Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project

Plymouth County Mosquito Control Project

Mosquito Borne Viruses and Their Social and Economic Impact in the United States and Massachusetts

Potential Topics for Research

American History - A few Examples

How did United States trade with Asia result in the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes Albopictus) being found in Texas in 1985 and in Massachusetts in 2000? The Asian Tiger Mosquito is capable of being a vector of many diseases such as Dengue Fever and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
In 1793 approximately 5,500 people died from contracting Yellow Fever in Philadelphia. How was this connected to our trade with the West Indies?
Did you know that residents of Memphis, Tennessee considered razing their city and moving it elsewhere after there were over 5,000 Yellow Fever fatalities in 1878?
Mosquitoes carrying Malaria and Yellow Fever caused many deaths during the Civil War, the Spanish American War, and the building of the Panama Canal. (As many as 80% of Americans sent to Cuba during the Spanish American War came down with yellow fever.).

Massachusetts History - A Few Examples

From 1793 – 1877 there were periodic outbreaks on Yellow Fever in western Massachusetts.
In 1847 a hospital was built on Deer Island in Boston to care for victims of Yellow Fever (mostly Irish immigrants).
In 1896 the Neponset River was implicated as a source of Yellow Fever in Boston.
In 1931 there were forty reported cases of Malaria in Massachusetts.
In 1938 Eastern Equine Encephalitis was first identified in Massachusetts.
How did former Harvard professor Andrew Spielman see a potential connection between the invention of asphalt roofing shingles, the reduction in harvesting White Cedar, and an increase in the Culiseta melanura mosquito population? The mosquito Culiseta melanura transmits EEEV to our wild birds. The birds in turn infect more mosquitoes.

The bits of information listed above are often not part of our history studies. Yet, they are fascinating and seem like great topics for research and discussion. The challenge is connecting to the Massachusetts History and Social Science Frameworks. If you are an educator and have any thoughts on this issue, we would like to hear from you. If you are a history teacher and have developed a lesson or lessons related to mosquito issues, we would also like to hear from. With your permission, we will share those lessons with all interested educators. info@plymouthmosquito.com

Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework

While the Grades 8 – 12 Concepts and Skills listed below seem to support the study of the impact that mosquito borne diseases have had on our country and our state of Massachusetts from Colonial times through present times, it is difficult to identify the specific Learning Standards that would be a fit for such a study.

Concepts and Skills, Grades 8–12

History and Geography

3. Interpret and construct timelines that show how events and eras in various parts of the world are

related to one another. (H)

4. Interpret and construct charts and graphs that show quantitative information.

5. Explain how a cause and effect relationship is different from a sequence or correlation

6. Distinguish between long-term and short-term cause and effect relationships.

9. Distinguish intended from unintended consequences. (H, E, C)

General Economic Skills

14. Explain how people or communities examine and weigh the benefits of each alternative when making a choice and

that opportunity costs are those benefits that are given up once one alternative is chosen. (E)

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