Rain Scald: The Future of a New Sexually Transmitted Disease

The Finnish public broadcaster Yle has reported that a new sexually transmitted infection has begun spreading in Europe. In fact, the disease is one that has long been known to affect horses and cattle: rain scald (also known as dermatophilosis). Previously, it had occurred mainly in people who worked closely with these animals, but it has now started to spread to others as well.

The disease is caused by bacteria and produces scaly skin lesions, raised bumps, and pus-filled blisters on various parts of the body. So far, however, it has responded well to antibiotic treatment, and the situation remains under control.

The infection has not been spreading among people engaging in conventional sexual activity. Rather, according to Yle's report, it "is currently found mainly among men who have visited gay saunas in France, Spain, Germany, and Sweden. Transmission has occurred through sexual contact or other forms of close skin-to-skin contact."

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It remains to be seen whether this emerging disease will develop into a genuine epidemic or remain a passing curiosity. In this regard, bisexual men are likely to play a key role, as they could enable the bacterium to cross the gender barrier from gay men to heterosexual women.

If rain scald does begin to spread more widely, another important question will be whether the pathogen starts adapting to humans. In other words, will genetic changes be selected in bacterial strains that circulate between people, making transmission during sexual contact more efficient than it is today?

Should that happen, the next likely development would be the evolution of antibiotic resistance. As a result, treating the disease would become more difficult than it is at present.

For now, we can only wait and see what the future brings. At present, the only certainty is that abstaining from sex, or having sex exclusively with one faithful partner—and, apparently, also using a physical barrier such as a condom—prevents infection.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Finland's COVID-19 policy saved approximately 2,600 people from death
A factory of five billion mosquitoes
Evolution in action

Finnish Society Adopts Medieval Characteristics

A few days ago, I wrote about the change that is leading to the European Green parties' withering into insignificant political forces. This doesn't seem to be understood, at least among the Finnish Greens.

One could draw this conclusion, at least from the fact that some within the Greens have suggested that the party adopt a positive stance on polygamy and promote the legal recognition of more than one spouse. In practice, this would primarily mean the recognition of polygamous Islamic marriages as valid in Finnish society.

In this way, the Greens would bring Finnish culture a step closer to the medieval demands of Islam. Similarly, society is being steered in this direction by the increasing practice of women-only swimming sessions and by allowing unofficially the wearing of swimsuits in the sauna at public swimming pools. The latter is problematic because sweat gets trapped in the swimsuit during the sauna and later dissolves into the swimming water, fostering the growth of various bacteria, including pathogens.

The national broadcasting company has also taken it upon itself to reshape society according to the demands of immigrants. It has decided to begin broadcasting in Arabic and Somali. By doing so, the company could further reduce the already limited motivation of these immigrants to learn the Finnish language.

The driving forces behind all these changes have been, in particular, Green and left-wing politicians, who have received support especially from the value-liberal politicians of the National Coalition Party and the Swedish People's Party of Finland. Fortunately, the political influence of the Greens is declining, as well as that of the rest of the left.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The Rise, Fall, and Future of the European Green Parties
The attractiveness of Finland to welfare-seeking economic migrants reduces
Information for Asylum Seekers in Finland

A factory of five billion mosquitoes

The Nature magazine published a news article stating that Brazil is planning to build a mosquito factory to produce five billion mosquitoes per year, which are intended to be released into the wild.

These are not just any mosquitoes, but winged insects that carry a certain bacterial infection. As a result, these mosquitoes do not function as efficient carriers of the virus that causes dengue fever.

Therefore, the market for these mosquitoes is in places where this viral disease occurs, such as Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, where it is hoped that the released insects will pass on the bacteria in a way that even their naturally occurring counterparts are no longer able to transmit viruses.

The method has been tested before the decision to build the factory was made. The best results were achieved in a trial conducted in Indonesia, where releasing bacteria-carrying mosquitoes into the wild reduced dengue fever cases by as much as 77 percent. In other trials, the number of people with the disease also decreased, but less so.

It remains to be seen whether the mosquito factory will succeed in improving human health, and what kind of market will open up for a factory producing bacteria-carrying mosquitoes.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Evolution in action
Leaders infected by a parasite
World oceans are filled with previously unknown viruses

A popular hobby risks ecological balance, private property and human health in Finland

Ticks carry bacteria and viruses with them. The bacteria are causing Lyme borreliosis, which is a serious disease but can be treated with antibiotics. In contrast, some viruses may cause Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), which is a serious tick-borne disease in Europe that can only be avoided by vaccinations.

Today it was informed that the number of TBE cases has increased considerably in Sweden and Finland due to the climatic change and and COVID-19 pandemic, the latter of which has brought people for outdoor activities. At least in Finland one of the main causes was not mentioned. That is the dramatically increased number of white-tailed and also roe deer, both of which act as hosts to ticks, and therefore enable higher population sizes of disease causing agents.

Deer populations also cause major damage to young forests by eating hardwoods and pines, which result in direct losses to forest owners as well as directs forest owners to plant spruces, which in Central Europe have been attacked seriously by beetles, and the same has been predicted to happen also in Nordic countries if the climates continue warming as predicted.

Hunting is, however, a popular hobby in Finland, and people involved are bringing huge amounts of food to the deer in wintertime, which increases considerably their population sizes. That maximizes the amount of animals for hunting but also their effect on the spread of tick-borne diseases and forest damages. 

For anyone looking from the side, it should be imperative to end the feeding of deer due to the vast problems they cause. And the common sense says, that white tailed deer should be removed from the country due to its nature as an alien invasive species. It simply is not sustainable to jeopardize ecological balance with an aggressively reproducing alien animal, put the health of lay people at risk nor damage their properties because of a hobby - no matter how enjoyable that may be.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
World oceans are filled with previously unknown viruses