Showing posts with label Biological hazard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biological hazard. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Unprecedented December red tide - Mass Fish die off followed by birds in Mississippi

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Dead birds wash up on MS beaches

Posted: Dec 13, 2015 4:29 PM CST Updated: Dec 14, 2015 7:16 AM CST 

Fish were the first organisms to wash ashore dead after the algal bloom was announced. (Image Source: Missy Dubuisson)


 Fish were the first organisms to wash ashore dead after the algal bloom was announced. (Image Source: Missy Dubuisson)

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI (WLOX) - 

It's a frightening sight along the coastline. First fish, now dozens of birds found dead on beaches in several coast cities.

“We got reports of several birds in the Gulfport area and after speaking with DEQ they got several more birds in the Biloxi area,” said Missy Dubuisson with Wild at Heart Rescue.

Even in Long Beach, many species of birds have been found lifeless or clinging to life. Experts saying it all goes back to the unprecedented December red tide.


Dead seagull found lying on beach in Pass Christian. (Image Source: Missy Dubuisson)
Dead seagull found lying on beach in Pass Christian. (Image Source: Missy Dubuisson)

“Of course there probably has been this issue before on a smaller scale and we might have just had a bird or two that maybe came in and didn't make it, but we weren't seeing what we're seeing now,” said Dubuisson.

Caretakers at Wild at Heart Rescue are currently rehabilitating a pelican who started with a hook injury, but is now battling respiratory distress due to the algal bloom.




Read More Here

Monday, December 14, 2015

Alabama - A widespread fish kill is underway on Mobile Bay. Dead fish litter the bottom in the shallows surrounding a Fairhope boat ramp.



al.com



 
A widespread fish kill is underway on Mobile Bay. Dead fish litter the bottom in the shallows surrounding a Fairhope boat ramp.
 


The fish kill on Mobile Bay appears to be affecting primarily filter-feeding fish such as menhaden, sardines, alewives and shad.

Widespread fish kill underway in Mobile Bay


A widespread fish kill is underway across Mobile Bay. It appears to be affecting primarily filter-feeding fish such as menhaden, sardines, alewives and shad.

Dead fish are present in the shallows and on beaches on both sides of the bay, from Point Clear to Daphne on the eastern shore and from Arlington Point south to Fowl River on the western shore. Dead and dying fish also dot the surface of the bay, from one side to the other.

The kill does not appear to be related to a red tide bloom occurring in the Gulf of Mexico and around Dauphin Island. Instead, the bloom in the upper bay appears to be another species of algae with a similar neurotoxic effect on fish.

Fish affected by the algae swim in a markedly erratic fashion, zipping straight ahead for a time, then falling into lazy circles, often swimming on their side or even upside down.


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A toxin produced by marine algae is inflicting brain damage on sea lions along California's coast. It may negatively impact foraging and navigation in sea lions, driving strandings and mortality,




NBC NEWS
 
News
Dec 14 2015, 4:51 pm ET

Algae Causing Sea Lion Brain Damage in California, Study Shows

 
Image: ENVIRONMENT-US-RESEARCH-BIOLOGY-NATURE-ANIMAL-FILES
In this September 11, 2013 file photo, a sea lion scratches himself on Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California. DON EMMERT / AFP - Getty Images
 
 
WASHINGTON — A toxin produced by marine algae is inflicting brain damage on sea lions along California's coast, causing neurological and behavioral changes that can impair their ability to navigate in the sea and survive in the wild, scientists said on Monday.

Brain scans on 30 California sea lions detected damage in the hippocampus, a brain structure associated with memory and spatial navigation, in animals naturally exposed to the toxin known as domoic acid, the researchers said.

Domoic acid mimics glutamate, a chemical that transmits nerve impulses in the brain, and leads to over-activation of hippocampus nerve cells and chronic epilepsy, according to Emory University cognitive psychologist Peter Cook, who worked on the study while at the University of California-Santa Cruz.

"The behavioral deficits accompanying brain damage with domoic acid are severe, and may negatively impact foraging and navigation in sea lions, driving strandings and mortality," Cook said.
Hundreds of sea lions annually are found stranded on California beaches with signs of domoic acid poisoning such as disorientation and seizures. Thousands are thought to be exposed to the toxin.


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Friday, December 11, 2015

Biological Hazard - New Zealand, [Wellington, Motueka, Kaikoura and Christchurch] South Island : Measles




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Biological Hazard in New Zealand on December 11 2015 01:43 PM (UTC).
 

