As well, when the waters recede to form puddles they provide a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes that can spread malaria and dengue fever.
Some in the city are profiting from the misery. There are reports of price gouging for such essentials as clean drinking water and milk for infants. With the mucky waters reaching the first floors of substantial buildings most food in residences has been destroyed. The poor are the hardest hit. Chennai has extensive slums. The shelters are often flimsy and have been completely destroyed by the floods. The poor traditionally are relegated to those areas less desirable or safe for living. Authorities may have made the situation worse in the short term by releasing water from dams and lakes in order to avoid uncontrollable breaches. They have been criticized for lack of planning for emergencies as city dwellers see the roads, telephone and water work destroyed. Urban planners have allowed building on marshy ground and on flood plains. The airport that is currently shut to commercial flights is built on the floodplain of the Adyar River. Damage estimates losses at over USD$ 2 billion. Confirmed death count 245. Sources: The Hindu Times of India ChicagoTribune
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This last summer Erik Heil, Germany, participated in an Olympic test event in Guanabara Bay and contracted a flesh eating disease. He spent some painful time in a German hospital having the dead flesh scraped off his hips and legs.
Other athletes participating in the summer exercise came down with various ailments at a rate double that normally encountered. No count was kept of those who fell ill within two weeks of returning to their home countries. An expert in viral infections from Texas Health Center, Houston, Kristina Mena has stated that as little as three teaspoons of the Bay’s water ingested gives the athletes a 99% chance of being infected with a virus. The famous and scenic Copacabana Beach is dangerously polluted. Some of the water sports that will be held in the microbe laden waters:
“We’re talking about an extreme environment, where the pollution is so high that exposure is imminent and the chance of infection very likely.” The Guardian If any of the more than 10 000 athletes expected in the Brazilian city this August should fall ill with gastrointestinal or worse problems, they probably won’t find much comfort in their accommodations. As a cost saving measure it has been decided to not air condition the bedrooms of the athletes. Temperatures in August hover in the 35 degree Celsius range(95 Fahrenheit). In fact, electricity may be in short supply as a firm contract with the private electrical company has not been signed. The venue may have to depend on generator power. Sources: The guardian Lonely Planet Rio de Janeiro City Guide CBC
They were either in a relationship or married say police. A third person was apprehended but at this time their involvement, if any, is not known.
San Bernadino is a city in crisis. It has declared bankruptcy and in the last census ranked second to Detroit in poverty. It is not known at this time who the shooters are or what motive or motives prompted the gun violence. The US has had increasing incidents of gun violence, including the slaughter of primary children in classrooms, yet little has been done to curb access to firearms. The ownership and access to firearms were enshrined in the US constitution in the 18th century and there seems little taste to modify what is called the Second Amendment. This, along with that part of the constitution that guarantees free speech, including hate speech and also that which encourages violence against fellow citizens has enabled a gun and hate culture to flourish. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." It is unrealistic to suppose that the authors of the American Constitution in 1786 could have envisaged the modern arsenal of weapons that some people have acquired. Sources: LA Times CNN
A little known emerging viral infection has gained a foothold in Florida. Chikungunya fever has spread from Africa to southern Asia and on to the Caribbean. It had been found sporadically in the USA in people who returned from areas where the disease was found. Recently a person developed Chikungunya without leaving Florida. The mosquito borne disease had a major outbreak in an island off Madagascar in 2005/2006. Approximately 300 thousand people contracted the painful disease. Mexico has recorded 7000 cases up to September 2015. The disease can sometimes be mistaken for Dengue Fever(breakbone fever) because severe joint pain is common for both. Encephalitis is sometimes part of the infection. Generally the very young and very old are most vulnerable to permanent neurological damage. The death rate hovers around 17%. There is no vaccination or cure. Pain killers can be used to help with the joint pain. Its name in the Makonde language, spoken in Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa, means "it bends up," because patients are often contorted with pain. They can spend weeks in bed, racked with pain. NBC News The Aedes mosquito is the vector for this disease. It survives best in warm climates. It flies and feeds in daytime or night. It is active inside and outside. Because prevention is so important, WHO advises that people wear clothing that covers skin and the wearing of repellents like DEET. It advises travellers to these tropic areas to only sleep where intact screens are in place or to stay where air conditioning means that windows are shut tight.
As the planet warms, diseases of the tropics are expected to more easily spread as the insect carriers make their way to new territories. Aedes albopictus(tiger mosquito) is already adapted to living in climates cooler than the tropics. This busy arthropod is a vector for yellow fever, dengue and worm parasites in addition to chikungunya. It was introduced to N. America from Asia in old tires that contained water. Sources: Science Daily CDC NBC WHO |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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