DISEASES SPREAD BY COCKROACHES

(This cartoon features cockroaches meeting with their public relations department. In the image, the cockroaches are telling their PR representative that, "First of all, we want our name changed from 'cockroach' to 'companion beetle;." This brilliant display of genius had to be prominently displayed just below our logo which was designed by Design Your Name™. The actual name: Cancel Your Cockroaches was created by someone who decided that the meaning of the name would be important to incorporate into the business name. This cartoon was created and designed by Sidney Harris and reprinted under copyright fair use laws. Visit Sidney Harris' website for more brilliant science and other cartoon designs.)

So where did the name cockroach come from? The cockroach has many different specific names, depending on the species, but the common names are what most people know, rather than the scientific name. In any case, there is no real evidence as to where the name cockroach came from.

Yes they can! Cockroaches can not only cause illness, but allergies as well. They are as nasty as they look, and their name sounds as dirty as they are. The cockroach is a descendant from ancient times. They have existed long before humans. There are over 4,000 species of these insects in existence today. The three most common kinds of roaches are the American cockroach, German cockroach, and Oriental cockroach. However, people don't really know about flying cockroaches, which also exist. All of these ugly critters can live off of anything and this includes unsanitary substances. Here is a list of some diseases you can get from these creepy crawlers:

• Dysentery - Dysentery is not a disease but a symptom of a potentially deadly illness. The term refers to any case of infectious bloody diarrhea, a scourge that kills as many as 700,000 people worldwide every year. Most of the victims live in developing areas with poor sanitation, but sporadic cases can pop up anywhere in the world.

• Typhoid - Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. In the United States about 400 cases occur each year, and 75% of these are acquired while traveling internationally.

• Gastroenteritis - Gastroenteritis is a condition that causes irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines (the gastrointestinal tract). An infection may be caused by bacteria or parasites in spoiled food or unclean water. Some foods may irritate your stomach and cause gastroenteritis. Lactose intolerance to dairy products is one example.

• Poliomyelitis (Polio) - There is no cure for polio. The focus of modern treatment is on providing relief for symptoms, speeding recovery and avoiding complications. Other supportive measures include antibiotics to prevent infections in weakened muscles, analgesics for pain, moderate exercise and a nutritious diet. Treatment of polio often requires long-term rehabilitation, including physical therapy, braces, corrective shoes and, in some cases, orthopedic surgery.

• Leprosy - Today, the diagnosis and treatment of leprosy is easy and most countries are attempting to fully integrate leprosy services into existing health services. However, pockets of high endemicity still remain in some areas of Angola, Brazil, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, and the United Republic of Tanzania.

• Tuberculosis - Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by cockroaches because of spread bacteria. It was first discovered in 1882 by a German physician named Robert Koch who received the Nobel prize for this discovery. TB normally affects the lungs but can involve almost any organ of the human body.
  

 

An early study in the Journal of Public Health in 1911 showed that cockroaches harbored staphylococcus, pnemococcus, and strephtococcus. Since then, as many as 50 pathogens have been identified, including salmonella.

Cockroaches are capable of setting up their homes in many places. They survive off of septic dressings, fermenting products, leather, hair, rotting food, wallpaper, and even feces. If that isn't enough o turn anyone's stomach, I don't know what is. Because of the unsanitary products they eat, they spread disease wherever they roam. So we get sick from the contamination and we can even get sick from cockroach feces. How do we get so ill from this? I have never touched a cockroach, so why would I get sick? The dust particles left behind from the cockroach float in the air, and that's enough to cause allergies and illnesses. And if a cockroach happens to land on any of your food you will also eat what he has left on the plate. If food isn't stored properly, you can expose yourself to all kinds of unnecessary illnesses like asthma and other health conditions.

It is very important for our health to keep these scurrying bugs at bay. And just because we can't see these critters, doesn't mean they aren't around. They have clever hiding places like inside of your kitchen cabinets, or even inside your walls.

Interesting Cockroach facts:

• A cockroach can live without its head for one week

• There are around 4,000 species worldwide. Over 50 species live here in the United States

• Cockroach derives from the Spanish word “cucaracha” which literally means :”crazy bug”

• South America houses the largest cockroach at 6 inched long with a one foot wing span

• German cockroaches can squeeze through a crack that's only 1/16 of an inch wide

• Cockroaches will eat nearly anything and this includes: glue, soap, shoes, paint, toothpaste, coffee grinds, and fingernails
  

For more info on these disease infested insects (that's if you are interested), you can visit Planet Cockroach and Colorado State University's Extension page on cockroaches.

Cancel Your Cockroaches™ is in the process of being trademarked and is an extension of Consider Them Gone®, whose trademark owners also holds the rights to Terminate Your Termites™. The glowing logo and website design was created by Design Your Name™ a division of Web Your Name®.