Insects and spiders: infestations and bites.
Despite successful eradication techniques and specific effective therapies, insect bites and infestations remain a source of great human misery. The current scabies pandemic shows no signs of abating. Bed bugs, which through the ages have been second only to the malarial mosquito as an insect vector of fatal infection, have now been implicated in the transmission of Hepatitis B and possibly African acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The incidence of head- and pubic lice is on the rise, the latter paralleling, and often co-existing with, other sexually transmitted diseases. Black widow spiders are native to many populous areas in southern Canada, and the brown recluse spider's range now encompasses Canada, thanks to moving vans and central heating.