Archive | February 16, 2017
Parents in London warned about a surge in scarlet fever outbreaks
Some of the symptoms of scarlet fever to look out for
Parents are being urged to check their children for rashes and swollen tongues after a surge in the number of scarlet fever outbreaks being reported each week.
In London so far this year there have been 55 people diagnosed with the illness and across the country hundreds of cases are being reported each week.
In the week up to February 12 there were 446 cases reported nationally.
The number of cases has been going up each week.
There were 245 cases identified in the week ending January 15; 297 in the week ending January 22; 400 in the week ending January 29 and 440 in the week ending February 5.
There has been a spike in reported cases of scarlet fever
The highly infectious illness causes sore throats, headaches and high temperatures, as well as swelling of the tongue.
It is characterised by a distinctive pink rash and children are particularly vulnerable.
No details have been provided for how many of the 55 cases this year in London were in Croydon.
Courtesy of croydonadvertiser.co.uk
Dozens of dead owls found along a road in Idaho, USA
Dozens of dead owls have been reported by drivers along Interstate-84 in southern Idaho making for an eerie stretch of road.
Over the weekend, Nichole Miller and Christina White of Boise were driving home to Boise from Twin Falls when they spotted some road kill along the interstate.
“I saw a bird on the side of the road — I thought it was a chicken,” Miller said. “But then we saw more (road kill) and I saw the stripes on the feathers and it was not a chicken.”
It was definitely, an owl, she said. And it wasn’t the only one. Miller said she and Christina lost count after spotting more than 50 dead owls during a 20-mile stretch near Jerome.
“There was more and more and more,” Miller said.
Idaho Fish and Game told KBOI 2News on Monday that they’re aware of the dead owls. So, what the heck is going on?
It’s a simple explanation and it’s not a terribly uncommon occurrence, said Mike Keckler, Idaho Fish and Game spokesman. Keckler says hungry owls are becoming victims of road kill when they target mice along the Interstate.
And, it’s a deadly situation when you’ve got vehicles traveling 85 miles per hour.
It’s unclear how many dead owls have been reportedly been killed along the road.
“It almost looks like they fell from the sky,” Miller said.
A Boise State student recently published a thesis study on the dead owls in southern Idaho for the Raptor Research Center and called it “one of the world’s highest roadway mortality rates for barn owls.”
Courtesy of http://kboi2.com
Thousands of shad fish belly up in Windsor’s Little River, Ontario, Canada
Thousands of dead shad fish are seen in Little River. (Dale Molnar/CBC)
Thousands of American gizzard shad are floating belly up in Little River, but the grave looking pool of dead fish doesn’t surprise environmentalists in Windsor-Essex.
Typically, shad do not swim further north than New York, but in recent years, they have been swimming as far as Canada and quickly dying, according to the Essex Region Conservation Authority.
“We’ve seen it happen quite commonly over the last 15 years, every two years or so depending on the thaw,” said Tim Byrne, ERCA’s director of watershed management services.
The problem is shad are highly prone to thermal shock, which is a sudden change in water temperature that immediately kills schools of fish.
“It’s unfortunate, but they are not a native species to this area,” Byrne explained, saying fish native to the region can handle the temperature changes.
The amount of floating fish is also reflective of the species that commonly swim in large schools.
Thousands of shad died along the Belle River back in 2014. At the time, officials said the reasons for the massive death also included sewage that bypassed treatment and record rainfall.
Courtesy of cbc.ca
MAGNITUDE 4.6 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=569270
Subject To Change
Depth: 106 km
Distances: 68 km E of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / pop: 2,202,000 / local time: 08:51:54.8 2017-02-16
31 km N of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic / pop: 218,000 / local time: 08:51:54.8 2017-02-16
10 km SE of El Puerto, Dominican Republic / pop: 3,300 / local time: 08:51:54.8 2017-02-16
Subject To Change
Depth: 106 km
Distances: 68 km E of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / pop: 2,202,000 / local time: 08:51:54.8 2017-02-16
31 km N of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic / pop: 218,000 / local time: 08:51:54.8 2017-02-16
10 km SE of El Puerto, Dominican Republic / pop: 3,300 / local time: 08:51:54.8 2017-02-16
MAGNITUDE 5.3 FIJI REGION
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=569259
Subject To Change
Depth: 590 km
Distances: 355 km W of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga / pop: 22,400 / local time: 01:10:00.7 2017-02-17
422 km SE of Suva, Fiji / pop: 77,400 / local time: 00:10:00.7 2017-02-17
1050 km SW of Apia, Samoa / pop: 40,500 / local time: 02:10:00.7 2017-02-17
Subject To Change
Depth: 590 km
Distances: 355 km W of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga / pop: 22,400 / local time: 01:10:00.7 2017-02-17
422 km SE of Suva, Fiji / pop: 77,400 / local time: 00:10:00.7 2017-02-17
1050 km SW of Apia, Samoa / pop: 40,500 / local time: 02:10:00.7 2017-02-17
Please Donate To Support My Work
Earth Extremities 
Comments