Base data

EDIS NumberBH-20151211-51213-NZL
Event typeBiological Hazard
Date/TimeDecember 11 2015 01:43 PM (UTC)
Last updateDecember 11 2015 01:46 PM (UTC)
Cause of event 
Damage levelIs not or not known Damage level

Geographic information

ContinentAustralia - New-Zealand
CountryNew Zealand
County / StateSouth Island
AreaWellington, Motueka, Kaikoura and Christchurch
Settlement 
Coordinate41° 7.443,173° 0.059

Number of affected people / Humanities loss

Dead person(s)0
Injured person(s)0
Missing person(s)0
Evacuated person(s)0
Affected person(s)0
Foreign people0

Biohazard information

Biohazard level
Disease, agent nameMeasles
Infected person(s)0
SpeciesHuman
Statussuspected
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A measles warning has been issued in several areas after an infected tourist traveled the country. A 28-year-old European man carrying the virus traveled from Wellington, to Motueka, Kaikoura and Christchurch from December 3 to 11. The Canterbury District Health Board now is asking anyone who may have come in contact with him and is now presenting symptoms to call their doctor. He is believed to have contracted the highly-infectious virus while in Australia and is in private accommodation in Christchurch until the end of his infectious period. Canterbury medical officer Alistair Humphrey said it was a particularly risky time for the tourism industry. "Over the next few years there is a heightened risk of measles as a result of the decision by parents in the 1990s not to get their children immunized," he said. Where He Stayed: December 3-5: Comfort Hotel, Cuba Street, Wellington,5 December 5: BlueBridge Ferry,December 5-7: Motueka Holiday Top 10,December 8-10: Lazy Shag Backpackers, Kaikoura,December 11: Travels to residence outside Christchurch
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news

Sick tourist prompts measles warning


NZ Newswire
Measles is untreatable but easily preventagle through vaccinations© Getty Images Measles is untreatable but easily preventable through vaccinations A measles warning has been issued in several areas after an infected tourist traveled the country.

A 28-year-old European man carrying the virus traveled from Wellington, to Motueka, Kaikoura and Christchurch from December 3 to 11.The Canterbury District Health Board now is asking anyone who may have come in contact with him and is now presenting symptoms to call their doctor.
He is believed to have contracted the highly-infectious virus while in Australia and is in private accommodation in Christchurch until the end of his infectious period.

Read More Here
 
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Biological Hazard - Taiwan, Changzhi, Pingtung County : H5N8 (highly pathogenic avian influenza virus)




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Taiwan Hit by Six More Bird Flu Outbreaks
ThePoultrySite.com - news, features, articles and disease information for the poultry industry

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Biological Hazard in Taiwan on December 11 2015 04:45 AM (UTC).
 

Base data

EDIS NumberBH-20151211-51211-TWN
Event typeBiological Hazard
Date/TimeDecember 11 2015 04:45 AM (UTC)
Last updateDecember 11 2015 04:46 AM (UTC)
Cause of event 
Damage levelIs not or not known Damage level

Geographic information

ContinentAsia
CountryTaiwan
County / StatePingtung County
Area 
SettlementChangzhi
Coordinate22° 33.119,120° 32.926

Biohazard information

Biohazard level 
Biohazard description 
Disease, agent nameH5N8 (highly pathogenic avian influenza virus)
Infected person(s)0
SpeciesAnimal (ducks)
Statusconfirmed
Symptoms 

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Pingtung County's animal disease control officials on Thu 10 Dec 2015 culled 8881 ducks after the highly pathogenic bird flu virus H5N8 was found to have infected ducks on a poultry farm in Changzhi Township, officials said. County officials said the farm operator kept the birds in a closed environment in violation of the law and they decided to issue a fine on the owner in accordance with the act governing the prevention of animal infectious diseases. To reduce the risk of spreading virus, local health authorities have worked with the farm owner in disinfecting the area and launched monitoring and sampling of poultry within a 1 km about 0.6 mile radius from the infected farm, said the officials.

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ThePoultrySite.com - news, features, articles and disease information for the poultry industry

Taiwan Hit by Six More Bird Flu Outbreaks

11 December 2015
 
TAIWAN - Taiwan has reported six more outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
There were four outbreaks of the H5N2 serotype in Pingtung and Hualien counties (see image above). Just over 14,000 birds were destroyed to try and prevent these outbreaks from spreading.
The premises affected included a duck farm, a chicken farm, and chickens in two abattoirs. The cases were discovered after abnormal mortality levels.


Read More Here
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"This flu comes from beyond our borders, But every year it becomes wilder and more resistant" to treatment : Tehran, Health Minister Hassan Hashemi



PressTV News Videos PRESS TV

Mon Dec 7, 2015 7:18PM
A digital rendering of the H1N1 virus
A digital rendering of the H1N1 virus
At least 33 people have lost their lives following an outbreak of swine flu mainly in two southeastern Iranian provinces in the past three weeks, Iran’s deputy health minister says.

Ali Akbar Sayyari said on Monday that the flu left 28 people dead in Kerman Province and five, including four pregnant women, in Sistan and Baluchestan.

