Bomb craters mean trouble for islanders
By Nathan Seppa
From Philadelphia, at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Mysterious skin infections that have plagued residents of the Micronesian island of Satowan are traceable to swimming in the stagnant waters that fill bomb craters left over from World War II, a study shows. Scientists have successfully treated these infections with antibiotics but are still trying to determine what the specific pathogen in these waters might be.
Japanese soldiers held tiny Satowan during the war, and U.S. bombing raids left craters that filled with water, expanding the island’s mosquito population. The Japanese introduced nonnative fish called medaka (Oryzias latipes) into the freshwater ponds in hopes that the fish would eat the mosquito larvae.