New Elizabethkingia cluster found in Illinois

CNN ^ | 4:16 PM ET, Wed April 20, 2016 | Debra Goldschmidt

[dayglored]

> When I was a 'children', we used to play and ride our bikes behind the DDT fogger trucks. (Actually a jeep with a fogger trailer, more fun than when the C-47s fogged from the air, we couldn't keep up with them!) Really enjoyed watching the skeeters drop dead around us as we followed the truck.

Yeah, that's pretty much what we did too. Never noticed any ill effects.

OTOH, in the mid-1970's when I was living in Philly (I was in my 20's) my row house was wildly infested with cockroaches, so I went out and bought a few gallons of the nastiest cockroach spray I could find (I've forgotten the name) and a hand sprayer. I closed all the windows, and it was summertime so it was hot as hell... so I stripped down to a t-shirt and shorts, and started spraying. No mask, no goggles. Filled the whole house with fog, every surface was damp, and the cockroaches were twitching and dying as I watched.

After about 20 minutes, I started twitching, but I kept at it until I was done, then I went outside. My eyesight was screwed up and my ability to walk was significantly diminished. But... well... I got better...

And those damn cockroaches didn't come back for the two years I lived there afterward.

Wish I could remember the name of that spray. Man, that was tough stuff.

[null and void]

[null and void]

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors will do that.

Nice to have atropine on hand...

[dayglored]

The name "parathion" is ringing a bell as the active component in that spray. The commercial product name is sitting on the tip of my tongue (so to speak)... it was something simple, two syllables, maybe six letters... maybe sounded like "nylon" (no, not Zyklon)... dang, now that's gonna bother me all day...

Didn't have atropine. Would have, if I'd planned ahead. But it was one of those hot, steamy, aggravating days where a cockroach had the audacity to run right across my kitchen table in broad daylight and all of a sudden I lost my shit and went out and got the spray and did the deed. I'm not claiming I was in my right mind, you understand...

[NorthMountain]

Parathion at Wikipedia. Check out the first paragraph on Safety. Sound familiar?

What's the difference between insecticide and chemical weapons? (Not much.)

[null and void]

Been there, done that, except the little (insert common word for illegitimate child here) did it while I was serving a lovingly crafted dinner in a attempt to woo a young lady.

[dayglored]

> Parathion at Wikipedia. Check out the first paragraph on Safety. Sound familiar?

... It is absorbed via skin, mucous membranes, and orally. Absorbed parathion is rapidly metabolized to paraoxon, as described in Insecticidal activity. Paraoxon exposure can result in headaches, convulsions, poor vision, vomiting, abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, unconsciousness, tremor, dyspnea, and finally lung-edema as well as respiratory arrest...

I definitely recognize the first three. Very thankful it didn't proceed into the rest. Took about a week to start feeling normal again.

[dayglored]

> Been there, done that, except the little (insert common word for illegitimate child here) did it while I was serving a lovingly crafted dinner in a attempt to woo a young lady.

Dang. Young ladies are not often impressed by such goings-on, even (especially!) when in the context of sitting down to a lovingly crafted dinner.

My sympathies.

[null and void]

Of course you know this means war.

I managed to eliminate every one of them in my apartment. It involved foamy insecticide and boric acid in every crack and crevice followed by sealing every crack and crevice.

And they young lady?

We were never lovers, but became best friends. I miss her.

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping! (Elizabethknigia in Illinois)

[Smokin' Joe]

Well, don’t drink the water, eat the food, shake hands, breathe second-hand air, use public toilets or have sex with anyone while you’re there and you’ll probably be safe.

If you don't get mugged...

[Gamecock]

**underlying health conditions**

Isn’t there a large HIV outbreak in Illinois?

[21twelve]

During WWII my mom and dad lived in NY while he was in training. A small double-bungalow. Ha bed bugs or something. So on a clear, cold winter day they hauled everything they could out into the front yard - sofa, rugs, mattresses - everything. Gave it a good freeze.

And then they scrubbed everything on the inside down. (Probably pinesol or something.) The landlord came home from work (lived next door) and asked what was going on. My mom didn’t want to embarrass her - so she said it was a custom from the old country to do a big winter cleaning!