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Tag: insects and arachnids

  • ‘No one is safe’: France vows action as bedbugs sweep Paris | CNN

    ‘No one is safe’: France vows action as bedbugs sweep Paris | CNN


    Paris
    CNN
     — 

    The French government has vowed action to “reassure and protect” the public as its capital Paris reports a “widespread” rise in bedbugs.

    French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said Friday he would “bring together transport operators next week” to “undertake further action” to “reassure and protect” the public from the reported surge in the numbers of the blood-sucking insect.

    The announcement comes as calls for government action from Paris officials and trade unions mount after several videos of bedbugs spotted in public transport and other locations such as cinemas have surfaced on social media.

    Speaking to French TV station LCI on Friday, deputy mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire called the phenomenon “widespread.”

    “You have to understand that in reality no one is safe, obviously there are risk factors but in reality, you can catch bedbugs anywhere and bring them home,” he said.

    Three years ago, the French government launched an anti-bedbug campaign, which includes a dedicated website and an information hotline, as numbers of the insect surged.

    But Gregoire said that despite that plan, “there are 3.6 million people who come into Paris every day, and bedbugs do not stop on the outskirts of the city.”

    An expert from France’s national health and sanitary body, Anses, said the problem was “an emerging phenomenon in France and almost everywhere in the world.”

    “It’s mainly due to the movement of people, populations traveling, the fact that people stay in short-term accommodation and bring back bedbugs in their suitcases or luggage,” Johanna Fite from the Anses department of risk assessment told CNN.

    She added there was an “escalation” in numbers because bedbugs were increasingly resistant to insecticides.

    “We are observing more and more bedbug populations which are resistant, so there is no miracle treatment to get rid of them,” Fite said.

    However, the Paris deputy mayor warned against “hysteria” over the issue, noting there had been an “increase in Parisians who are referring to the town hall’s information services for information on bedbugs”.

    “Professional companies which intervene in residential areas are telling us that currently the proportion of interventions for bedbugs is atypical compared to normal and is increasing rapidly,” he said.

    The news comes as Paris gets ready to host the 2024 Olympics Games, but officials say they are not worried.

    “There is no threat to the Olympic Games,” Gregoire said.

    “Bedbugs existed before and they will exist afterward,” he added, saying the games were an “opportunity” for everybody to work together on the issue.

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  • Bangladesh’s worst ever dengue outbreak a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for climate crisis, WHO expert warns | CNN

    Bangladesh’s worst ever dengue outbreak a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for climate crisis, WHO expert warns | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Bangladesh is battling its worst dengue outbreak on record, with more than 600 people killed and 135,000 cases reported since April, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, as one of its experts blamed the climate crisis and El Nino weather pattern for driving the surge.

    The country’s health care system is straining under the influx of sick people, and local media have reported hospitals are facing a shortage of beds and staff to care for patients. There were almost 10,000 hospitalizations on August 12 alone, according to WHO.

    WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news briefing Wednesday that of the 650 people who have died since the outbreak began in April, 300 were reported in August.

    While dengue fever is endemic in Bangladesh, with infections typically peaking during the monsoon season, this year the uptick in cases started much earlier – toward the end of April.

    Tedros said WHO is supporting the Bangladeshi government and authorities “to strengthen surveillance, lab capacity, clinical management, vector control, risk communication and community engagement,” during the outbreak.

    “We have trained doctors and deployed experts on the ground. We have also provided supplies to test for dengue and support care for patients,” he said.

    A viral infection, dengue causes flu-like symptoms, including piercing headaches, muscle and joint pains, fever and full body rashes. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito and there is no specific treatment for the disease.

    Dengue is endemic in more than 100 countries and every year, 100 million to 400 million people become infected, according to WHO.

    All 64 districts across Bangladesh have been affected by the outbreak but the capital Dhaka – home to more than 20 million people – has been the worst-hit city, according to WHO. Though cases there are starting to stabilize.

    “Cases are starting to decline in the capital Dhaka but are increasing in other parts of the country,” Tedros said.

    Dhaka is one of the most densely populated cities in the world and rapid unplanned urbanization has exacerbated outbreaks.

    “There is a water supply problem in Dhaka, so people keep water in buckets and plastic containers in their bathrooms or elsewhere in the home. Mosquitoes can live there all year round,” Kabirul Bashar, professor at Jahangirnagar University’s Zoology department, wrote in the Lancet journal last month.

    “Our waste management system is not well planned. Garbage piles up on the street; you see a lot of little plastic containers with pools of water in them. We also have multi-story buildings with car parks in the basements. People wash their vehicles down there, which is ideal for the mosquitoes.”

    To cope with the onslaught of infections, Bangladesh has repurposed six Covid-19 hospitals to care for dengue patients and requested help from WHO to help detect and manage cases earlier, WHO said.

    Climate crisis spreading and amplifying outbreaks

    The record number of dengue cases and deaths in Bangladesh comes as the country has seen an “unusual episodic amount of rainfall, combined with high temperatures and high humidity, which have resulted in an increased mosquito population throughout Bangladesh,” WHO said in August.

    Those warm, wet conditions make the perfect breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes and as the planet continues to rapidly heat due to the burning of fossil fuels, outbreaks will become more common in new regions of the world.

    The global number of dengue cases has already increased eight-fold in the past two decades, according to WHO.

    “In 2000, we had about half a million cases and … in 2022 we recorded over 4.2 million,” said Raman Velayudhan, WHO’s head of the global program on control of neglected tropical diseases in July.

    As the climate crisis worsens, mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever will likely continue to spread and have an ever greater impact on human health.

    “We are seeing more and more countries experiencing the heavy burden of these diseases,” said Abdi Mahamud, WHO’s alert and response director in the health emergencies program.

