Deadly Ebola Virus has mutated during course of outbreak…(Will Hamper The Testing Procedures!!)

The Ebola virus sweeping through West Africa has mutated repeatedly during the current outbreak, a fact that could hinder diagnosis and treatment of the devastating disease, according to scientists who have genetically sequenced the virus in scores of victims.

 

The findings, published Thursday in the journal Science, also offer new insights into the origins of the largest and most deadly Ebola outbreak in history, which has killed more than 1,500 people in four countries and shows few signs of slowing. It also provided another reminder of the deep toll the outbreak has taken on health workers and others in the affected areas, as five of the paper’s more than 50 co-authors died from Ebola before publication.

 

In a collaboration led by scientists at Harvard University and aided by officials at Sierra Leone’s health ministry, researchers sequenced Ebola virus genomes from 78 patients beginning in the early days of the outbreak this spring. Those 99 samples — some patients were tested more than once — suggested that the outbreak began with a single human infection before spreading rapidly, like a spark that grows into a wildfire.

http://tinyurl.com/m2f5q4x

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Plane makes an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport, UK

An Easyjet plane carrying 157 passengers has made an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport after smoke was detected in the cockpit.

The Airbus A320 was en route from Liverpool to Naples when it touched down at about 07:20 BST.

An Easyjet spokesman said the plane, which had left Liverpool at 06:40 BST, landed safely and the passengers “remained calm”.

“At no point was the safety of passengers threatened,” he said.

“We now want to make sure we get the passengers to Naples as quickly as possible.

“Meanwhile, the plane is being inspected.”

‘Calm manner’

Emily Scott, who was a passenger on the flight, said concerns grew on the plane as the acrid smell of burning grew.

She said oxygen was used in the cockpit and the pilot announced there would be an emergency landing, but the crew remained “extremely calm and professional”.

Firefighters met the plane after it landed and she boarded another plane after a two-hour wait. She has since arrived in Italy.

“I commend the crew and captain for handling the situation in such a calm manner,” she said.

Meanwhile, passengers had to be evacuated from the North Terminal departure lounge after a fire alarm was activated in the Garfunkel’s restaurant.

An airport spokeswoman said the false alarm happened at 08.30 BST and lasted about 20 minutes.

Passengers were kept airside while the lounge was isolated, she added.

http://tinyurl.com/l5ynhep

Plane crashes and bursts into flames killing 4 in New Mexico, USA

Four people were killed after a Phoenix-bound small plane crashed in New Mexico, authorities said.

 

New Mexico State Police said the twin-engine, fixed winged aircraft had just left the Las Cruces Airport when it crashed around 7 p.m. Wednesday and burst into flames about one mile south of Interstate 10 near the southern New Mexico Fair Grounds.

 

Witnesses said the plane was flying at a low altitude before the crash.

 

Police said all four people aboard the aircraft were killed. Their names and hometowns aren’t immediately available.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the cause of the crash.

http://tinyurl.com/mpbms8m

Massive landslide and flash flooding kills 7 and 20 are missing in Guizhou Province, China

Seven people are reported to have died and 20 are still missing after a landslide hit the village of Yingping in Guizhou Province, China, at about 8 pm on Wednesday 27 August 2014. A further 22 people were injured in the incident, which destroyed 77 homes, affecting 154 people in the village. The incident occurred following about 24 hours of heavy rainfall, which caused a number of flash floods in the region, and caused the breach of a small reservoir close to Yingping, which apparently contributed to the landslide hitting the village. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.

 

Central Guizhou has a warm temperate climate with high levels of rainfall all year round. Rainfall is typically highest in June when the area often receives over 200 mm of rainfall. August is drier, but typically still has around 100 mm of rain. This year’s summer has been exceptionally wet, with a number of flooding incidents across the province.

http://tinyurl.com/poxrdmr

Storm system off Mexico’s Pacific coast slams beaches with high surf causing flooding and closures in Southern California, USA

Southern California’s shores were slammed by high surf again Wednesday, the result of a storm system churning off Mexico’s Pacific coast. Several beaches were closed off to the public in Malibu and Rancho Palos Verdes after waves dislodged portions of a pier in Malibu and riptides snarled swimmers along the coast. Seal Beach, which sustained most of the damage Tuesday after several homes were flooded, avoided more water during Wednesday’s high tide, but officials say they expect the high surf to continue.

http://tinyurl.com/pzyttaq

MAGNITUDE 5.8 KYUSHU, JAPAN

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000s7q8#summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 22 km

Distances: 56km (35mi) E of Takanabe, Japan
66km (41mi) E of Tsuma, Japan
67km (42mi) ENE of Miyazaki-shi, Japan
68km (42mi) SE of Nobeoka, Japan
767km (477mi) SE of Seoul, South Korea  

MAGNITUDE 4.1 NORTHERN ITALY

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=397332

Subject To Change

Depth: 5 km

Distances: 118 km E of Milan, Italy / pop: 1,306,661 / local time: 19:49:20.7 2014-08-28
58 km SW of Trento, Italy / pop: 104,946 / local time: 19:49:20.7 2014-08-28
35 km NW of Verona, Italy / pop: 253,208 / local time: 19:49:20.7 2014-08-28
18 km SE of Crone, Italy / pop: 1,852 / local time: 19:49:20.7 2014-08-28  

MAGNITUDE 4.8 MID-INDIAN RIDGE

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=397307

Subject To Change

Depth: 10 km

Distances: 1265 km E of Port Louis, Mauritius / pop: 155,226 / local time: 17:25:59.6 2014-08-28
1452 km E of Saint-Denis, Reunion / pop: 137,195 / local time: 17:25:59.6 2014-08-28
2309 km E of Antananarivo, Madagascar / pop: 1,391,433 / local time: 16:25:59.6 2014-08-28  

MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 17:00, 20:00 hrs UTC

**EXTREMELY URGENT**

  MASSIVE DIP SPIKES ON THE MAGNETOSPHERE @ APPROX 17:00, 20:00 hrs UTC. FURTHER EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANO ACTIVITY & ADVERSE WEATHER PATTERNS WILL BE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE COSMIC RAYS STRIKING THE EARTH’S CORE

***BE ALERT***

MAGNITUDE 5.2 GUATEMALA

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=397265

Subject To Change

Depth: 67 km

Distances: 142 km W of Guatemala City, Guatemala / pop: 994,938 / local time: 02:27:45.3 2014-08-28
30 km S of Retalhuleu, Guatemala / pop: 36,656 / local time: 02:27:45.3 2014-08-28