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Stink Bug Epidemic Spreads as 33 U.S. States Now Report Infiltrations of the Smelly Pest

04/01/2011 Leave a comment

By DANIEL BATES – “Few of us ever come to terms with the idea of bed bugs infesting their house and home.

But now a new threat is on the rise that is arguably worse – stink bugs.

Sightings of the brown marmorated stink bug have been reported in 33 states so far this year, a rise of eight since fall alone.

The pest appears to be spreading from its traditional home in the mid-Atlantic coast throughout America, experts said.

The only areas to escape the epidemic are the Rockies and the Plains but everywhere else homeowners have found thousands of the dime-sized creatures infesting their homes in beds and in sofas.”  Read more.

 

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Fatal and Severe H1N1 Cases In Mexico Increase

04/01/2011 Leave a comment

“Of those confirmed, three were in stable clinical condition, one in serious condition and four people have died. Of those confirmed four are hospitalized and nine others convalescing at home.

Confirmed cases of influenza, by age group, under four a range of 15 to 24 years, eight to a group of 25 to 44 and five more to an age ranging between 45 and 64 years of age.

The above translation provides additional detail on the updated list of H1N1 confirmed cases in Mexico. Over half were hospitalized or died, raising concerns that the H1N1 involved in these cases represents a more virulent sub-clade and may have a significantly difference sequence than the sub-clades described previously. Similar frequencies were seen in the cases from the Juarez Traffic Department where most cases are not yet confirmed. The cluster has grown to five including two deaths and one critical case. Thus, that cluster also has more than half of the cases hospitalized with at least half of hospitalized patients dying.”  Read more.

 

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Deadly White-Nose Syndrome Threatens Bats in Ohio

03/28/2011 2 comments

“By Kristine Gill – Ohio bats are happily hibernating, but a fatal syndrome targeting the winged mammals could soon strike.

White-Nose Syndrome, which leaves a fungus on the nose and wings, has already killed more than 1 million bats in the northeastern United States including Pennsylvania and Indiana, as well as parts of Canada.

‘It’s knocking on Ohio’s door right now,’ said Greg Turner, an endangered-mammal specialist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Lawrence County has four confirmed sites just miles from the Ohio border.

Jennifer Norris, a research wildlife biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, is among researchers surveying caves and mines across Ohio as part of yearly tests to map the spread since the syndrome was first detected near Albany, N.Y., in 2006.”  Read more.

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CDC: ‘Superbug’ That Kills 40% Of The People Who Come In Contact With It Spreads to 35 States

03/27/2011 Leave a comment

By Joe Weisenthal, Business Insider:

“The joke that’s going around is that the Mayans got it wrong: The world is ending this year, not 2012.

Here’s the lates sign of that.

A superbug is spreading around America, and has hit Southern California.

LA Times:

A dangerous drug-resistant bacterium has spread to patients in Southern California, according to a study by Los Angeles County public health officials.

More than 350 cases of the Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, or CRKP, have been reported at healthcare facilities in Los Angeles County, mostly among elderly patients at skilled-nursing and long-term care facilities, according to a study by Dr. Dawn Terashita, an epidemiologist with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

It was not clear from the study how many of the infections proved fatal, but other studies in the U.S. and Israel have shown that about 40% of patients with the infection die. Tereshita was not available for comment Thursday morning but was scheduled to speak about the study in the afternoon.

Here’s a map from the CDC of states where it has been reported:

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What’s in the Venice, Florida Beach Water? Health Inspectors Baffled

03/27/2011 Leave a comment

“By Adam Freeman – VENICE, FLORIDA — On what looked like the picture perfect day at Venice Beach on Wednesday, there was actually a problem.

Bacteria in the water forced the Sarasota Health Department to repost advisories, warning people not to go swimming.

‘I don’t understand it. Many other people don’t understand it either,’ said Emilio Tavernise, vacationing from Ohio, ‘it aggravates you because you are on the beach and you can’t swim.’

The warnings are back in the same place they’ve been for most of the past month. After being taken down last week, recent water samples forced health inspectors to put them up again.

Tavernise says many of his vacationing friends have already run out of patience.

‘Between 85 and 95% got disgusted enough where they jumped in their car and either went that way or the other way,’ he explained.

The health department says the bacteria may cause stomach illness, rashes, or infections, especially to children and the elderly.

But inspectors say they’re frustrated because they can’t figure out exactly what’s causing the problem.”  Read more.

Categories: Pestilence

Dutch to Cull 127,500 Hens in Bird Flu Scare

03/26/2011 Leave a comment

Reporting by Ivana Sekularac, editing by Jane Baird “AMSTERDAM, March 25 (Reuters) – Dutch authorities said on Friday they will cull about 127,500 egg-laying hens on a farm in the south of the country after the H7 bird flu strain was detected.

The virus was reported at a farm in the village Schore in Zeeland province, around 170 kilometres south-west of Amsterdam near the border with Belgium, the Dutch ministry for economic affairs, agriculture and innovation said in a statement.

Authorities imposed a ban on transporting poultry and eggs in an area of 1 kilometre around the farm, the statement said.