He added that there are more cases of infection across the country.


Read More Here

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Swine flu outbreak nears Tehran as Iran death toll tops 40

AFP
 
The World Health Organisation declared the swine flu pandemic over in August 2010
.
View photo
The World Health Organisation declared the swine flu pandemic over in August 2010 (AFP Photo/Sam Panthaky)
 
Tehran (AFP) - An outbreak of swine flu in Iran has claimed 42 lives since mid-November, including in a province neighbouring Tehran, Health Minister Hassan Hashemi said Thursday.

Hashemi, quoted by ISNA news agency, said 33 deaths from the H1N1 virus were recorded in Kerman and five in Sistan-Baluchistan, both provinces in southeastern Iran.

The other four deaths were in three northern provinces, including one in Karaj, near the capital, he said in an update recording nine new fatalities since Monday.

Hashemi has said the number of deaths from flu was similar to previous years, but that it was becoming harder to treat.

"This flu comes from beyond our borders, especially from Sistan-Baluchistan" near Pakistan, the minister said Monday. "But every year it becomes wilder and more resistant" to treatment.




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As many as 200 people have gotten sick in a norovirus outbreak at a downtown Seattle office building, health officials reported Monday.



As Many As 200 Sickened In Seattle Tower Norovirus Outbreak

Norovirus is highly contagious and causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

12/08/2015 05:18 pm ET

ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
SEATTLE (AP) -- As many as 200 people have gotten sick in a norovirus outbreak at a downtown Seattle office building, health officials reported Monday.

Illness at the Russell Investments Center grew exponentially after a catered event in the building, but several cases were reported before the event last Tuesday, according to Public Health-Seattle & King County, which is still investigating the outbreak that began last week.

Between 175 and 200 cases have been reported to the health department either independently or through a survey of people who went to the catered event in the building.

"We anticipate that number is probably low," said Dr. Meagan Kay, medical epidemiologist for communicable diseases with the Seattle and King County Public Health Department.

Two people spent one night in a hospital because of norovirus, and another eight people were treated in emergency rooms during the past week.



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Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Flesh-eating skin disease grips ISIS-controlled areas in Syria (GRAPHIC)



 

The collapse of medical services in terrorist-controlled parts of Syria has caused the spread of a flesh-eating virus transmitted by parasites munching on corpses dumped in the streets.
“As a result of abominable acts by ISIS that included the killing of innocent people and dumping their corpses in streets, this is the leading factor behind the rapid spread of Leishmanisis disease,” Dilqash Isa, the head of the Kurdish Red Crescent told the Kurdish Rudaw news.

Kurdish fighters in Syria claimed the disease, spread by sand flies, was not noticed until Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) influence and atrocities spread across Syria. Leishmaniasis, which is rarely deadly but leads to disfiguring lesions on the skin, was particularly bad in war-torn parts of Syria, one unnamed militant told the publication.

“We have been fighting on the battlefield for almost four years and this disease basically generated from embattled areas of Tal Hamis, Hon and Qosa,” he claimed.
.....

 
 .....
“It is very possible in the area where there is a lot of military activity and population movement, those are circumstances in which an outbreak of the leishmaniasis can occur,” Dr. William Schaffner (MD) told RT.

Read More Here

Monday, December 7, 2015

Biological Hazard - Iraq, [Provinces of Capital City, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchistan] MultiProvinces : An outbreak of swine flu has left 33 people dead in two provinces of southwestern Iran




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The Guardian Nigeria

Iran swine flu outbreak kills 33 in three weeks: state media

  • By AFP on December 7, 2015 5:32 pm
 
pigAn outbreak of swine flu has left 33 people dead in two provinces of southwestern Iran in the last three weeks, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
IRNA quoted Deputy Health Minister Ali Akbar Sayyari as saying there had been 28 deaths in Kerman province and five in Sistan-Baluchistan and warning the H1N1 virus was likely to spread to other areas including the capital Tehran.
“The health ministry predicts that the virus will spread in the coming days to Tehran, West and East Azerbaijan and Kermanshah provinces more than to other places,” he said.

