From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,the latest posted official numbers on the current U.S., most stemming from an epicenter in Disneyland in Southern California:
From Outbreak News Today, measles to the north:
Toronto reports measles outbreak
Toronto Public Health (TPH) is investigating four lab-confirmed cases of measles, involving two children under 2 years of age and two adults from different families. At this point in the investigation, no source case has yet been identified and there are no known links or contact between the cases. Toronto Public Health continues its investigation, including following up with known contacts and individuals who may have been exposed.
The latest data from Canadian health authorities prior to this outbreak was 0 cases of measles and 0 cases of rubella for 2015 as of Jan. 17.
And from Science, a discovery from an earlier outbreak:
Measles Outbreak Traced to Fully Vaccinated Patient for First Time
Get the measles vaccine, and you won’t get the measles—or give it to anyone else. Right? Well, not always. A person fully vaccinated against measles has contracted the disease and passed it on to others. The startling case study contradicts received wisdom about the vaccine and suggests that a recent swell of measles outbreaks in developed nations could mean more illnesses even among the vaccinated.
When it comes to the measles vaccine, two shots are better than one. Most people in the United States are initially vaccinated against the virus shortly after their first birthday and return for a booster shot as a toddler. Less than 1% of people who get both shots will contract the potentially lethal skin and respiratory infection. And even if a fully vaccinated person does become infected—a rare situation known as “vaccine failure”—they weren’t thought to be contagious.
That’s why a fully vaccinated 22-year-old theater employee in New York City who developed the measles in 2011 was released without hospitalization or quarantine. But like Typhoid Mary, this patient turned out to be unwittingly contagious. Ultimately, she transmitted the measles to four other people, according to a recent report in Clinical Infectious Diseases that tracked symptoms in the 88 people with whom “Measles Mary” interacted while she was sick. Surprisingly, two of the secondary patients had been fully vaccinated. And although the other two had no record of receiving the vaccine, they both showed signs of previous measles exposure that should have conferred immunity.
From the New York Times Retro Report, a look at the one contributing factor in the latest outbreak:
Vaccines: An Unhealthy Skepticism | Measles Virus Outbreak 2015
Program notes:
An outbreak of measles that started at Disneyland has turned a spotlight on those who choose not to vaccinate their children. How did we get to a point where personal beliefs can triumph over science?
But here’s another take on the reason many folks aren’t getting their kids vaccinated. From Newswise:
Confidence in Government Linked to Willingness to Vaccinate
Study looked at 2009 swine flu vaccine use in United States
A new study suggests that confidence in government may play a key role in the public’s willingness to get at least some vaccines.
The study re-analyzed national survey data from 2009 that examined Americans’ views on a then-new vaccine for the H1N1 virus – commonly known as swine flu.
Results showed that Republicans and independents were significantly less likely than Democrats to say they would get the vaccine. But it wasn’t their political affiliation itself that was driving Republican and independent views, said Kent Schwirian, professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.
“It’s not that Republicans reject vaccination because of their conservative views or exposure to certain media,” Schwirian said.
“It was their lack of confidence in the government to deal with the swine flu crisis that was driving their anti-vaccination views.”
From EcoWatch, yet another Obama failure:
Obama’s Budget Weakens Food and Water Protections
President Obama’s proposed 2016 budget contains several provisions that would weaken long-standing public health programs that protect consumers from unsafe food, while also undermining community water systems. It is yet another example of this administration’s misplaced priorities, protecting corporate interests at the expense of the American public.
The proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) would cut $4.9 million from the 2015 funding level, including cuts for USDA inspection personnel in poultry plants as a result of the department’s New Poultry Inspection System. This new program, which Food & Water Watch has challenged in federal court, turns over key food safety inspection functions to poultry companies with limited oversight by FSIS inspectors and has still not been implemented.
The President’s proposal to consolidate the USDA and Food and Drug Administration’s food safety authority within the Department of Health and Human Services is also a step backward. President Nixon first proposed this idea in the 1970’s and Congress wisely rejected it then; we urge this Congress to do the same. FDA and FSIS have different inspection cultures, and trying to merge the two could weaken FSIS inspection standards that offer consumers protections they do not get in any other sector of the food supply.
