On Wednesday, December 17, 2014 10:12 PM, The Big Wobble Almanac <noreply+feedproxy@google.com> wrote:
The Big Wobble |
- Avian Influenza increasing world wide scientists say will kill millions again
- Invasion of killer jellyfish in Western Isles Scotland
- Japan's Meteorological Agency raises the volcanic eruption alert for Tokachidake volcano on Hokkaido Island
- Our Sun awakens with an M-class 9 Solar Flare
- MosquitoesThat Don't Die Infuriate Residents On Upper West Side.
| Posted: 17 Dec 2014 03:24 AM PST  Just after the first world war The 1918 flu pandemic infected 500 million people across the world and killed between 50 to 100 million of them, three to five percent of the world's population making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. The cause was Avian influenza and scientists say it will strike again Maybe it's because Ebola is in the news so much this winter and of course the terrible terrorist attacks don't help and then all the wind rain and snow storms we have been having recently but there is another global threat rearing it's ugly head again and the media and the Internet have so far ignored. Avian influenza is once again increasing rapidly as outbreaks are being reported in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia just this month and so far it's not shown up on the media radar! North America Just today The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of two different strains of H5 avian flu virus in wild birds in Whatcom County State of Washington. Meanwhile over the border in Canada Avian influenza has been detected at a Langley farm, the furthest point east the virus has been detected since the outbreak began two weeks ago. The outbreak in those barns was confirmed Saturday, affecting another table-egg-laying 53,000 birds and hiking the total number of poultry to be destroyed up to 233,800. The virus has now been detected at 10 farms, although two of those farms are located on the same Abbotsford property. All the previously disclosed infected sites were based in Abbotsford or Chilliwack. Last Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed that the virus had been detected at a 7,000-bird Abbbotsford farm that previously been under investigation. At least 180,000 birds have now either already died or been euthanized. In Europe A poultry farm in the central Dutch village of Hekendorp has had all 150.000 birds killed and a local ban has been imposed on transporting poultry after the discovery of avian influenza. Authorities gave no details of what strain of bird flu had been found, but previous outbreaks in Europe and Asia have proven highly contagious and have on occasion jumped the species barrier to humans, prompting fears of an epidemic. Authorities said they were carrying out inspections at two other poultry farms within a one km radius of the site, and imposed a 21-day ban on transporting poultry, eggs, dung or used straw in the same area. Some 10,000 chickens were destroyed in March after bird flu was found at a farm in the eastern Dutch province of Gelderland. German authorities on Tuesday ordered the cull of thousands of farm animals after a bird flu outbreak was confirmed as the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain. The precautionary move came after the discovery at a poultry farm in a rural region of Lower Saxony state. Regional agricultural minister Christian Meyer said that 19,000 animals at the site and another 12,000 turkeys at a neighbouring farm would be slaughtered. He said the strain detected in the Cloppenburg district was the same as that found at another farm in November in Schleswig-Holstein state. Meyer expressed concern that the virus could spread quickly. Germany has reported cases of the deadly bird flu virus H5N8 on a turkey farm in the country's northeast, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Over 30,000 turkeys are set to be slaughtered following the discovery of the dangerous virus at the farm in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. "H5N8 [influenza] has been found in at least one turkey at the farm in Heinrichswalde," Italy has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus on a turkey farm in the northeastern part of the country near Venice, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday. The strain, which has never been detected in humans, is the same as in other cases found in Germany, the Netherlands and Britain since early November and which devastated bird flocks in Asia - mainly South Korea - earlier this year. More than 1,200 birds were found dead from the virus at a fattening turkey farm in Porto Viro, the Paris-based OIE reported on its website, citing the Italian health ministry. "High mortality was reported during the last two days. Control measures will be applied in the restriction zones established," the ministry said in the report. Culling on the farm of more than 30,000 birds was due to start on Tuesday, North Africa The Egyptian Health Ministry reported (computer translated) on two new human H5N1 avian influenza cases, the 6th and 7th cases this year from the North African country. The last case reported in Egypt was in late September. According to the ministry press release, the first case was reported in a three-year-old child from Minia Governorate. The epidemiology investigation shows the child was exposed to birds at home. Asia India. The Kerala Animal Husbandry department today confirmed that the death of thousands of ducks in Kuttanad area in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts was due to bird lu. The department said that it was due to the widespread attack of Avian Influenza virus, which was confirmed by the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal. More than ten thousand ducks have already died due to the virus attack during last couple of weeks causing huge loss to the farmers. The government of the Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Japan on Tuesday morning reported that three birds at a poultry farm in the city of Nobeoka have tested postive for a highly pathogenic H5 strain of avian influenza. According to the prefecture, the farm reported 16 chickens' death Monday, of which three preliminarily tested positive for bird flu. Ten chickens had died the day before, but tests results were negative. The local government is culling roughly 4,000 chickens raised at the farm. Northern Japan. A highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has been detected in duck droppings collected Tuesday in the town of Nagara in Chiba Prefecture, the Environment Ministry said Friday. The H5N8 subtype was found first in a genetic test by the Chiba prefectural government on Thursday and was later confirmed in a further test by the National Institute of Animal Health. This marks the second discovery of a highly pathogenic bird flu virus in the country this season, following one in Shimane Prefecture. The ministry will now raise the nationwide bird flu alert level from 2 to 3. Influenza viruses circulating in animals pose threats to human health. Humans can become ill when infected with viruses from animal sources, such as avian influenza virus subtypes H5N1 and H9N2 and swine influenza virus subtypes H1N1 and H3N2. The primary risk factor for human infection appears to be direct or indirect exposure to infected live or dead animals or contaminated environments. Source | ||
| Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:55 AM PST  An invasion of tiny jellyfish in the Western Isles has killed 300,000 young salmon worth around £1 million at a fish farm.The "mauve stinger" jellyfish is the size of a gooseberry and small enough to get inside salmon cages. A swarm of the invaders caused devastation at a North Uist farm operated by the Loch Duart salmon company, which supplies major UK supermarkets and restaurants including Gordon Ramsay's in London. Bad weather that followed the incident prevented the fish from recovering from their injuries, causing the deaths of around half the stocks at Loch Maddy. Managing director Nick Joy said staff had been looking forward to a productive year when he was scheduled to visit the remote site on 21 November. However, he said: "On getting to the pens, it was clear that a serious event had occurred. The fish looked very distressed and were shoaling poorly and slowly. "It was also clear some had died, though at this stage not a significant number. My immediate view was that, though the fish had been sorely tired, the majority of them would survive as long as the weather gave them some peace to rest." He added: "We have seen these jellyfish before but not in such large numbers and, in each case, though the fish have been disturbed, they have survived the encounter." Extreme weather which hit the Western Isles in late November caused further damage to Loch Duart's stocks. Source | ||
| Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:43 AM PST
The agency has set a one kilometer safe zone around the area as a volcanic eruption may trigger a rockfall. Meteorologists note that Tokachidake's volcanic activity has been growing steadily in recent years, accompanied by small-scale earthquakes. Since July 2014 there have been a number of changes in the rates of seismic activity in the region. For example, in September 2014 there were a series of small earthquakes, "volcanic tremors," lasting for almost 22 minutes. Meteorologists warn that the eruption of ash and small rocks caused by a "tremor" may pose a serious threat to people. In September 2014, the eruption of Mount Ontake in the Nagano Prefecture became the worst ever volcanic disaster in Japan, claiming the lives of 57 people. Japanese authorities have recognized the need for more specialists with deep knowledge of volcanic activity. "We need to train researchers who are familiar with the characteristics of the mountain. It's important to have someone like that around on a regular basis," claimed Nagano Prefecture Governor Abe Shuichi, as quoted by Nippon media source. Japanese scientists are currently weighing the possibility of Mount Fuji erupting, the highest and most famous mountain in Japan, and also the biggest active volcano in the country. Its eruption would obviously have catastrophic consequences, not only for the nearby prefectures but also for the state's capital. Some experts have speculated that a string of volcano eruptions could ultimately spell the end of the Japanese archipelago. "Japan could be wiped off the face of the earth by a massive volcanic eruption sometime in the next century killing almost all of its 127 million inhabitants," the Daily Mail reported. However, Japanese specialists claim that the possibility of a powerful eruption in Japan, that could affect up to 120 million of Japan's 127-million population, is about one percent each one hundred years. Source Written and analyzed by Gary Walton We are constantly being told on the Internet and by the media that earthquakes are increasing and they are, well earthquakes of... | ||
| Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:31 AM PST  Our Sun has finally woken up from it's slumbers! Solar activity reached high levels early Wednesday morning as sunspot region AR 2242 exploded producing a strong M-class 9 solar flare.  NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of more M-class flares and a 10% chance of an X-class flare. The Sun has had a quiet period recently, the last X-class flare was recorded way back on the 7th of November this year, the quiet Sun activity also coincidentally corresponds with a similar quiet period of large quakes here on Earth. R2 Moderate Radio blackout flare event from Region 2242 Attached are a few different looks by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) at an M8.7 solar flare around region 2242 on Dec 17, 2014 at 04:55 UTC. The event was associated with a Type II radio emission with an estimated velocity of 910 km/s. Somewhat of a coronal mass ejection is to be expected, however updated coronagraph imagery is required to determine this. Imagery shows that large magnetic field lines located to the south of the flare site was also involved in this widespread release of energy and may be the source of a possible southerly directed CME. More to follow if an Earth directed component was produced. | ||
| Posted: 17 Dec 2014 12:54 AM PST  NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – When was the last time you suffered a mosquito bite? If your answer is recently, you likely live on a block of the Upper West Side where a year-round sewer species just won't die. As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, Department of Health workers are on a mosquito hunt on West 84th Street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. If you assume cold weather always kills the mosquitoes, just take a look down into the city's sewers where a particularly hearty and vicious variety of pests breeds year-round. "People are getting eaten up alive," UWS resident Beth Lipsit said. Lipsit and her neighbors keep investing in electronic bug zappers, lotions, sprays and even netting to go over their beds. Frustrated, desperate residents say they have to get creative coming up with ways to keep the mosquitoes away from them, including putting tape and mesh over exposed areas. As Carlin reported, nothing seems to work and it's been more than four years for residents living alongside the pests. "This is ridiculous! We know where they come from, they come from the sewer," Pauline Galiana said. So far, test results from the block's mosquitoes have come back negative for West Nile Virus. And while that's mostly a good thing, Carlin said it also makes it a lower priority to invest in a permanent fix. |
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