Read More Here
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An outbreak of swine flu has left 33 people dead in two provinces of southwestern Iran in the last three weeks, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday. IRNA quoted Deputy Health Minister Ali Akbar Sayyari as saying there had been 28 deaths in Kerman province and five in Sistan-Baluchistan and warning the H1N1 virus was likely to spread to other areas including the capital Tehran. "The health ministry predicts that the virus will spread in the coming days to Tehran, West and East Azerbaijan and Kermanshah provinces more than to other places," he said. Nearly 600 people have been hospitalised in Kerman province over the outbreak, the head of the province's medical university, Ali Akbar Haghdoost, told the ISNA news agency. "Traces of the H1N1 virus were uncovered three weeks ago and we were the first province to report the epidemic," Haghdoost said. He called for limited travel during a three-day holiday weekend due to start on Thursday in order to prevent the spread of the virus. A major H1N1 outbreak in 2009 sparked a World Health Organization pandemic alert in June 2009, after the virus emerged from Mexico and the United States. The alert was lifted in August 2010 and the outbreak left some 18,500 people dead in 214 countries.
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Biological Hazard : Sudan, [Greater Darfur regions] Multiple areas - 469 suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF)



7042 lores-Ebola-Zaire-CDC Photo.jpg
Photo Credit: Content Providers(s): CDC/Dr. Lyle Conrad
Wikipedia.org
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Biological Hazard in Sudan on December 07 2015 08:57 AM (UTC).
 
Between 29 Aug-27 Nov [2015], 469 suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF), including 120 deaths, were reported in the 5 Darfur states, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reported in its latest weekly bulletin that the outbreak has now spread to 27 localities in Sudan's conflict-torn western region. The highest number of reported cases is in West Darfur (296) followed by North Darfur (68) Central Darfur (68), South Darfur (23), and East Darfur (14). The highest number of fatalities was recorded in West Darfur (90), followed by North Darfur (15), Central Darfur (12), East Darfur (2) and South Darfur (one). The World Health Organisation (WHO) has supported vector control activities with larvicide interventions, reaching 6268 families (40 800 people) in Ed Daein, capital of East Darfur, in the South Darfur localities of Tullus, Kass, Ed El Fursan, Buram, and El Sereif Beni Hussein in North Darfur. A further 30 000 families (195 000 people) in South Darfur's Tullus town and the Kass camps for the displaced were reached with integrated vector control activities conducted jointly by the Ministry of Health and the WHO. These activities are now ongoing in Buram, Ed Fursan and Nyala localities in the state. In addition, the WHO supported larvicide fogging and spraying assistance to more than 1300 families (8500 people) in El Sereif town, North Darfur.
In North Darfur, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Spain and the WHO support a treatment centre in El Sereif locality. MSF Switzerland is supports a treatment centre and 2 mobile clinics in the West Darfur Krendig and Kereinik camps for the displaced in Kereinik locality. The UN Children's Agency (Unicef) supported the Ministry of Health in West Darfur to reach 385 700 people on viral haemorrhagic fever prevention through local radio programmes. It supported national NGOs to conduct health education sessions in El Geneina and Kereinik localities. Unicef has also supported health promotion activities in Zalingei, Azum, Bindisi, West Jebel Marra and Wadi Salih localities of Central Darfur. Haemorrhagic fevers are endemic in many states of Sudan including Red Sea, Kassala, Gedaref, and South Kordofan, OCHA states. In 2012, sporadic cases of dengue fever and yellow fever co-infection were reported in Darfur, while no cases were reported in 2013. In 2014, however, a large-scale dengue fever outbreak occurred in Red Sea (1092 cases), North Darfur (132), South Darfur (48), West Darfur (24), South Kordofan (59), and Kassala (57).
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Sunday, December 6, 2015

Authorities are investigating after 80 birds, mostly magpie geese, were found dead at Hasties Swamp near Atherton, Australia.



Cairns Post

State authorities investigate deaths of 80 birds at Tablelands swamp

Authorities are investigating after 80 birds, mostly magpie geese, were found dead at Has
Authorities are investigating after 80 birds, mostly magpie geese, were found dead at Hasties Swamp near Atherton.'

AUTHORITIES  are investigating after about 80 birds were found dead at Hasties Swamp near Atherton. 
Tully man David Clarke was showing friends around the Tablelands on Wednesday when they came across the gruesome scene.

“We could see a big flock of birds on the edge of the lagoon,” he said.

“When we were driving out, we discovered a sick bird on the road.
“There was no injury to it, so we released it back into the water.
“Then we saw the dead bodies of dozens of birds and ­others in a dying state, that’s when we realised something drastic was going on.

“It was distressing to see birds flapping around dying.”

Mr Clarke reported the deaths and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and Biosecurity Queensland are now investigating.


Read More Here

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

3.9-ton whale found dead on Shandong beach








 

 

Shanghaiist

 

3.9-ton whale found dead on Shandong beach, workers load it up, drive to freezing plant for further examination

whale_truck2.jpg
 [Images via China News & NetEase]

Over the weekend, a mammoth 8.5-meter long, 3.9-ton whale was found dead, washed ashore near Rizhao city in Shandong province.

The locals informed the city bureau of ocean and fishery, who arrived quickly to see one truly massive whale carcass that would have to be moved.