While the President has proposed nearly $110 million in additional appropriations to implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the proposed budget for FDA once again proposes significant user fees, including a facility registration fee, as a way to fund implementation of the new law. The creation of $163 million of new user fees to fund food safety activities is unacceptable and Congress should reject these as it has done in previous budgets.
President Obama has also chosen to facilitate the corporate takeover of community water systems with two key proposals. The National Infrastructure Bank would facilitate privatization through public-private partnerships. The President has allocated $7.703 billion to the Bank over the next decade. Likewise, his Build America Investment Initiative would promote public-private partnerships in water and other infrastructure by offering new tax breaks on bonds to privatized projects. Both projects will pave the way for Wall Street and foreign water corporations to take over our essential water systems.
From United Press International, California scorched:
U.N. reaffirms that 2014 was the hottest year on record, part of continuing trend
The U.N. agrees with NASA and the NOAA that 2014 was the hottest year
A new report from the U.N’s weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), confirms that 2014 was the hottest year on record.
A previous report from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made the same statement.
The report says the world’s average temperature was just over 1 degree Fahrenheit above the longterm average from 1961 to 1990, and the temperature is continuing to rise.
“The overall warming trend is more important than the ranking of an individual year,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “Analysis of the datasets indicates that 2014 was nominally the warmest on record, although there is very little difference between the three hottest years.”
And some of the evidence from the World Meteorological Organization report:
From the San Francisco Chronicle, trashing California’s groundwater:
State let oil companies taint drinkable water in Central Valley
Oil companies in drought-ravaged California have, for years, pumped wastewater from their operations into aquifers that had been clean enough for people to drink.
They did it with explicit permission from state regulators, who were supposed to protect the increasingly strained groundwater supplies from contamination.
Instead, the state allowed companies to drill more than 170 waste-disposal wells into aquifers suitable for drinking or irrigation, according to data reviewed by The Chronicle. Hundreds more inject a blend of briny water, hydrocarbons and trace chemicals into lower-quality aquifers that could be used with more intense treatment.
Most of the waste-injection wells lie in California’s parched Central Valley, whose desperate residents are pumping so much groundwater to cope with the historic drought that the land has started to sink.
And the location of the wells, from a Chonicle map via Scoopnest:
EcoWatch covers a California skiers’ lament:
How Climate Change Impacts Skiing Industry in Drought-Stricken California
To stay afloat, the ski area has promoted summer activities, such as mountain biking, hiking and frisbee golf. Beth Metcalf and her family, who own the ski area, say all the other ski areas and resorts in the region are hurting. Six other resorts in the Southern California—Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, Rim Nordic, Snow Valley Baldy and Mountain High—are all dealing with less snow.
Not only is climate change causing winters to be shorter and less predictable, but California is in the midst of a historic drought. Even if Mt. Waterman and other ski areas had the lower temperatures needed to make snow, it’s becoming more and more expensive and unethical for resorts to pump out snow when mother nature doesn’t deliver.
KCET reporter Derrick Shore asks Metcalf if she’s “entertained the idea that years from now, maybe Mt. Waterman will only be a summer destination—that skiing will just not be happening.” Metcalf says, “I really hope not. That would be a very sad thing.”
After the jump, climate change sends fish mercury levels up, climate change woes in Ebolaland, Obama cuts Great Lakes environmental cleanup funds, a new Great Lakes environmental threat discovered, a suppressed and scathing European Union pesticide report, hornbills threatened by the Asian craving for threatened species, nine in ten Chinese cities plagued by noxious air pollution, fracking suffers a major British setback, on to Fukuishimapocalypse Now!, with another major Tepco fail, a promised robotic salvation, and to close, plans for another reactor restart. . .
Medical Daily covers mercury rising:
Hawaiian Yellowfin Tuna’s Mercury Levels Are Increasing Due To Climate Change
Researchers from the University of Michigan found concentrations of mercury in Hawaiian yellowfin tuna increased at least 3.8 percent each year from 1998 to 2008. That’s bad news for the millions of people who eat the fish, which is commonly marketed as ahi, and used in raw dishes like sashimi or grilled to sear the edges. Exposure to high levels of mercury can affect the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system, leading to blindness, deafness, impaired cognitive function, muscle atrophy and twitching, kidney malfunction, and respiratory failure. Damage caused by the element is irreversible.
