Fair warning to the sweet-blooded: Shanghai’s mosquito problem is about to get worse. Officials from the Shanghai CDC recently discovered a strain of mosquitoes that is “hundreds of times” more resistant to insecticide, according to Shanghai Daily. These mosquitoes developed due to overuse of pesticides near their breeding grounds.

The city has since launched a campaign to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue fever, malaria and Japanese B encephalitis and clear breeding grounds in advance of World Expo 2010. In the meantime, be vigilant and protect yourself by purchasing mosquito coils for your home (at any Carrefour). You can even prevent bites the natural way by consuming one or two garlic pills per day, or dabbing on some lavender essential oil.

Joanne Yao