The government said more tests will be conducted to indicate whether the H7 strain was low-pathogenic or a more dangerous high-pathogenic strain. The results will be available later on Friday.”  Read more.

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Beetles Take Over Surfers Paradise

03/26/2011 Leave a comment

By Jessica Johnston, “THOUSANDS of beetles are swarming Surfers Paradise in a never before seen phenomenon that has stumped local scientists.

The water beetle invasion captured on amateur youtube footage shows the large black beetles swarming around lights and dropping to the footpath on The Esplanade last night.

Griffith University entomologist Professor Clyde Wild said he had no definitive explanation for the rare phenomenon.

‘I’ve never seen swarms of these like this before, why they are at the beach front escapes any explanation I can think of,’ Prof Wild said.”  Read more.

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Be Afraid: Drug-Resistant “Superbug” Arrives in L.A.

03/25/2011 Leave a comment

This image is a work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, taken or made during the course of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.By Lindsay William-Ross – “Just when you thought it was safe to go to the hospital, or elderly care facility comes the SUPERBUG. This superbug happens to be a ‘deadly bacteria thought to be resistant to all known remedies.’ And it’s here. In Los Angeles. The Daily Breeze explains that the superbug is technically ‘a multiresistant form of Klebsiella pneumoniae, also known as CRKP,’ which “was formally thought to be contained to the East Coast.” Thanks a lot, East Coast!

To date, 365 cases of CRKP have been found in Los Angeles County, with most of the cases being ‘elderly patients at skilled nursing facilities and long-term care facilities.’ No, you’re not in the clear: ‘[L]ab results also show a small percentage of cases at acute care hospitals.’

The superbug is serious … deadly serious. Doctor and infectious disease expert Brad Spellberg admits CRKP has killed patients at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance. Because it is resistant to all antibiotics, treating it is a gamble. Spellberg describes the treatment process: ‘We’re at the point with some of this (resistant bacteria) that we’re just mixing a bunch of crap together, throwing it at the patient and crossing our fingers.'”  Read more.

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Dreaded Alga Bloom May Be Headed for Lake Whitney, Texas

03/24/2011 Leave a comment

“LAKE WHITNEY – A toxic golden alga bloom that has killed over 80,000 fish in Lake Granbury since the first week of January appears to be headed down the Brazos River toward Lake Whitney, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The TPWD Kills and Spills team and the Brazos River Authority have been conducting weekly fish kill investigations since early January. At the beginning of the month, the estimated number of dead fish due to the kill was 82,418.

TPWD reports that around 82 percent of the fish were non-game species. Affected species have been freshwater drum, channel catfish, flathead catfish, white crappie, white bass, largemouth bass, striped bass, various sunfish species, gar, gizzard shad, threadfin shad and others.

On March 5, Somervell County Game Warden Joni Kuykendall was notified of a fish kill on the Brazos River below Lake Granbury. An investigation into that fish kill has begun.

It is suspected that the toxic golden alga bloom is now in the Brazos River, affecting some 50 miles of river between Lake Granbury and Lake Whitney. Results are pending a water sample taken to check for the presence and toxicity of golden alga in the river.”  Read more.

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H1N1 Outbreak Hits Venezuela

03/23/2011 Leave a comment

“(CNN) — An outbreak of the H1N1 virus, known commonly as the swine flu, has hit the Venezuelan Andean state of Merida, the country’s health minister said, the state-run AVN news agency reported.

More than 100 cases of H1N1 have been recorded in Venezuela as of Tuesday, Eugenia Sader said.

In Merida alone there are 56 cases which have tested positive for the virus, and special precautions have been put in place in that state, AVN reported.

Classes in Merida have been canceled for five days, and a ban has been placed on events at night clubs and other closed-in venues, the agency reported.”  Read more.

 

Categories: Pestilence

The Tiny Parasite That’s Decimating Bee Populations

03/15/2011 Leave a comment

“The mysterious disappearances of honey bees began in the fall of 2006 in Florida and spread. Beekeepers found their colonies suddenly empty, except for the queen and a few workers, with no traces of dead bees. In the years since it was named, colony collapse disorder (CCD) has continued to devastate the insects crucial to pollinating crops in North America.

Jerry Bromenshenk, a research professor at the University of Montana, and colleagues have linked vanishing colonies in North America with a virus-fungal tag team. The virus is insect iridescent virus, named for the effect it creates in infected tissues, and the fungi is Nosema ceranae, a microsporidian. In a study published in October 2010 in the journal PLoS ONE, the team described finding this combo in bees from failing colonies, and by testing both pathogens in bees, they found that together, they were more lethal than if they infected bees separately.” Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths, Pestilence

Death of Cattle in Gadap Alarms Herdsmen

03/13/2011 Leave a comment

“At least 50 animals, mostly cows have died due to a mysterious disease in different villages of Gadap Town in just three days creating panic among the local herdsmen.

Salim Memon of the Karachi Rural Network (KRN), representing 40 NGOs, said that they were collecting the data about the loss of animals in different villages. He said that so far, the herdsmen could not ascertain the exact cause of the death of the animals.”  Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths, Pestilence