For the study, researchers looked at data from three studies that looked at yellowin tuna from 1971, 1998, and 2008 — all three studies analyzed mercury levels in the fish’s muscle tissue. Then, using a computer model that controls for body size, they analyzed 229 fish between 48 and 167 pounds, and calculated mercury concentrations. They found that mercury concentrations didn’t change between 1971 and 1998. However, fish from 2008 had concentrations much higher than either of the other years.
“Mercury levels are increasing globally in ocean water, and our study is the first to show a consequent increase in mercury in an open-water fish,” said lead author Paul Drevnick, an assistant research scientist at the university’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, in a press release. “More stringent policies are needed to reduce releases of mercury into the atmosphere. If current deposition rates are maintained, North Pacific waters will double in mercury by 2050.”
From the Sierra Leone Concord Times, climate change woes in Ebolaland:
Effects of Climate Change in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is experiencing adverse climate conditions with negative impacts on the welfare of millions of Sierra Leoneans. Flooding during the raining season, off season rains and dry spells have sent growing seasons out of orbit; on a country dependent on a rain fed agriculture. Alarm bells are ringing. Lakes are drying up. There is reduction in river flow. The water table is at its lowest ebb. The red flag is up. No one is talking. The warnings are being dismissed. It’s been business as usual.
The result is fewer water supplies for use in agriculture, hydro power generation and other domestic purposes. The main suspect for all this havoc is climate change. This has been confirmed following release of the 4th IPCC Assessment report. Africa will be worst hit by the effects of climate change. Sierra Leone not exempted.
The agricultural sector contributes about 47.9% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and agriculture is the largest employer of labour with 80% of the population working in the sector. The dominant role of agriculture makes it obvious that even minor climate deteriorations can cause devastating socioeconomic consequences
Obama cuts Great Lakes environmental cleanup funds, via the Associated Press:
Obama budget seeks $50 million cut in program spearheading Great Lakes environment restoration
President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for 2016 seeks what it calls a $50 million “modest reduction” in a multi-year program to clean up the Great Lakes.
The president’s spending plan released Monday requests $250 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, down from $300 million appropriated for this year.
The program focuses on the lakes’ most serious long-term ecological challenges such as invasive species, toxic pollution, degraded fish and wildlife habitat and runoff from farms and cities that causes toxic algae blooms. Obama created the program after taking office in 2009. About $1.9 billion has been spent on about 2,000 projects region-wide.
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said she was “extremely disappointed” at the proposed budget cut and said she favored an increase to $475 million in the coming fiscal year for the initiative.
From the Chicago Tribune, a new Great Lakes environmental threat discovered:
A new pollution worry for Lake Michigan: Tiny plastic fibers
Tiny strands of plastic are turning up in alarming numbers throughout Lake Michigan, raising concerns about a previously unknown form of pollution that scientists fear poses risks to people and wildlife by spreading toxic chemicals and disease-causing bacteria.
The minuscule filaments — fractions of a millimeter in diameter — are mostly bits of petroleum-based fabrics such as polyester and nylon that shed from fleece jackets, microfiber athletic wear and other synthetic clothing when laundered.
Generally too small to see with the naked eye, the bits of plastic wash down the drain and flush largely unfiltered through sewage treatment plants.
The Guardian covers a suppressed and scathing European Union pesticide report:
‘Suppressed’ EU report could have banned pesticides worth billions
Science paper recommended ways of identifying hormone-mimicking chemicals in pesticides linked to foetal abnormalities, genital mutations, infertility and other diseases including cancer
As many as 31 pesticides with a value running into billions of pounds could have been banned because of potential health risks, if a blocked EU paper on hormone-mimicking chemicals had been acted upon, the Guardian has learned.
The science paper, seen by the Guardian, recommends ways of identifying and categorising the endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that scientists link to a rise in foetal abnormalities, genital mutations, infertility, and adverse health effects ranging from cancer to IQ loss.
Commission sources say that the paper was buried by top EU officials under pressure from big chemical firms which use EDCs in toiletries, plastics and cosmetics, despite an annual health cost that studies peg at hundreds of millions of euros.
