Category Archives: environment

Eurosurveillance – Europe at risk for Dengue, Zika, and CHIKV? You bet and at your nearest airport!

The outbreak of seven autochthonous dengue cases reported by Succo et al. in this issue of Eurosurveillance [6] was triggered by one infected traveller returning from French Polynesia in the summer of 2015, and occurred in an area where another vector, Ae. albopictus, the Asian Tiger mosquito, was established in 2005. This is not the first event of local transmission of DENV reported in Europe in recent years. Since 2010, at least 23 dengue cases were detected. In September 2010, two autochthonous cases of dengue fever were identified in Nice, southern France. The index case had friends from the West French Indies staying with him, while the second case was an individual living nearby [7]. In the summer of the same year, another transmission event occurred in Croatia [8,9]. The index case was a German man returning in mid-August from a two-week holiday spent at the Peljesac peninsula and the isle of Korĉula, ca 100 km north-west of Dubrovnik. A second autochthonous case, and other 15 individuals with serological evidence of recent infection, were identified in October 2010. How the virus was introduced in Croatia remains unclear. In 2013 and 2014, five autochthonous case of dengue were identified in southern France, one in Bouches-du-Rhône (2013) [10], and four in Aubage and Toulon-Hìres (2014) [11]. Ae. albopictus was the vector in all the transmission events listed here. Dengue is not the only Aedes-borne viral disease threatening the health of European citizens. Nearly 10 years ago, in the summer of 2007, more than 250 cases of chikungunya occurred in the north-east of Italy [12]. The primary case was a viraemic individual arriving from the Indian State of Kerala. The chikungunya virus (CHIKV) implicated in the sustained outbreak carried the A226V mutation, which increases virus fitness and is usually detected in areas where the Tiger mosquito is the predominant vector [13]. In September 2010, autochthonous transmission of the CHIKV was also identified in south-east France, where chikungunya was diagnosed in two children living in the same area as another child who developed a febrile illness after returning from Rajasthan, India [14].

Source: Eurosurveillance – View Article

Study: Different resistant E coli strains can cross-protect | CIDRAP “So, who’s smarter – humans or bacteria? No contest…”

Two strains of bacteria resistant to different antibiotics can protect each other in an environment where both drugs are present, according to the first experimental study of microbial cross-protection published last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Physics explored the potential of mutualism—an interaction that benefits two different species—on two strains of Escherichia coli, one of which was resistant to ampicillin and the other resistant to chloramphenicol.

Source: Study: Different resistant E coli strains can cross-protect | CIDRAP

IRIN | Vaccine rolled out in Philippines offers new hope against dengue

After two decades of work, the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur has licensed it to Mexico and the Philippines. Last month, Sanofi Pasteur rolled out its first ever dengue mass-vaccination programme. Fourth graders are being vaccinated in three areas in the Philippines where dengue cases were highest last year.Mario Baquilod is in charge of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of the Philippine Department of Health. He said last year there were 200,415 reported cases of dengue in the Philippines, one of the largest numbers in recent years.Baquilod said the department wanted to add the vaccine to its arsenal of tools that combat the virus. The government aims to get one million children immunized against dengue by June – so far 263,000 kids have received the vaccine.Baquilod said they decided to pilot the programme in three public schools because they wanted to have a “captive” population for the vaccine, which takes three doses – one every six months – to be effective. The medical world is now watching what happens in the Philippines.

Source: IRIN | Vaccine rolled out in Philippines offers new hope against dengue

Virus outbreak Catalonia: Enterovirus outbreak sends 29 kids to hospital with encephalitis | In English | EL PAÍS

An outbreak of an enterovirus that can cause severe illness has already affected 60 children in Catalonia, according to the most recent figures released by the regional health department. Of these, 29 were hospitalized after suffering a form of encephalitis, which causes inflammation of the brain stem and cerebellum. Health authorities said most of the children are recovering well, although two remain in a serious condition. Similar outbreaks have been reported in Bulgaria, the United States and several Asian countries, but this is the first time Spain has experienced so many cases at the same time. It’s behaving differently from what we usually see, and it is hard to know what to expect CARLES RODRIGO, VALL D’HEBRON HOSPITAL CHIEF OF PEDIATRICS

Source: Virus outbreak: Enterovirus outbreak sends 29 kids to hospital with encephalitis | In English | EL PAÍS

Pesticides may increase nervous system diseases like ALS | Green Prophet

The list goes on. Just like proving asbestos causes lung cancer mesothelioma (20 years after exposure) it’s very difficult to prove that pesticide exposure causes long-term harm. Yet another study on pesticides, reported in JAMA Neurology, finds a direct link to pesticide exposure and the increase for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS. The researchers interviewed 156 patients about pesticide exposure, going back 30 years, and took blood samples. Those exposed to any kind of pesticide were 5 times more vulnerable to ALS than those with no exposure, the researchers concluded in the study. Time to start growing our fresh food hydroponically people. It’s pesticide free if you do it right.

