Quote:
Originally Posted by BookCat
I've lived in England all my life, and the 'problem' of mosquitoes has never been mentioned, by family, by friends, on the news, or by doctors. You certainly don't need malaria protection here. There are midges and gnats and greenfly and bluebottles and wasps and bumble bees, but I've never encountered a mosquito. I've been bitten by cat fleas, but not mosquitoes.
Screens whether over the bed or on windows and doors, are unknown. I have my french windows wide open now, and the only flying insect I've seen is a fly.
Now, back to the Brontes.....
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In the UK the term "gnat" is most commonly used when referring to mosquitos. In saying that I am not making any judgement whatsoever as to what insect you are referring to as the term is used around the world for a few other insects as well.
Locally transmitted malaria existed in the UK until at least the early 20th Century when control of mosquitos was introduced (it was only a few decades before then that some mosquito tribes were implicated in the transmission of malaria).
While I am not making any claims whatsoever with respect to the deaths of the Brontes, I do not know much about them or the geography of Haworth, malaria or susceptibility to secondary illnesses arising from that is always a possibility as to the cause of deaths in the UK during the 19th Century, especially if the location is associated with wetlands (including saline estuaries).