From the Ecologist, hornbills threatened by the Asian craving for threatened species:
Red alert! Hornbills at risk from wildlife trade
We all know about the risk to elephants and rhinos from the illegal wildlife trade, but now the helmeted hornbills of Borneo and Sumatra are at risk as online traders find ready buyers for their carved beaks in China.
The illegal trade in helmeted hornbill beaks is posing an increasing threat to the species’ survival, the Environmental Investigation Agency is warning.
And where ivory has its code name ‘white’ and rhino horns are coded ‘black’, hornbill beaks have their own black market moniker: ‘red’. The term has its origins in the Chinese name for the bird, hedinghong (hong = red).
The ‘red’ trade is also highly profitable, often commanding black market prices up to five times higher than ivory. The beaks are typically carved into human or humanoid faces or animal and abstract designs
Nine in ten Chinese cities plagued by noxious air pollution, via RT:
Air in 90% of China’s cities still not safe for breathing, despite ‘war on pollution’
Air pollution in China is still incredibly high – 90 percent of its cities stand below the threshold for air safety standards in 2014.
The “war on pollution” started a year earlier is having some effect, but hazardous emergencies are still in the hundreds.
Only eight of China’s 74 large cities have managed to meet official air safety standards in 2014, according to the Environmental Protection Ministry. This is five cities more than in 2013, when only three cities – Haikou on the island of Hainan, the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and the coastal resort city of Zhoushan – officially met air quality standards.
Seven of the 10 most polluted Chinese cities are around Beijing, despite the capital’s efforts to combat the situation.
Fracking suffers a major British setback, via the Guardian:
Fracking set to be banned from 40% of England’s shale areas
Guardian analysis reveals new rules agreed by government will make huge swath of protected areas off limits for shale gas exploration
Fracking is set to be banned on two-fifths of the land in England being offered for shale gas exploration by the government, according to a Guardian analysis.
Such a wide-ranging ban would be a significant blow to the UK’s embryonic fracking industry, which David Cameron and George Osborne have enthusiastically backed.
There were setbacks last week after the Scottish government declared a moratorium and UK ministers were forced to accept a swath of new environmental protections proposed by Labour, leading some analysts to say the outlook for fracking was bleak
On to Fukuishimapocalypse Now!, with another major Tepco fail, via Jiji Press:
TEPCO Unlikely to Complete Frozen Soil Shields by March
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is unlikely to meet its target of completing the construction by the end of March of the first section of frozen soil shields to curb the buildup of radioactive water at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.
Construction work for the shields will be delayed by a half or one month after two deadly accidents at Fukushima No.1 and No.2 nuclear plants last month forced the company to suspend the work for safety checks, TEPCO officials said Monday.
The shields are intended to block groundwater from mountains from flowing into reactor building basements that are filled with highly radioactive water that was used to cool the overheating reactors heavily damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The Asahi Shimbun covers robots to the rescue:
Robot development zone planned for Fukushima to accelerate residents’ return
A special economic zone will be set up in Fukushima Prefecture to promote the development of robots that the central government hopes will speed the return of residents to the region, heavily impacted by the nuclear crisis.
Wataru Takeshita, state minister in charge of reconstruction, made the announcement on Feb. 1 during a meeting of officials from the central government and the prefecture to discuss the recovery from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which was triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
According to Takeshita, the latest plan to establish a robot development base in the prefecture will be included in the draft revision of the Law on Special Measures for Fukushima Reconstruction and Revitalization. The amendment bill is expected to be introduced during the current Diet session.
And to close, plans for another reactor restart from Jiji Press:
Kansai Electric Aims for Restart of Mihama No. 3 N-Reactor
Kansai Electric Power Co. will seek to restart the aging No. 3 reactor at its Mihama nuclear power station in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, it was learned Monday.
The utility will apply for safety screenings by regulators for the No. 3 reactor, as well as for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant, also in Fukui, by the March 31 end of fiscal 2014, Kansai Electric Executive Vice President Hideki Toyomatsu told the prefectural government the same day.
The firm is also preparing to apply for regulatory screenings for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui, Toyomatsu said.