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Florida Health Officials Confirm Local Zika Transmission

submitted by Albert Gomez

           

cnn.com - by Debra Goldschmidt - July 29, 2016

(CNN) Four individuals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have been infected with the Zika virus by local mosquitoes, Florida health officials said Friday.

These are the first known cases of the virus being transmitted by mosquitoes in the continental United States.

The unidentified individuals had not traveled to a Zika-affected area, had not had sexual contact with someone who had traveled to a place where the virus is circulating and had no other known exposure to the virus.

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About - The Next System Project

thenextsystem.org

CLICK HERE - REPORT - The Next System Project: NEW POLITICAL-ECONOMIC POSSIBILITIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (22 page .PDF report)

The Next System Project is an ambitious multi-year initiative aimed at thinking boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic challenges the United States faces now and in coming decades. Responding to real hunger for a new way forward, and building on innovative thinking and practical experience with new economic institutions and approaches being developed in communities across the country and around the world, the goal is to put the central idea of system change, and that there can be a “next system,” on the map.

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Florida May Have Its First Zika Virus Outbreak

           

Marvin Recinos / AFP / Getty Images

CLICK HERE - Florida Department of Health - Investigating Possible Non-Travel Related Case of Zika

CLICK HERE - Newsroom - Miami-Dade County - Florida Department of Health

nbcnews.com - by Maggie Fox - July 19, 2016

Florida health officials said Tuesday they were investigating a possible case of Zika that wasn't carried back by a traveler.

If it's confirmed, it would be the first evidence that Zika has spread to mosquitoes in the continental U.S. All cases up to now have been in people who traveled to Zika-affected regions or their sexual partners.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - STAT - Zika case in Florida could have come from local mosquito, a first in continental US

 

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New U.K. leader Theresa May shuts climate change department

cbsnews.com - July 16th 2016

British Prime Minister Theresa May has been facing criticism during her first few days in office over her decision to close the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The closure was reported on Thursday, May's first full day in office after the departure of David Cameron.

The BBC reports the department will be folded into the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

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The Diversity of Life Across Much of Earth Has Plunged Below ‘Safe’ Levels

An aerial view shows a tract of Amazon rain forest that has been cleared by loggers and farmers for agriculture near the city of Santarem, Para State, April 20, 2013. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Science - Has land use pushed terrestrial biodiversity beyond the planetary boundary? A global assessment

washingtonpost.com - by Chris Mooney - July 14, 2016

In an ambitious study that represents the latest merger between big data approaches and the quest to conserve the planet, scientists have found that across a majority of the Earth’s land surface — including some of its most important types of terrain and its most populous regions — the abundance or overall number of animals and plants of different species has fallen below a “safe” level identified by biologists.

The reason is not exactly a surprise — from grasslands to tropical forests, humans are using more and more land for agriculture, to live on, to build roads and infrastructure upon. When we take over, we clear the land or otherwise convert it for our purposes.

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The Cholera Epidemic the U.N. Left Behind in Haiti

Haitians in a cholera treatment center in 2011. Credit Andres Martinez Casares for The New York Times.

Image:  Haitians in a cholera treatment center in 2011. Credit Andres Martinez Casares for The New York Times.

nytimes.com - July 6th 2016 - The Editorial Board

As Haitians were reeling from the devastating Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, United Nations peacekeepers inadvertently compounded their troubles by bringing cholera to the island. Roughly 10,000 Haitians have died from the disease, which spreads easily in places with poor sanitation.

The United Nations hasn’t acknowledged its responsibility and has vigorously fought legal efforts to secure compensation for victims.

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The Horror of Zika in Haiti

Claudy (Photo by Karen Bultje)

blogs.pjstar.com - by John Carroll, MD - July 6, 2016

A wonderful friend of ours, Karen Bultje, who is a missionary in Haiti, has been caring for a young man named Claudy in her home for several days. Claudy lives in the Kenscoff mountains above Port-au-Prince. He recently became ill with a high fever, rash, and severe pain. He also began having weakness in his legs which prevented him from walking. His mother and family carried him down the mountains and he went by motorcycle taxi and tap-taps to Karen’s home in Port.

Karen and her nursing staff took Claudy to a local hospital where he was examined but he was sent back to Karen’s home. They said there was nothing they could do for Claudy. The family is not able to pay for care in any local private hospital in Port and the public hospitals are on strike.

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'Super Bacteria' Discovered in Rio's Waters as Olympics Near

          

Super bacteria found on Rio beaches, Olympic venues

cnn.com - by Flora Charner - July 5, 2016

Rio de Janeiro (CNN)A group of Brazilian scientists has detected a drug-resistant bacteria growing off some of Rio de Janeiro's most stunning beaches, in research being published a month before the city hosts the 2016 Olympic Games.

According to lead researcher Renata Picao, the "super bacteria" entered the city's waterways when sewage coming from local hospitals got channeled into the bay.

"We have been looking for 'super bacteria' in coastal waters during a one-year period in five beaches," Picao told CNN during a visit to her lab. "We found that the threats occur in coastal waters in a variety of concentrations and that they are strongly associated with pollution."

The samples were collected between 2013 and 2014. The superbug found was carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE.

Picao said there is no reason to believe the levels have changed because raw sewage continues to flow into many waterways.

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Ibuprofen 'Disables' Ebola Virus

SPL

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Nature - Toremifene interacts with and destabilizes the Ebola virus glycoprotein

bbc.com - by James Gallagher - June 30, 2016

The painkiller ibuprofen and the cancer drug toremifene can disable the Ebola virus, say researchers.

Scientists used the UK's national synchrotron facility - Diamond Light Source - to analyse the virus in incredible detail.

They revealed the two drugs could bind to the crucial part of Ebola that the virus needs to infect cells.

However, the team warns this is just a starting point and more effective drugs need to be researched.

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ADDITIONAL REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED BELOW:

Toremifene interacts with and destabilizes the Ebola virus glycoprotein
http://www.nature.com/nature/archive/subject.html?code=326

Toremifene interacts with and destabilizes the Ebola virus glycoprotein
http://www.nature.com/subjects/ebola-virus

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