On September 13, 2022, the official website of the National Health Commission of PRC published on its website the reply to the "Proposal to Completely Eliminate Mosquitoes".

(Photo: National Health Commission of PRC)

The National Health Commission's response to the suggestion immediately hit Baidu hot searches.

(Baidu hot searches)

There is no doubt that mosquitoes are very annoying vector organisms, and the prevention and control of them is an important basic work in the construction of a healthy China. It means controlling harmful vector organisms from the source and reducing the risk of infectious diseases spreading.

However, is it really good if all the mosquitoes are killed?

More than 3,400 species of mosquitoes have been recorded worldwide, which include 37 genera, all belonging to one family of Mosquitoidae divided into 3 subfamilies: Toxorhynchitinae, Anophelinae and Culicinae. They occur in tropical and temperate regions and even have their traces above the Arctic Circle, but not in the Antarctic.

Of such a variety of mosquitoes, only 200 species can really "bite", and only three species (Anopheles, Culex and Aedes) pose a threat to humans. Moreover, the "blood suckers" are actually female mosquitoes.

Will the ecosystem be better if the three types of biting and nasty blood suckers were ecologically and completely wiped out by humans?

I am afraid the answer is:NO.

Many scientists have said that if the mosquitoes become extinct, the consequences will be serious. They are an important link in the food chain, and many birds, amphibians, etc., depend on this food.

Ecosystems are interlinked, and the collapse of one link may have serious ecological consequences. And humans, as members of the ecosystem, are not necessarily immune to this.

In a nutshell: biodiversity urgently needs to be mainstreamed, and "ecological killing" needs to be very cautious.

Original Chinese Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LbDaLBOyQnxDwUyR6Mazdw

Translator:Daisy

Checked by Sara

Editor:Daisy

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