According to NetEase, the staff's initial evaluation was that the whale had been killed by getting tangled up in a fishing net and strangling to death. They needed to get it back to the freezing plant for further examination, so with quite a bit of effort they used a crane to lift the carcass up on a truck and away they went.



Read More Here

Monday, November 30, 2015

Deadly kissing bugs reported in more than half of U.S., spreading Chagas disease



Daily News

 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Wednesday, November 25, 2015, 11:58 AM
 

"Kissing Bug" now in Florida and Georgia
WTEV - Jacksonville, FL
 
Don't let the kissing bugs bite.
Here’s another reason to stay in New York this holiday season — the “kissing bug” has now spread to 28 states.

Texas is the latest to report an outbreak of infections from the Latin American triatomine bug after the pest had been spotted in other southern and western states, including Georgia, Alabama and California, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The creepy crawler resembling a cockroach gets its colorful nickname because it likes to bite around the lips and eyes of people when they are asleep. More than half of the bugs carry a parasite that can cause Chagas disease in humans, dogs and other mammals.

The good news? To actually pass on the disease, the bug not only needs to bite you, but then defecate into the gash. If left untreated, up to 30% of bite victims will develop chronic conditions such as difficulty breathing, heart and intestinal complications, and, in extreme cases, death.

There have been eight million cases in Latin America and South America because of poorly constructed rural homes, according to the CDC.

To prevent an outbreak, the CDC recommends:

Sealing cracks and gaps around windows, walls, roofs, and doors.
Removing wood, brush, and rock piles near your house.



Read More Here

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Zika virus : A virus believed to cause under-developed brains and skulls in newborn babies has sparked a public health emergency in Brazil and the Caribbean.



 Independent

Zika virus: Health alerts in South America and Caribbean following fears illness may cause birth deformities

Doctors believe the illness may be linked to a rise in cases of microcephaly in infants
  • Alexandra Sims
  • Thursday 19 November 2015 Zika virus is a mosquito-borne disease similar to dengue fever VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

A virus believed to cause under-developed brains and skulls in newborn babies has sparked a public health emergency in Brazil and the Caribbean.

The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease similar to dengue fever, was first identified on Easter Island, Chile in February last year and has since spread to Brazil, Columbia and the Caribbean.
On Monday, the Caribbean Public Health Agency confirmed five cases of the Zika virus in a territory of the Caribbean Community, according to Liverostrum News Agency.

The territory where the cases were confirmed has not been revealed.

Reports say the disease surveillance system operated by one of the community's members, Grenada, has since been heightened and health officials are on alert.


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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Heavy rains, flooding and a spike in new arrivals could threaten the lives of over 110,000 Burundian refugees in overcrowded camps in Tanzania



citizen digital logo

Fear of cholera, floods as Burundi refugees pack Tanzania camps

By Agencies, Citizen Digital

Fear of cholera, floods as Burundi refugees pack Tanzania camps
Heavy rains, flooding and a spike in new arrivals could threaten the lives of over 110,000 Burundian refugees in overcrowded camps in Tanzania, six aid agencies said on Monday, amid warnings of rising political tension in Burundi.

Life-threatening malaria and diarrhoea have been spreading in Nyarugusu, the world’s third largest refugee camp, since the rainy season began, and damage caused by a powerful El Nino has left aid agencies short of funds throughout east Africa.

“Refugees are arriving in the hundreds every day,” the agencies, which include Oxfam, Save the Children and HelpAge International, said in a statement.

“Many people are still living in overcrowded mass shelters months after their arrival, where wet floors and cramped conditions mean that the risk of respiratory infections and waterborne diseases is high.”

The agencies also fear a fresh outbreak of cholera, which killed 33 Burundian refugees in western Tanzania in May, as heavy rain sometimes makes toilets overflow and flood shelters.




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They are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom, yet more than half of the world's primates are facing extinction due to our destruction of the habitats where they live.





Primates in peril: HALF of our closest living relatives are on the brink of extinction around the world

  • Scientists released a new report on the world's most endangered primates
  • The Hainan gibbon in China has just 25 individuals remaining in the wild
  • There are just 50 Northern sportive lemur left living in Madagascar
  • Scientists warn new efforts are needed to save many of these species
Danger list: Endangered primates that are battling for survival
Danger list: Endangered primates that are battling for survival
They are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom, yet more than half of the world's primates are facing extinction due to our destruction of the habitats where they live.
Burning and clearing of large areas of tropical forest, combined with hunting of primates for food and illegal wildlife trade, has placed many species of apes, lemurs and monkeys at risk of dying out.
These include iconic species such as the Sumatran orang-utan, Grauer's gorilla, the Northern brown howler monkey and the Hainan gibbon.
More than half of the world's primates are at risk of dying out due to the threat posed by habitat loss and hunting. The Hainan gibbon (pictured) is thought to be the world's most endangered primate, with just 25 of the animals left living on an isolated island in China
More than half of the world's primates are at risk of dying out due to the threat posed by habitat loss and hunting. The Hainan gibbon (pictured) is thought to be the world's most endangered primate, with just 25 of the animals left living on an isolated island in China
Scientists and conservation experts have now updated a report on the world's 25 most endangered primates based on the current knowledge of the animals numbers and the risks facing them.
Dr Christoph Schwitzer, a primatologist and director of conservation at Bristol Zoological Society who helped compile the list, said: 'This research highlights the extent of the danger facing many of the world's primates.

