Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Vermin destroying – Insect
Reexamination Certificate
2003-05-27
2004-11-16
Ark, Darren W. (Department: 3643)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Vermin destroying
Insect
C043S107000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06817140
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for trapping flying insects, such as mosquitoes, no-see-ums, and other insects that are attracted to carbon dioxide emanating from mammals.
2. Description of Related Art
Each year mosquito-transmitted diseases are responsible for over 3 million deaths and 300 million clinical cases. It is estimated that the worldwide costs associated with the treatment of such mosquito-transmitted diseases runs well into the billions of dollars. In many regions mosquitoes are the primary transmitters of debilitating diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, West Nile virus, sleeping sickness, filariasis, typhus and plague. In addition to the illnesses and deaths caused to humans, mosquito-transmitted diseases are a major cause of economic losses to livestock industries due to veterinary diseases. Further, mosquito-transmitted diseases pose an ever-present concern to regions dependent on revenues from tourism. Specifically, the presence of such diseases in a given region is believed to impact the willingness of tourists to select that region as a tourism destination.
With increased travel and world commerce it also is expected that some of these diseases will become major health problems in the continental United States and elsewhere. For example, the emergence of the West Nile virus in temperate regions of Europe and North America supports this expectation, which represents a threat to public, equine and animal health. It can result in encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in humans and horses, and mortality in domestic animals and wild birds.
In 1995, endemic cases of malaria were recorded in California and New Jersey, and several cases of dengue fever were diagnosed in southern Texas. In September 1996, an unprecedented number of mosquitoes were found in Rhode Island carrying Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Test results revealed that one out of 100 mosquitoes trapped were carrying this rare, deadly virus that has a mortality rate of 30%-60%. The situation in Rhode Island was so severe that the governor declared a state of emergency. In 1997, a similar situation occurred in Florida with an outbreak of St. Louis Encephalitis.
Dengue fever is a particularly dangerous mosquito-transmitted disease that is increasingly becoming a problem of global proportions and may soon eclipse malaria as the most significant mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans. Dengue fever's global distribution is comparable to that of malaria, with an estimated 2.5 billion people living in areas at risk for epidemic transmission. Each year, millions of cases occur, and up to hundreds of thousands of cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are diagnosed. The case-fatality rate of DHF in most countries is about 5%, with most fatal cases occurring among children.
Until recently, dengue fever was relatively unknown in the Western Hemisphere. In the 1970s, a dengue epidemic swept through Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean. In 1981, a second serotype, which was accompanied by hemorrhagic fever, broke out in Cuba. That second epidemic resulted in more than 300,000 hemorrhagic fever cases, and more than 1,000 deaths, most of which were children. By 1986, other countries in South America and Mexico began to see a significant rise in dengue fever. The summer of 1998 saw a new outbreak on the island of Barbados.
With respect to the mainland Americas, nearly 24,000 cases of dengue fever were reported during the first eight months of 1995 in Central America, including 352 cases of hemorrhagic fever. El Salvador declared a national emergency due to the widespread infestation of this disease in that country in 1995. Even Mexico recorded approximately 2,000 cases in 1995, 34 of which included hemorrhagic fever. In total, the Pan American Health Organization reported that there have been almost 200,000 cases of dengue and more than 5,500 cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever in the Americas.
FIG. 1A
is provided to illustrate the worldwide distribution of dengue in the year 2000, and
FIG. 1B
is provided to illustrate the recent increase in dengue cases reported in the Americas.
Entomologists are very concerned about the increased threat of dengue fever to the United States. This concern is attributable in part to the presence of the recently arrived species of mosquito known as the
Aedes albopictus. Aedes albopictus
(also called the “tiger mosquito” due to its bright striping and aggressive biting) was first discovered in the United States in 1985 in Harris County, Texas. Historically, the tiger mosquito has been a major transmitter of dengue fever in Asia. However, it is believed that the introduction of the tiger mosquito in the United States can be traced to a shipment of old tires from Japan. In 1991, the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus was discovered in groups of tiger mosquitoes found in a tire pile just 12 miles west of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
As of February 1996, established populations of the tiger mosquito have been documented in 24 states. Most alarming is that the tiger mosquito has now demonstrated the ability to survive in states as far north as Ohio, New Jersey, and Nebraska. Unlike the
Aedes aegypti
, the tiger mosquito's eggs can survive very cold winters. As a result, the tiger mosquito has great potential to carry diseases into a substantial portion of the United States. The tiger mosquito is already proving a nuisance and hazard in Pulaski County, Illinois, where bite counts of the insect were 25 per minute. In the Central region of the United States, this species has been linked to the transmission of La Crosse Encephalitis, an often fatal disease.
To illustrate the distribution of these mosquito-borne illnesses within the United States, attached
FIGS. 1C through 1F
are provided.
FIG. 1C
illustrates the distribution of confirmed and probable human LaCrosse encephalitis cases between 1964 and 1997 in the United States.
FIG. 1D
illustrates the distribution of human St. Louis Encephalitis cases between 1964 and 1998 in the United States;
FIG. 1E
illustrates the distribution of confirmed and probable human Western Equine Encephalitis cases between 1964 and 1997 in the United States; and
FIG. 1F
illustrates the distribution of confirmed and probable human Eastern Equine Encephalitis cases between 1964 and 1997 in the United States. As can be seen from these Figures, the distribution of these diseases is widespread throughout the United States, thus, leading to the present public concern over further spread of these diseases.
A number of methods for controlling mosquito populations or repelling mosquitoes have been proposed in the past. Examples of these are discussed hereinbelow. As will be appreciated from the following discussion, each of these methods have significant drawbacks which render them impractical or ineffective.
One well-known method for suppressing mosquito populations is the use of chemical pesticides, such as DDT and Malathion. There are basically two types of mosquito pesticides available—adulticides and larvicides. Adulticides are chemicals used to kill mosquitoes that have developed to the adult stage. Infested areas are primarily sprayed from aircraft or motor vehicles. Efficacy of the sprayed chemicals is typically dependent upon wind, temperature, humidity, and time of day, the particular mosquito's resistance to the chemical used, and the base efficacy of the particular chemical. Adulticides must be applied for each generation of adults produced by rain, tidal flooding, or other periodic egg hatching trigger, and have a typical efficacy window of only ½ day. As such, these chemicals must be applied at a time when maximum contact with adult mosquitoes can be expected.
Larvicides, on the other hand, are applied to water sources to kill the larvae before they become adult mosquitoes. Larvicides generally take the form of one of three varieties: (1) an oil applied to the water surface that prevents the larvae from breathing and
Durand Emma Amelia
Oster Richard M.
Ark Darren W.
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
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