UNITED KINGDOM
A plague of “super-slugs” has arrived in the UK from Spain, travelling on imported salads and flowers. The Spanish invaders are mating with species already found in Britain to create a “mutant” species which threatens to eat its way through our crops and native slug species. The giant Spanish slug, which can grow up to 15cm long, has already travelled as far as Wales. They produce hundreds more eggs than native slugs meaning they are capable of overrunning British species. They could also spread parasites and diseases that could wipe out native slugs. “The Spanish Slug (Arion vulgaris) and a close relative nicknamed the Spanish Stealth Slug (Arion flagellus) are both an invasion threat,” said Gordon Port, an invertebrate expert from the Newcastle University. “Both species are known to be present in the UK, but in mainland Europe they have produced plagues and it is only a matter of time before the same thing happens here.” The slugs aren’t picky when it comes to eating. They’ve been known to eat through dead rabbits, dog faeces and even their fellow slugs. Drivers are also at risk. The plagues of slugs are known to cause slicks on the road where they have been run over and squashed.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO
On September 14, the El Paso County Public Health’s lab tested a wild rabbit found on the northeast side of Colorado Springs and confirmed the animal had plague. Investigators say the area where the rabbit was found is East of Powers Boulevard near the St. Francis Medical Center/Hospital. According to a statement released Friday, Public Health infectious disease experts conducted an investigation to determine potential human exposures and to assess the general area for additional plague concerns. The people exposed have been identified and have been given antibiotics to prevent plague from developing. “Plague health alert” flyers will be provided to residents and signs will be posted in the general area to raise the level of awareness and ask people to take precautions to prevent plague. Public Health will continue to monitor plague activity in the area and maintain the signage as appropriate. Plague is a bacterial disease transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected flea. In humans, the symptoms are high fever, chills, headache, extreme fatigue and tender or swollen lymph glands. Public Health advises residents who experience these symptoms to contact their physician. El Paso County’s last reported human case occurred in 1991. The public shouldn’t attempt to catch, feed, handle or exterminate prairie dogs or any type of squirrel, chipmunk, rabbit or other wild animal. Also, keep your dogs on leashes and cats inside and do not allow them to chase wild animals. If you live in the affected area, it is especially important to keep cats indoors, because they are more vulnerable to plague than dogs. Residents within the affected area should also clear property of trash, lumber piles, and other areas where animals my live or hide. Talk with your veterinarian about treating your pets for fleas. Plague is endemic in El Paso County and precautions to prevent plague should always be taken. Additional information on plague can be found at the link below.
Verrado, ARIZONA
Two students at Verrado High School in Buckeye have been diagnosed with MRSA, a contagious skin infection, Agua Fria Union High School District officials have confirmed. They may have been exposed the infection, which is sometimes called a “superbug,” while participating in an after-school wrestling club. The private club includes Verrado students and students from other schools. Earlier, Verrado school officials indicated that one student was diagnosed with the superbug, and two other students were exposed and tested for possible infection. “Two families are now telling us that their children have MRSA,” said Tom Huffman, principal of Verrado High School. Huffman confirmed that the third student was allowed to return to campus and the two infected students will be able to return once they have been treated with antibiotics. The school has had no other reports of MRSA and is continuing to disinfect areas that could be contaminated. On Thursday, Verrado officials also alerted other wrestling club members and Verrado football players, who use the same athletic facilities. The school’s physical education facilities, including the wrestling room, weight room and the boy’s locker room, were disinfected on Thursday afternoon, said Phillip Nowlin,Verrado’s athletic director in a letter sent to parents on Friday.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) is a contagious bacterial infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is often called a superbug because it is resistant to many commonly used antibiotics. Outside of healthcare facilities, cases of MRSA are often skin infections which appear similar to a boil, a spider bite, or an infected pimple. The bumps can be swollen, red and painful. People with open wounds or broken skin are more susceptible to the bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All athletic rooms and classrooms will be disinfected over the weekend and will remain open for use, Huffman said. Earlier school officials had planned to close Verrado’s athletic facilities over the weekend. Now that won’t be necessary, school officials say. Verrado High School has 1,625 students. The district which has 6,640 students and high schools in Goodyear,Avondale and Buckeye. On Thursday, Nowlin was first notified that a student was diagnosed with the infection. The district will not identify the infected students, citing health privacy laws. Nowlin has said the students participate in an after-school wrestling club, which rents Verrado High School’s wrestling and sports facilities. In a letter to parents, the district encouraged students to wash hands thoroughly with water and soap, or hand sanitizer; to avoid sharing hygiene items such as razors and towels; and to bandage wounds, cuts and scrapes.
