Category: Pale Horse

Giant clouds of mosquitoes are so thick since Hurricane Laura that they’re killing cattle and horses in Louisiana

Strange Sounds – September 11, 2020

Experts in southwest Louisiana say clouds of mosquitoes have been so thick since Hurricane Laura that they’re killing cattle and horses.

According to first estimates, hundreds of cattle and a few horses have been killed in a five-parish area in southwest Louisiana.

Veterinarian Craig Fontenot of Ville Platte says the swarms drain animals’ blood and animals also become exhausted from constantly moving in an attempt to avoid the biting insects.

LSU AgCenter agent Jeremy Hebert said he has spoken to several cattle owners who have lost as many as eight animals. He had also heard of three mosquito-related deaths of horses.

Fontenot estimates that hundreds of cattle and a few horses have been killed in his five-parish area.

“There’s a lot on the verge of dying,” Fontenot said.

LSU AgCenter agents say spraying has begun to thin the hordes pushed out of marshes by the storm that made landfall Aug. 27.

https://strangesounds.org

New Chinese Tick-Borne Virus Outbreak Kills 7, Infects 60 And Scares The World

Strange Sounds – August 9, 2020

A new infectious disease caused by a tick-borne virus has killed over seven people and infected 60 others in China, official media here reported on Wednesday, warning about the possibility of its human-to-human transmission.

More than 37 people in East China’s Jiangsu Province contracted with the SFTS Virus in the first half of the year. Later, 23 people were found to have been infected in East China’s Anhui province, state-run Global Times quoted media reports.

A woman from Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, who suffered from the virus showed onset of symptoms such as fever, coughing. Doctors found a decline of leukocyte, blood platelet inside of her body. After a month of treatment, she was discharged from the hospital.

At least seven people have died in Anhui and East China’s Zhejiang province due to the virus, the report said. SFTS Virus is not a new virus. China has isolated pathogen of the virus in 2011, and it belongs to the Bunyavirus category.

Virologists believe that the infection may have been passed on to humans by ticks and that the virus can be transmitted between humans, it said.

Sheng Jifang, a doctor from the first affiliated hospital under Zhejiang University, said that the possibility of human-to-human transmission could not be excluded; patients can pass the virus to others via blood or mucous.

https://strangesounds.org

Besides Locust Invasion and Coronavirus Pandemic, There’s One More Plague Going on in the World

– August 18, 2020

A locust invasion has been sweeping parts of East Africa and South Asia since the start of the year, leading to food shortages across the region. But it appears that this isn’t the only insect plague the world is currently facing – and one no less severe than the former.

More than seven hundred million cubic metres of trees were wiped out in British Columbia between 2000 and 2015 by mountain pine beetles, a tiny species native to North American forests, according to Bloomberg, as decades-worth of lumber supplies are being eradicated across the world as a result of the pest’s invasion. With around 2.2 million hectares having already been affected by beetles, the outbreak is expected to continue for the next six years.

The tiny creature, just 5mm in length, was once part of the forest cycle, but as winters grew warmer due to climate change, the beetles were able to survive in greater numbers and chew through tree bark, with flowing resin attracting even more of them. As a result, with thousands of the insects eating on the trees and laying their eggs inside, hundreds of millions of pines across Canada’s timber-rich region were doomed to die.

British Columbia is Canada’s largest supplier of logs to the United States, Bloomberg notes, with the beetle plague eventually signaling potential shortages for both the American and global housing market. The pests have already destroyed 15 years’ worth of timber supplies in the province, material sufficient to build around nine million one-family houses. According to estimates by the Vancouver-based Spar Tree Group, the allowable production in British Columbia has been reduced by 40%, as it is believed that more than half of the region’s marketable pine trees will be dead by 2020.

https://sputniknews.com

750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes has just been approved for release in Florida Keys

ETH – August 20, 2020

(ETH) – Local authorities in the Florida Keys has just approved the plan to release over 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in 2021 and 2022 despite the disapproval of many local residents and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups.

