An estimated 1-3 million people die each year from malaria. It is not a common disease in Costa Rica. The only thing you must watch out for is "Dengue," which is another mosquito transmitted disease. The government has been carrying-out a campaign to eliminate the breeding spots since the 90's and the situation is pretty much under control.
Remember to wear repellent and watch out for a big mosquito with striped long legs, the Aedes, the dengue spreader.
The rainforest is the place in the world where many medicinal ingredients used to make pills found in drug stores are from.
Actually, a team of researchers recently found a possible cure for malaria in the Alberto Manuel Brenes Reserve in the San Ram Rainforest in the mountains of Costa Rica. The two that appear to be medicinal candidates are from the Asteraceae and Meliaceae families. The Asteraceae family includes flowers like asters, daisies, and sunflowers. The Meliaceae family contains trees and shrubs such as mahogany. Plants from the Meliaceae family have been used as natural cures for fevers in some parts of the world. Herbal remedies like the plant Echinacea are also found in the Asteraceae family.
So remember, just by walking out there through Arenas del Mar you might be passing by a future medicine used to fight Cancer or Aids...
Wake up your scientific instinct; you are walking through a living
lab.
By: Jose Pablo Fdez, naturalist guide
Etiquetas: dengue, malaria, medicines, mosquitos
