Outbreak Peaks
International health teams say they are managing to bring the
deadly Marburg virus outbreak under control in Angola as the
stricken communities finally begin to cooperate with their
efforts.
Outbreak Peaks
International health teams say they are managing to bring the deadly Marburg virus outbreak under control in Angola as the stricken communities finally begin to cooperate with their efforts. The virus is closely related to Ebola, and has killed 253 of the 266 people infected since it emerged late last year. Early in the outbreak, suspicious villagers threw stones at medical teams as they searched for infected people and collected bodies. Families hid infected people, and secretly buried the dead in traditional rituals that risked spreading the disease through touching and bathing of the corpse. The number of new cases has dropped from an average of 35 per week to 15 due to recent cooperation of the local population, according to the World Health Organization.
Glacial Retreat
Research by U.S. and British scientists show that many glaciers in Antarctica are now in “full retreat” due to climate change. In a report published in the journal Science, a team from the British Antarctic Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey says that nearly 1,200 square miles of glacial cover were lost last year alone. The report also says that 87 percent of the 244 glaciers studied have retreated during the past 50 years. However, 32 glaciers are going against the trend and show minor advances.
Pacific Cyclone
Typhoon Sonca formed over western parts of Micronesia, then briefly intensified to category 5 strength. The storm eventually lost force over the colder waters of the North Pacific near Iwo Jima.
Zebra Anthrax
A fresh outbreak of anthrax in a western Ugandan game preserve has killed at least 32 zebras. The deaths occurred near another sanctuary where more than 300 hippos have died from the disease since the bacterium emerged in the wild last year. Dr. Nicholas Kauta, the head of Uganda’s anthrax task force, said anthrax had been confirmed in the zebras at the Lake Mburo National Park, and said he had ordered all dead animals there to be incinerated. He added that domestic animals in the surrounding area were being inoculated to prevent the disease from spreading into the human food chain. Officials fear anthrax spores may be spreading in the wind.
Ethiopian Flood Disaster
Survivors of massive floods in southeastern Ethiopia and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland were taking refuge in trees to avoid being eaten by floats of crocodiles in the disaster zone. Officials say at least two people have been devoured by the reptiles in the Godie region of Somali state, and 86 others died as a direct result of the flooding. The inundation resulted from days of uninterrupted rainfall in the highlands, which fell in the wake of a protracted drought that left dry riverbeds unable to contain the excessive runoff. People, housing and livestock were washed away when the Wabe Shebelle River burst its banks, submerging more than 30 villages.
Drought Alert
Despite the current severe flooding in Ethiopia, the U.S. agency NOAA issued a drought alert for Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, warning that conditions in parts of East Africa threaten starvation, water shortages and diseases. The agency said satellites had detected “areas of stifling drought” in parts of the region for the sixth year in a row. The United Nations World Food Program also appealed to donor nations to help save about two million Kenyans from acute food shortages in drought-affected areas.
Earthquakes
Two moderate earthquakes rocked opposite ends of the Indonesian archipelago, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.
• Earth movements were also felt in India’s Nicobar Islands, southern New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, northern parts of Italy and Slovenia and western Colombia.
Pond of Death
Nearly a thousand toads have met a bizarre and explosive end in the German city of Hamburg in scenes eyewitnesses describe as being like something from a science fiction film. Animal welfare workers and veterinarians say the amphibians exploded after their bodies swelled up to three and a half times their normal sizes, with entrails being propelled in a 3-foot radius. “You see the animals crawling on the ground, swelling and then exploding,” said Werner Smolnik of the local nature protection society. The carnage has been so massive that the Hamburg lake where the toads exploded is being called “the pond of death.” Explanations for the phenomenon range from a fungus or virus in the water to crows pecking the swelled-up toads with their beaks.
– By Steve Newman