The purpose of these mosquitoes being released is to reportedly test if a genetically modified mosquito is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides to control the Aedes aegypti. However, there is a heated opposition against this proposal from not only residents but other agencies as well.

“With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment,” said Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety, in a statement released Wednesday.

“Now the Monroe County Mosquito Control District has given the final permission needed. What could possibly go wrong? We don’t know, because EPA unlawfully refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, now without further review of the risks, the experiment can proceed,” she added.

This genetically modified mosquito, named OX5034, has been altered to produce female offspring that die in the larval stage, long before it hatches and grows large enough to bite and spread diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Only the female mosquito bites for blood, which is required for her to mature her eggs. Males feed only on nectar and are thus not a carrier for the disease. According to CNN, The mosquito is also approved to be released into Harris County, Texas, Also beginning in 2021, according to Oxitec, the US-owned, British-based company that developed the genetically modified organism (GMO).

https://endtimeheadlines.org

China Quarantines Region While Second Case Of Bubonic Plague Diagnosed in New Mexico.

ETH – August 13, 2020

(BIN) – While the WHO declares that there is nothing to worry about, China is sealing off entire villages and a man died in New Mexico from a rare form of the plague that once killed off half the world population.

China sealed off several villages in Inner Mongolia in a second attempt to contain the spread of a new outbreak of bubonic plague. A man died in the region’s city of Bayannur from multiple organ failure after contracting the disease. Authorities in Bayannur said:

“The place of residence of the deceased is locked down, and a comprehensive epidemiological investigation is being carried out.” Thirty-five contacts of the man have been sent into quarantine. The statement added: “Currently, there is a risk of the human plague spreading in our city.”

Last Thursday another person died from circulatory system failure due to infection with bubonic plague. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is “carefully monitoring” a case of bubonic plague in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, but says that it is “not high risk”.

In a seemingly unrelated case, a man in his 20s died of the septicaemic plague in New Mexico last week. This was the second case of septicaemic plague in New Mexico in less after a man in his 60s was diagnosed with bubonic plague in New Mexico’s Santa Fe County last month.

Septicaemic plague is the rarest of the three plague varieties which include bubonic plague. Like bubonic, septicaemic plague is spread by bites from infected fleas or by direct contact with animals. Animals carrying the disease can include rodents, wildlife, and pets.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

There Is Currently A Mysterious Outbreak Of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Buruli Ulcer In Australia

Strange Sounds – August 7, 2020

There is currently an outbreak of a tropical disease called Buruli ulcer, which has been centered along a portion of Australia’s southern coast, more precisely in the serene beachside suburbs of Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.

Australia has seen occasional cases of the disease since the 1930s. However, since 2017, more than 100 people have been infected with this type of flesh-eating bacteria that is rarely seen in this part of the world.

And Victoria’s recent outbreak has mystified researchers over the past few years, particularly regarding its source and how the disease is being spread.

What is Buruli Ulcer?

The little-known illness is caused by a pathogen known as a mycobacterium (Mycobacterium ulcerans).

It’s named for Buruli county in Uganda, which is where scientists first identified the collection of symptoms as a specific condition.

Once the bacterium enters the skin, it releases a unique toxin known as mycolactone and begins breaking down and consuming flesh, leaving painful and debilitating wounds that can be disfiguring if left untreated.

The bacterium not only damages the tissues it inhabits, but also is able to prevent the immune system from mounting a defense.

That’s the same genus of microorganisms that cause tuberculosis and leprosy, among other illnesses.

https://strangesounds.org

Suspected case of BUBONIC PLAGUE registered in China, days after Mongolian outbreak

RT – July 5, 2020

A suspected case of bubonic plague has been registered in China’s north, according to local health authorities. The news comes after two similar cases were detected in neighboring Mongolia.

The case was registered at a hospital in China’s Inner Mongolia region, its health commission said in a statement on Sunday.