CROOK COUNTY, OREGON
A Crook County woman diagnosed with the plague is believed to have contracted the disease from the same outdoor cat that also infected a Prineville man earlier this summer. The Crook County Health Department reported Friday that the woman was bitten by the same outdoor cat that also bit Prineville resident Paul Gaylord, who was diagnosed with plague bacteria Yersinia Pestis in June. Gaylord spent several weeks in intensive care at a Bend hospital. The two were bitten by the cat at approximately the same time, the health department said. Laboratory blood tests conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed late last week that she had tested positive for the disease. The woman, whose name was not released, was beginning to display symptoms in June, and was attempting to get treatment at an unnamed hospital outside Crook County. She told doctors that she may have the plague, but doctors at the hospital did not believe this was possible, according nurse Karen Yeargain, communicable disease coordinator for the health department.
At the same time, Yeargain had put together a list of people that may have come in contact with Gaylord. Yeargain contacted the hospital, and informed them of the situation. “Her efforts there to receive treatment as a contact to a case of plague were being met with disbelief, as you might imagine, and it just wasn’t happening,” said Yeargain in a statement. “As we later found out, she was also starting into early symptoms that were similar to our known case. With my phone call confirming that this was real, the hospital Emergency Department literally walked her medication to the room where she was located and got her started. Yeargain said that the woman may have gotten critically ill if doctors had not gotten her the proper medication in time. She was administered antibiotics, which stopped the illness from progressing. The plague is a bacterial illness that can be spread through a bite from an infected flea, or by contact with an infected animal or person. Since 1995, only six people, including these two cases, have been diagnosed with the plague in Oregon. None of them have died.
LANDSLIDES In Darjeeling, INDIA
Landslides triggered by heavy overnight rain in the hills caused extensive damage in six tea gardens, while the National Highway 31A which was blocked was cleared by the Border Roads Organisation on Saturday. Work had to be stopped for the day in Takdah and Lopchu gardens because of the landslide, while Bannockburn, Phoobshering, Ging and Pussimbing reported loss of tea bushes, Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) Principal Secretary, Sandip Mukherjee said. “Takdah received around 18 inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours. A 40ft road in Takdah has been washed away in four places and five culverts have been damaged in landslides. There is no approach road to the garden factory now,” Mukherjee said. He said 13 labour quarters and two culverts were affected by the landslides at Lopchu. “Tea bushes in an acre have been uprooted in Lopchu and road connectivity within the garden has become a major problem. Given the extent of the damage, no work could be carried out in Lopchu,” he said. Road communication in the Ging tea garden, about 20km from Darjeeling, was hit after three culverts were damaged. “In Phoobshering, 6,500 tea bushes have been uprooted by the landslides. There is no approach road to the factory now. Water has also seeped into the garden factory,” he said. He alleged that constructions under the 100-days work scheme aggravated the situation in the tea gardens. District Magistrate Saumitra Mohan said “The NH31A was blocked at Tarkhola, Melli and Kalijhora but all major roads have been cleared of debris with the help of agencies like the Border Roads Organisation and the public works department.” Mohan, also the principal secretary of the GTA, said an order has been issued to all subdivisional officers and block divisional officers, that any project was to be cleared only after taking into account environmental concerns and technical viability.