Read More Here

Monday, November 23, 2015

337 dead whales. The biggest single whale stranding event known to science.



337 Whales Beached in Largest Stranding Ever

 
The cause of the massive die-off, discovered in remote waters off Patagonia, Chile, is being investigated. Scientists say they are most likely sei whales, which are endangered.
One of 337 dead whales found in Patagonia
The dead whales were first observed in Patagonia in June from the air, but now scientists are trying to figure out what killed them.
Photograph by Carolina Simon Gutstein 
 

Scientists made a startling discovery on an observation flight over a remote fjord in southern Chile’s Patagonia: 337 dead whales. That is the biggest single whale stranding event known to science.
 
Because of the remoteness of the area and the roughness of the seas, scientists have not been able to examine the whales directly, but aerial and satellite photography identified 305 bodies and 32 skeletons in an area between the Gulf of Penas and Puerto Natales, toward the southern tip of the continent.
Many of the remains were in advanced states of decay so it’s unclear what species they are, says lead scientist Carolina Simon Gutstein of the Universidad de Chile and Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales in Santiago. But based on their size and location, they are probably sei whales, she says.
Endangered throughout its range, sei whales are large, bluish-gray baleen whales that filter the water to feed on krill and other small creatures. They can reach 64 feet (19.5 meters) long and 50 tons. Considered the fastest cetacean, sei whales can swim at speeds up to 31 miles (50 kilometers) per hour. Their lifespan is 50 to 70 years, and they are usually found in deep waters far from coastlines. The worldwide population is estimated at about 80,000.



Read More Here

Monday, November 16, 2015

Mystery purple slime coats Norway fjord

 The Local

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Mystery purple slime coats Norway fjord
The slime has been described as "a plague" by local fishermen. Photo: Roger Larsen/ University in Tromsø.

Mystery purple slime coats Norway fjord

Published: 10 Nov 2015 14:12 GMT+01:00
“We have not been able to find out what this really is, other than that we are talking about large amounts of jellyfish,” Roger Larsen, associate professor at the University in Tromsø, told state news broadcaster NRK on Sunday.
“The images we are picking up from the echo sounders and other equipment are totally atypical. We have tried to gather information to find the answers, but I am absolutely sure that this is something we’ve never seen before.”

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BBC

Norway: Purple 'jellyfish slime' coats northern fjord

  • 12 November 2015
A close-up view of the purple slime in a fishing boat

 
Image copyright Roger B. Larsen/UiT
Image caption Fisherman have been hauling in the slime during their trawls 
 

Scientists in Norway say a huge area of reddish-purple slime which has appeared on the country's northern coast could be the result of disintegrated jellyfish.

Fisherman first reported the emergence of the mucus in the Lyngen Fjord in late August, and now describe it as a "plague" which is causing problems for their sonar equipment, and coating their daily catch. The origin of the slime isn't yet certain, but oceanographers at the Institute of Marine Research say cigar comb jellyfish could be to blame, The Local website reports.




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Australia - carcass of a young humpback whale has washed up at Levy’s Point.



Newcastle Herald

Whale washes up at Warrnambool beach | photos

 
THE carcass of a young humpback whale has washed up at Levy’s Point.

Two Warrnambool residents walking their dog made the discovery on Tuesday evening and reported it to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning on Wednesday afternoon.
Their father, who contacted The Standard, said the whale washed up at the eastern end of the beach, near the rocks.

“It’s in a reasonable condition at the moment and is washed fairly high on the sand,” he said.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning confirmed the reports on Wednesday night.

Senior biodiversity officer Mandy Watson said the animal had been identified as an 11-metre humpback whale, suggesting it was a young animal.


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Monday, November 9, 2015

The impending anthropogenic mass extinction could very well make the elite depopulation agenda a moot point according to Rosemary Mason.


Global Research

Poisoned Agriculture: Depopulation and Human Extinction


Agricultural-Engineer-On-Field-Examining-Ripe-Ears-Of-Grain-GMO-Test-Crop


There is a global depopulation agenda. The plan is to remove the ‘undesirables’, ‘the poor’ and others deemed to be ‘unworthy’ and a drain on finite resources. However, according to Rosemary Mason, the plan isn’t going to work because an anthropogenic mass extinction is already underway that will affect all life on the planet and both rich and poor alike. Humans will struggle to survive the phenomenon.