This prompted a third-level warning of a potential epidemic in the region. The alert comes into force immediately and will be in place until the end of this year. It’s believed the patient in question is suffering from the bubonic form, which causes swollen lymph nodes, and is considered to be the most easily treated variant of the disease.

The plague also has a pneumonic and an extra-deadly septicemic form that can kill a victim within a day.

Earlier this week, two people also tested positive for the bubonic plague in neighboring Mongolia.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage, the potential return of the dreaded plague is definitely the last thing the world needs. So far, Covid-19 has infected nearly 11.5 million people, killing more than 530,000 of them.

https://www.rt.com

11th case of dengue fever confirmed in the Florida Keys

Associated Press – July 8, 2020

KEY LARGO, Fla. – An 11th case of the mosquito-borned dengue fever has been confirmed in the Florida Keys, health officials said.

So far, all 11 cases have been in Key Largo, including 8 cases the last week of June, the Florida Department of Health officials said Tuesday.

Officials are “currently conducting epidemiological studies to determine the origin and extent of these infections,” Florida Keys spokeswoman Alison Kerr told the Miami Herald.

The latest patient has been treated and is expected to make a complete recovery, Kerr said.

Health department officials believe all of the cases were locally acquired, the Herald reported.

One case of dengue fever has been confirmed Miami-Dade County, according to health department spokeswoman Olga Connor.

The disease is transmitted through the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, an invasive species that also spreads diseases like yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya.

Symptoms typically appear within 14 days of being bitten and include severe muscle aches and pains, fever and sometimes a rash, according to the health department.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District said helicopters and trucks are targeting the adult mosquitoes and larvae, said Chad Huff.

District workers are also doing door-to-door house inspections at homes and businesses in Key Largo to check for adult mosquitoes and larvae.

https://www.fox5ny.com

US Florida Keys Officials Confirm 11th Case of Mosquito-Borne Dengue Fever

Sputnik News – July 10, 2020

An 11th case of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral illness, has been confirmed in the Florida Keys, officials of the state’s Department of Health announced this week.

According to health officials, all 11 cases have been found in Key Largo in the upper Florida Keys. Eight cases were confirmed in the last week of June.

Officials are “currently conducting epidemiological studies to determine the origin and extent of these infections,” said Florida Keys spokesperson Alison Kerr, according to the Associated Press. Health department officials believe that all the cases were locally acquired.

One case has also been confirmed in Miami-Dade County.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District has confirmed that helicopters and trucks are being used to target adult mosquitoes and larvae, while district workers are conducting door-to-door inspections at homes and businesses in Key Largo to check for mosquitoes.

https://sputniknews.com

New strain of flu found in China has potential to become a pandemic, scientists warn

Holly Ellyatt – June 30, 2020

Scientists have identified a new strain of flu carried by pigs in China that they say has the potential to become a pandemic.

The new strain is descended from the type of flu — known as “swine flu” — that emerged in 2009 causing the first global flu pandemic in 40 years.

The scientists published their peer-reviewed findings in U.S. science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday. They said the new strain of flu, which they called “G4 EA H1N1,” is a variation of swine flu, and includes the “G4″ genotype that has become predominant in swine populations since 2016.

As with swine flu, the new strain has been identified as having “all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus.”

The scientists, who studied flu viruses in pig populations between 2011 and 2018, noted that around 10% of swine industry workers they tested in China had already been exposed to the virus, which they described as “of concern.” That rate increased among younger workers, aged 18-35, “indicating that the predominant G4 EA H1N1 virus has acquired increased human infectivity.”

“Such infectivity greatly enhances the opportunity for virus adaptation in humans and raises concerns for the possible generation of pandemic viruses,” the scientists, who work at several Chinese universities and the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, noted.

They recommended close monitoring of swine populations — and anyone working with them.

“Controlling the prevailing G4 EA H1N1 viruses in pigs and close monitoring in human populations, especially the workers in swine industry, should be urgently implemented,” they wrote.

https://www.newsmax.com