Source: Pesticides may increase nervous system diseases like ALS | Green Prophet

Genetically Engineered Crops Are Safe, Analysis Finds – The New York Times – if you ask the wrong questions

“Ask the wrong questions and you get answers that are correct and disastrous! Ask how massive monocultures of grains could trigger new strains of bacteria, viruses, insects that could wipe out whole crops meant to feed millions of people. When the natural system “senses” an imbalance in the ecosystem and a new means arises to rebalance the ecosystem.”

The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is not expected to end the highly polarized debate over the technology.

Source: Genetically Engineered Crops Are Safe, Analysis Finds – The New York Times

Cape Grim carbon dioxide reading exceeds 400ppm landmark for first time – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Cape Grim, on the remote north-western tip of Tasmania, is the only station analysing baseline carbon levels in the southern hemisphere. Scientists warned last week that the world’s cleanest air was nearing the 400ppm milestone. Lead scientist Paul Krummel, from the CSIRO, said the landmark CO2 figure was concerning. “It’s probably one of the last places on Earth to actually reach this milestone, and it just highlights the ever-increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere,” he said. The key impacts of carbon monoxide is warming the atmosphere and acidifying the oceans. “Globally, this is going to contribute to rising temperatures, which we are already seeing in the atmosphere,” Mr Krummel said. “It’s another milestone that we’ve reached where it’s indicating that the health of the planet is probably in trouble.” Mr Krummel said initial analysis last year predicted Cape Grim would not record such high measurements until June or July. “It’s certainly come earlier than I expected … most likely due to El Nino effects on the CO2,” he said. The El Nino weather pattern causes hotter and drier conditions, preventing the growth of plants that would suck up carbon dioxide. The Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station is operated by the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology. It measures the presence of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide and ozone-depleting gases like aerosols. The station samples some of the cleanest air on the planet, derived from the Southern Ocean and unaffected by any nearby urban pollution. When measurements began in 1976, carbon dioxide levels were slightly more than 300 parts per million.

Source: Cape Grim carbon dioxide reading exceeds 400ppm landmark for first time – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Right-wing coup and who cares? Michel Temer, Brazil’s Interim President, May Herald Shift to the Right – The New York Times

The new Brazilian president’s first pick for science minister was a creationist. He chose a soybean tycoon who has deforested large tracts of the Amazon rain forest to be his agriculture minister. And he is the first leader in decades to have no women in his cabinet at all. The new government of President Michel Temer — the 75-year-old lawyer who took the helm of Brazil on Thursday after his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, was suspended by the Senate to face an impeachment trial — could cause a significant shift to the political right in Latin America’s largest country. “Temer’s government is starting out well,” Silas Malafaia, a television evangelist and author of best-selling books like “How to Defeat Satan’s Strategies,” wrote on Twitter. “He’ll be able to sweep away the ideology of pathological leftists,” Mr. Malafaia added of a conservative lawmaker whom Mr. Temer chose as education minister.

Source: Michel Temer, Brazil’s Interim President, May Herald Shift to the Right – The New York Times

Deadly Algal Bloom Triggers Social Uprising in Southern Chile | Inter Press Service

The union headed by Villarroel represents 35 fishers who mainly catch the Chilean blue mussel (Mytilus chilensis), Chilean abalone (Concholepas concholepas), the hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) and the surf clam (Mesodesma donacium). All of these have been contaminated by the red tide. In previous outbreaks, “the seaweed hadn’t been contaminated, but now it has been. We’ve never seen that before,” Villarroel said. He believes the salmon companies “have destroyed the marine system and seabed.” The protests, which have included the burning of tires and clashes with the police, worry the government of socialist President Michelle Bachelet, which offered 1,100 dollars indemnification each for 5,500 artisanal fishers, to be paid in four installments, subject to the evolution of the red tide. The compensation, which also included a basket of basic foodstuffs worth 37 dollars, was rejected by union leaders, who argued that the amount was too small and that it wasn’t being paid to all of the affected fishers. In a new 28-point list of demands, they demanded the payment of 2,650 dollars in six installments, cancellation of their debts, and the declaration of a large part of Chiloé as a “disaster zone”. They also called for greater regional control of local natural resources, lower fuel prices, a special regional minimum wage, guaranteed public health coverage, and a regional university. Most scientists blame the red tide on climate change, which drove up water temperatures and caused an increase in algae and toxins.

Source: Deadly Algal Bloom Triggers Social Uprising in Southern Chile | Inter Press Service

Oops – deny this? Rise in sea level causes five islands in Solomons to disappear: study | News | DW.COM | 07.05.2016

“At least 11 islands across the northern Solomon Islands have either totally disappeared over recent decades or are currently experiencing severe erosion,” said the study, published in “Environmental Research Letters.” The researchers behind the study looked at satellite and aerial images of 33 islands made from 1947 to 2014, and drew additionally on accounts by local residents. The five islands that had vanished were all vegetated reef islands of significant size that were unpopulated, but subject to occasional use by fishermen, the study said. The study also said that between 2011 and 2014, 10 houses had been swept into the sea on one of the six other reef islands that have undergone severe erosion damage from the rising waters, which result from global warming. In addition, receding shorelines at two sites had forced communities that had existed since at least 1935 to relocate, the researchers said.

Source: Rise in sea level causes five islands in Solomons to disappear: study | News | DW.COM | 07.05.2016