A new paper by Rosemary A Mason in the ‘Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry’, indicates that a ‘sixth extinction’ is under way (the Holocene extinction, sometimes called the Sixth Extinction, is a name describing the ongoing extinction of species during the present Holocene epoch - since around 10,000 BCE). In her paper, ‘The sixth mass extinction and chemicals in the environment: our environmental deficit is now beyond nature’s ability to regenerate’, she argues that loss of biodiversity is the most urgent of the environmental problems, as biodiversity is critical to ecosystem services and human health. And the main culprit is the modern chemical-intensive industrialised system of food and agriculture.

Mason asserts there is a growing threat from the release of hormone-disrupting chemicals that could even be shifting the human sex ratio and reducing sperm counts. An industrial agricultural revolution has created a technology-dependent global food system, but it has also created serious long-run vulnerabilities, especially in its dependence on stable climates, crop monocultures and industrially produced chemical inputs. In effect, farming is a principal source of global toxification and soil degradation.

Without significant pressure from the public demanding action, Mason argues there could little chance of changing course fast enough to forestall disaster. The ‘free’ market is driving the impending disaster and blind faith in corporate-backed technology will not save us. Indeed, such faith in this technology is actually killing us.

Since the late 1990s, US scientists have written in increasingly desperate tones regarding an unprecedented number of fungal and fungal-like diseases, which have recently caused some of the most severe die-offs and extinctions ever witnessed in wild species and which are jeopardizing food security. Only one paper dared to mention pesticides as being a primary cause, however.
Mason cites a good deal of evidence to show how the widespread use on agricultural crops of the systemic neonicotinoid insecticides and the herbicide glyphosate, both of which cause immune suppression, make species vulnerable to emerging infectious pathogens, driving large-scale wildlife extinctions, including essential pollinators.

Providing evidence to show how human disease patterns correlate remarkably well with the rate of glyphosate usage on corn, soy and wheat crops, which has increased due to ‘Roundup Ready’ crops, Mason goes on to present more sources to show how our over-reliance on chemicals in agriculture is causing irreparable harm to all beings on this planet. Most of these chemicals are known to cause illness, and they have likely been causing illnesses for many years. But until recently, the herbicides have never been sprayed directly on food crops and never in this massive quantity.

The depopulation agenda

Mason discusses how agriculture and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) fit into a wider agenda for depopulating the planet. She notes that on the initiative of Gates, in May 2009 some of the richest people in the US met at the home of Nurse, a British Nobel prize-winning biochemist and President (2003–10) of Rockefeller University in Manhattan, to discuss ways of tackling a ‘disastrous’ environmental, social and industrial threat of overpopulation. The meeting was hosted by David Rockefeller Jr. These same individuals have met several times since to develop a strategy in which population growth would be tackled.

The Rockefeller Foundation (RF) was involved in extensive financing of eugenics research  in league with some of the US’s most respected scientists from such prestigious universities as Stanford, Yale, Harvard and Princeton. The explicit aim of the eugenics lobby funded by wealthy élite families, such as Rockefeller, Carnegie, Harriman and others since the 1920s, has embodied what they termed ‘negative eugenics’, the systematic killing off of ‘undesired bloodlines’.

RF funded the earliest research on GMOs, which Mason regards as part of the depopulation agenda. The RF funded the earliest research on GMOs in the 1940s and effectively founded the science of molecular biology.

Mason cites Steven Druker to show the fraud behind GMOs and how governments and leading scientific institutions have systematically misrepresented the facts about GMOs and the scientific research that casts doubt on their safety. Druker has shown that GMOs can have severe health impacts, which have been covered up.

The Royal Society is the preeminent scientific body within the UK that advises the government. It has misrepresented the facts about GMOs and has engaged in various highly dubious and deceptive tactics to promote the technology.

Druker wrote an open letter to RS as it has an obligation to the British public to provide a public response and ‘put the record straight’ on GMOs. Although Sir Paul Nurse’s presidency of Rockefeller University terminated in 2010, after he assumed the Royal Society presidency, Mason notes that Nurse is said to have maintained a laboratory on the Rockefeller campus and has an ongoing relationship with the university.

She asks: is that why Sir Paul was unable (or unwilling) even to discuss GMOs with Steven Druker? Was he sent to London by the Rockefeller Foundation to support the UK Government in their attempt to bring in GM crops? The UK Government and the GM industry have after all been shown to be working together to promote GM crops and foods, undermine consumer choice and ignore environmental harm.

