Archive for February, 2019
2/7/1904: The Great Baltimore Fire begins
Thursday, February 7th, 2019“…..When the blaze finally burned down after 31 hours, an 80-block area of the downtown area had been destroyed and more than 1,500 buildings were completely leveled….”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_a8KgzWpYg
The most serious of a series of earthquakes emanating from the New Madrid Fault strikes the center of America on 2/7/1812
Thursday, February 7th, 2019https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLYzd_DX0sE
Maduro has blocked a bridge on the Colombia-Venezuela border meant to be one of three collection points for the delivery of international aid.
Thursday, February 7th, 2019https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFxCIgQ2n94
World influenza update as of 1 February 2019
Thursday, February 7th, 2019
Summary
In the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere influenza activity continued to increase.
- In North America, influenza activity appeared to decrease slightly with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 predominating.
- In Europe, influenza activity continued to increase, with both A viruses circulating.
- In North Africa, influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 detections sharply increased in Morocco.
- In Western Asia, influenza activity continued to increase in some countries and appeared to decrease across countries of the Arabian Peninsula.
- In East Asia, influenza activity continued to increase, with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus predominating.
- In Southern Asia, influenza detections remained elevated overall. Influenza activity continued to increase in Iran (Islamic Republic of) with influenza A(H3N2) the predominant circulating virus.
- In the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere, influenza activity remained at inter-seasonal levels.
- Worldwide, seasonal influenza A viruses accounted for the majority of detections.
National Influenza Centres (NICs) and other national influenza laboratories from 110 countries, areas or territories reported data to FluNet for the time period from 07 January 2019 to 20 January 2019 (data as of 2019-02-01 04:30:14 UTC). The WHO GISRS laboratories tested more than 232136 specimens during that time period. 59457 were positive for influenza viruses, of which 58436 (98.3%) were typed as influenza A and 1021 (1.7%) as influenza B. Of the sub-typed influenza A viruses, 24559 (77.7%) were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and 7058 (22.3%) were influenza A(H3N2). Of the characterized B viruses, 85 (34.6%) belonged to the B-Yamagata lineage and 161 (65.4%) to the B-Victoria lineage.
The Flu in Europe, Week 4 (21-27 January 2019): Influenza activity continued to increase, with both A viruses circulating.
Thursday, February 7th, 2019
India: Uttar Pradesh is among those states that have banned the slaughter of cows and as a result, the state has a serious problem with elderly cattle that no longer yield milk being set free by farmers who cannot afford to feed them.
Wednesday, February 6th, 2019India’s Emergency Response System
Wednesday, February 6th, 2019“…..Communities began to lead and fund their own health centers. In their first four years, village health centers saw 3.5 million patient visits, including those associated with a program to screen more than 100 thousand children for nutritional and physical wellbeing. These centers have become a training and employment ground for young people who otherwise would have moved to urban areas.
After just 12 years, the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), has deployed more than 10,000 ambulances and 45,000 skilled personnel to respond to 56.1 million emergencies, save 2.3 million lives, serve 18.9 million pregnant women, and assist in 480 thousand births.
They have done this through a centralized, call-in system that receives 150,000 calls and responds to nearly 25,000 emergencies each day. Users can call into a free, emergency 108 telephone number, which provides integrated medical, police, and fire emergency services. A single call center can provide service for up to fifty million people at a cost of $0.25 USD per person per year. The service is free to the user and costs the provider less than $15 USD per emergency. This is less than one percent of what an emergency call costs in the United States…..”
2/5/1783: In southern Italy, 80,000 people died in the estimated 7.5-8M earthquake and tsunami of 1783
Tuesday, February 5th, 2019
Queensland: Torrential rain and flooding in northern Australia have forced hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes in what weather officials describe as an “unprecedented” event.
Tuesday, February 5th, 2019New research: Contamination of health care personnel during removal of contaminated gloves
Tuesday, February 5th, 2019
Alhmidi H, Gonzalez-Orta M, Cadnum JL, et al. Contamination of health care personnel during removal of contaminated gloves. Am J Infect Control 2019 (published online Jan 9)
“…..In simulations of contaminated glove removal, 37% of health care personnel using their typical doffing technique contaminated their skin with a fluorescent solution. The frequency of contamination was significantly lower when the technique recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was used versus not used (8 of 34, 24% vs 29 of 66, 44%). In simulations in which only the palm of the glove was contaminated, a modified doffing technique, to minimize the risk for contact with contaminated surfaces, reduced contamination of personnel……”
