Bird Flu Update
Recent human fatalities in Thailand and Vietnam from bird flu
brought the death toll in Southeast Asia to 30, with at least one
case found where avian influenza was probably transmitted between
humans.
Bird Flu Update
Recent human fatalities in Thailand and Vietnam from bird flu brought the death toll in Southeast Asia to 30, with at least one case found where avian influenza was probably transmitted between humans.
More than 100 million birds have been killed this year in an attempt to contain the outbreak, which U.N. officials fear could spread into a global pandemic, and believe will threaten the animal and human population for years to come.
The United States announced plans last week to stockpile 2 million doses of an experimental vaccine against bird flu in case the virus suddenly emerges in the human population.
Volcanoes
A swarm of rumblings from within Mount St. Helens raised fears that the volcano could be returning to life after wreaking havoc in the Pacific Northwest 24 years ago. Vulcanologists determined that lava moving beneath the volcano’s crater has increased the chance of an new explosion.
• Japan’s Mount Asama continued to produce minor eruptions that blanketed a nearby area northwest of Tokyo with ash. Activity has been ongoing since a Sept. 1 explosion.
Earthquakes
Residents from Los Angeles to San Francisco were rocked by a magnitude 6.0 quake centered near where a dense array of seismological equipment had been placed to measure such an event.
• Earth movements were also felt in Montana, northwestern Mexico, central Greece, Istanbul, southeastern Turkey, Tehran, northern India, Moldova and eastern Romania.
Earth’s Hum
The source of a mysterious low-frequency “hum” emitted by the Earth has been pinpointed, according to seismologists writing in the journal Nature. It has been known for years that the persistent noise – between 2 and 7 millihertz and well below the range of human hearing – is caused by large emissions of energy at or near the Earth’s surface.
But University of California, Berkeley experts Junkee Rhie and Barbara Romanowicz have determined that the hum originates mainly in the northern Pacific Ocean during the northern winter, and in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica during the southern winter. They believe storm energy released in deep ocean waves during each winter interacts with the seabed, creating vibrations that cause the hum.
Tropical Cyclones
Hurricane Jeanne’s high winds and torrential rains inflicted further misery on hurricane-weary Florida and other parts of the southeastern United States. Hurricane Lisa remained a threat to shipping as it moved northward over the Atlantic.
• Typhoon Meari unleashed mudslides that left nine people dead and 15 others missing after it became the fourth storm this season to drench the entire length of the Japanese archipelago.
Fresh Swarms
The United States pledged funds, supplies and aircraft to combat a new round of desert locusts plaguing parts of northern and western Africa. The announcement came as fresh swarms descended on Mali, striking fear among the country’s farmers.
Anthrax Spreads
Vaccination efforts were increased on farms and in wildlife areas of southern Africa as an outbreak of anthrax spread across the region. Namibia’s veterinary authorities attempted to halt the spread of the bacterium from a wildlife park in neighboring Botswana, where many animals have already perished since it emerged in early September.
Zimbabwe announced an outbreak of anthrax in that country has killed 1,500 wild animals during the past few weeks. The acute infectious bacterial disease mainly affects wild and domestic animals, but can also pose a risk to humans exposed to the infected animals or their tissue.
An Army of Cats
Animal control officials in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua plan to amass a battalion of 700 felines to launch a frontal attack on the half-million rats that have besieged villagers in a mountainous area. Earlier efforts to eradicate the rodents with poison only allowed the infestation to worsen after the chemicals killed all the cats and other animals that normally prey on them.
Chihuahua officials are collecting feline recruits in the state capital, then vaccinating and checking them for rabies prior to shipment to around the infested community of Atascaderos. The Animal Protection Society of Monterrey warns that unleashing the army of cats without sterilizing them first would be a big mistake.”Now there is going to be a plague of cats and what are they going to do – start to exterminate cats?” asked Emilia de Leon of the society.
– By Steve Newman