Mason then goes on to discuss the impact of glyphosate residues (herbicide-tolerant GM crops are designed to work with glyphosate), which are found in the organs of animals, human urine and human breast milk as well as in the air and rivers. She documents its widespread use and contamination of soil and water and notes that the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer’s assessment of glyphosate being a 2A carcinogen (probably carcinogenic in humans) is unwelcome news for the agrochemical industry. She also notes that Roundup usage has led to a depletion of biodiversity and that loss of biodiversity is also correlated with neonicotinoids. However, despite the evidence, the blatant disregard concerning the use of these substances by regulatory agencies around the world is apparent.

To provide some insight into the impact on health of the chemical-intensive model of agriculture, Mason shows that in the US increases in Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, breast cancer, oesophageal cancer, congenital anomalies and a growing burden of disability, particularly from mental disorders are all acknowledged.

She claims that plans are under way to depopulate the planet’s seven million plus people to a more manageable level of between 500–2000 million by a combination of means, including the poisoning and contamination of the planet’s food and water supplies via chemical-intensive industrialised agriculture. Mason also notes that health-damaging GMOs are being made available to the masses (under the guise of ‘feeding the poor’), while elites are more prone to eat organic food.
We may be gone before planned depopulation takes hold

Although Mason cites evidence to show that a section of the US elite has a depopulation agenda, given the amount of poisons being pumped into the environment and into humans, the thrust of her argument is that we could all be extinct before this comes to fruition – both rich and poor alike.
In concluding, she states that the global pesticides industry has been allowed to dominate the regulatory agencies and have created chemicals of mass destruction that can no longer be controlled. She has some faith in systems biology coming to the fore and being able to understand the complexity of the whole organism as a system, rather than just studying its parts in a reductionist manner. But Mason believes that ultimately the public must place pressure on governments and hold agribusiness to account.

However, that in itself may not be enough.

It is correct to highlight the poisonous impacts of the Rockefeller-sponsored petrochemical ‘green revolution’. It has uprooted indigenous/traditional agriculture and local economies and has recast them in a model that suits global agribusiness. It is poisoning life and the environment, threatening food security across the globe and is unsustainable. The ‘green revolution’ was ultimately a tool of US foreign policy that has been used in conjunction with various institutions like the IMF, World Bank and World Trade Organisation. GMOs represent more of the same.

In this respect, Mason follows the line of argument in William F Engdahl’s book ‘Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation’, which locates the GM issue and the ‘green revolution’ firmly within the context of empire. Engdahl also sees the Rockefeller-Gates hand behind the great GMO project to a sinister eugenicist strategy of depopulation.

Mason’s concerns about depopulation therefore should not be dismissed, particularly given the record of the likes of the Gates and Rockefeller clans, the various covert sterility programmes that have been instituted by the US over the decades and the way agriculture has and continues to be used as a geopolitical tool to further the agendas of rich interests in the US.

To understand the processes that have led to modern farming and the role of entities like Monsanto, we must appreciate the geopolitics of food and agriculture, which benefits an increasingly integrated global cartel of finance, oil, military and agribusiness concerns. This cartel seeks to gain from war, debt bondage and the control of resources, regardless of any notions relating to food security, good health and nutrition, biodiversity, food democracy, etc.
Food and trade policy analyst Devinder Sharma notes the impacts in India:
“India is on fast track to bring agriculture under corporate control… Amending the existing laws on land acquisition, water resources, seed, fertilizer, pesticides and food processing, the government is in overdrive to usher in contract farming and encourage organized retail. This is exactly as per the advice of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as well as the international financial institutes.”
In Punjab, India, pesticides have turned the state into a ‘cancer epicentre‘. Moreover, Indian soils are being depleted as a result of the application of ‘green revolution’ ideology and chemical inputs. India is losing 5,334 million tonnes of soil every year due to soil erosion because of the indiscreet and excessive use of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research reports that soil is become deficient in nutrients and fertility.

And now, there is an attempt to push GM food crops into India in a secretive, non-transparent manner that smacks of regulatory delinquency underpinned by corrupt practices, which suggests officials are working hand in glove with US agribusiness.

As smallholders the world over are being driven from their land and the GMO/chemical-industrial farming model takes over, the problems continue to mount.

The environment, the quality of our food and our health are being sacrificed on the altar of corporate profit and a type of looting based on something we can loosely regard as ‘capitalism’. The solution involves a shift to organic farming and investment in and reaffirmation of indigenous models of agriculture. But ultimately it entails what Daniel Maingi of Growth Partners for Africa says what we must do: “… take capitalism and business out of farming.”

It must also entail, according to Maingi, investing in  “… indigenous knowledge and agroecology, education and infrastructure and stand(ing) in solidarity with the food sovereignty movement.”
In other words, both farmers and consumers must organise to challenge governments, corrupt regulatory bodies and big agribusiness at every available opportunity. If we don’t do this, what Mason outlines may come to pass.