    Mahamud said the climate crisis and this year’s El Nino weather pattern – which brings warmer, wetter weather to parts of the world – are worsening the problem.

    This year, dengue has hit South America severely with Peru grappling with its worst outbreak on record. Cases in Florida prompted authorities to put several counties on alert. In Asia, a spike in cases has hit Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia, among other nations. And countries in sub-Sarahan Africa, like Chad, have also reported outbreaks.

    Calling these outbreaks a “canary in the coalmine of the climate crisis,” Mahamud said “global solidarity” and support is needed to deal with the worsening epidemic.

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  • 600-plus inmates to be transferred as Fulton County, Georgia, jail deals with overcrowding and outbreak of bedbugs and vermin | CNN

    600-plus inmates to be transferred as Fulton County, Georgia, jail deals with overcrowding and outbreak of bedbugs and vermin | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Fulton County, Georgia, Sheriff Patrick “Pat” Labat on Friday announced measures “to address an outbreak of infectious illnesses” at the county jail – including moving more than 600 inmates to other counties, a statement said.

    The measures are the result of a “preliminary investigation” into the death of Lashawn Thompson – an incarcerated man who died in the jail last year, the announcement posted on Facebook said. Thompson’s family says his death was the result of unsanitary conditions at the facility and complications from insect bites, CNN has reported.

    The sheriff said Friday that “an emergency expenditure of $500,000” has been approved to address the jail’s “infestation of bed bugs, lice and other vermin.”

    The sheriff said protocols for security rounds will also be updated to help mitigate the outbreak as well as “transferring more than 600 inmates to other counties in an effort to help relieve overcrowding, at an average cost of approximately $40K/day.”

    It’s unclear where or when the incarcerated persons will be moved.

    The announcement began with the sheriff’s office expressing condolences to Thompson’s family and saying the sheriff has launched “a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.”

    Lashawn Thompson in a family photo.

    On Thursday, Thompson’s family held a news conference to demand a criminal investigation into his death and for the jail to be closed.

    Thompson died while in custody last September. His family’s attorney, Michael Harper, blamed unsanitary conditions and complications from insect bites for Thompson’s death.

    Holding up photos purporting to show conditions in Thompson’s jail cell, Harper said, “The cell he was in was not fit for a diseased animal. This is inexcusable and it’s deplorable.”

    Harper said that Thompson had been in custody on a misdemeanor assault charge since June of 2022 and was housed in the psychiatric wing of the jail because he suffered from mental health issues.

    Brad McCrae, Thompson’s brother, told reporters Thompson was 35 years old, was born in Winter Haven, Florida, and had been living in Atlanta on and off over the last couple of years.

    When asked by a reporter what he thought when he saw images of his brother’s body and the conditions of his cell, McCrae said, “It was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that. Nobody should see that. But the first thing that entered my mind was Emmett Till.”

    The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday, “The manner and cause of death was listed as ‘undetermined’ by the county medical examiner. A full investigation was launched into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Thompson’s death.”

    The statement went on to say that the results of that investigation would determine if any criminal investigation is warranted.

    The sheriff’s statement acknowledged the “dilapidated and rapidly eroding conditions” at the jail and said that Labat continues to call for the building of a new jail.

    The family has not filed a lawsuit at this time.

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  • Texas woman arrested after smuggling endangered spider monkey in box she claimed held beer | CNN

    Texas woman arrested after smuggling endangered spider monkey in box she claimed held beer | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Talk about monkey business.

    A Texas woman entering the US told border officials the wooden box in her car was filled with beer. In reality, it was an endangered spider monkey she planned to sell.

    The 20-year-old woman pleaded guilty to smuggling wildlife into the US without first declaring and invoicing it, and fleeing an immigration checkpoint, after a monthslong investigation, according to a news release from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    She attempted to enter the US from Mexico through the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas, on March 21, the release stated. Officers noticed a wooden box with holes inside her car, which she claimed contained beer she had bought in Mexico.

    However, when officers opened the box, they discovered a live spider monkey. Officers then referred the woman to a second inspection, but she sped off instead.

    Later that day, officers discovered online sales listings for the spider monkey with the woman’s phone number, according to the release.

    The woman turned herself in on March 28, according to the release. The monkey was recovered and placed in an animal shelter in Central Florida.

    The woman will be sentenced on January 25, 2023, the release noted.

    “Smuggling in endangered species for commercial gain is a tragic crime against nature’s precious resources,” said Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio, in the release. “HSI takes every opportunity to join our federal, private sector and international partners to share our knowledge, experience and investigative techniques designed to protect and preserve threatened and endangered species.”

    There are seven species of spider monkeys found across Central and South America, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Officials did not specify to which species the recovered spider monkey belonged.

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  • Firefly successfully launches unmanned rocket | CNN Business

    Firefly successfully launches unmanned rocket | CNN Business



    CNN
     — 

    Texas-based commercial rocket company Firefly launched a rocket into space Friday morning, about a year after a previous attempt ended in an explosion.

    The company announced “100% Mission success” on Twitter.

    The Alpha rocket launched at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

    It was originally set to launch September 11, but that was scrapped because the rocket’s helium pressure dropped, affiliate KSBY reported.

    “The Alpha is an economical small satellite launch vehicle,” Vandenberg reported on its website. “Firefly had three educational payloads aboard and successfully inserted into an elliptical transfer orbit, coast to apogee, and performed a circularization burn.”

    It was the company’s second unmanned launch ever from Vandenberg.

    In September 2021, a rocket appeared to have a smooth liftoff but then malfunctioned. US Space Force officials ordered the company to destroy the rocket in mid-air to prevent hurting people or property below. No one was injured.

    Firefly and other commercial rocket companies are trying to make space a place of competitive business rather than the sole domain of governments.

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