

(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.

(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

DOH HIV & AIDS update as of August 2009

The Department of Health through its National Epidemiology Center reported 61 HIV cases for August 2009, a 49% increase compared to the same period last year. The total number of HIV infection for 2009 alone (January to August) accounts for 493 cases. This month's reported infections bring the total number of HIV cases in the Philippines to 4,082 since January 1984.

The age of the infected Filipinos ranges from 20-54 with males males having the majority of the cases (92%). Ten (10) reported HIV infections for this month were young Filipinos age 15-24, half the number of cases as compared to last month's 21 cases. Of all the cases, majority (34 cases or 56%) were from Metro Manila, the country's National Capital Region.

All of the cases, except three with no data given, were infected through sexual contact. The predominant mode of sexual contact was through men having sex with men (72%). Four of the 61 infections were reported as AIDS cases. No death was reported.

[Source: Department of Health]

BE SAFE, STAY SAFE.

PLEASE PRACTICE SAFE SEX.

The type of guy in me only few cared to see

[image from https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/lmsims/www/China2004/SignsWonders.htm]

I am the type of guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep. I am the type of boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you' re beautiful as you are. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have YOU. The one who turns to his friends and says that's him.

Why do we make bad decisions when we’re naked?

Just like what one blogger friend commented, "it doesn't hurt to be careful." And the opposite is so true.

Watch this video and forever remember that being irresponsible have serious (life threatening) consequences.

[video source: http://www.youtube.com]

So guys and friends,

do it right,

do it safe and

do it responsibly.