Plague Watch 2010 - ?

Saudi Arabia 12/30/10

More than 8 death cases of a new mysteries disease in al-Hodeidah governorate are currently being investigated. The Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia called all its citizen in Jazan, Asir, and Najran to take precaution for the disease in returning from Yemen and to be wary of those entering illegally into Saudi Arabia. Abdul-Karim Ras’e, Minister of Public Health and Population suggested the implementation of the coordination between the relevant sectors to provide outreach and education to cope with infectious diseases and prevention. SEYAJ for Childhood Protection emphasized that this mysteries epidemic is classified by unidentified fever that is sweeping the al-Zahra region in the province of Hodeidah. SEYAJ appealed to authorities in the Ministry of Public Health and Population, National Population Council and the local council in Hodeidah Governorate and the Directorate of al-Zahra to quickly identify the epidemic and the majority of the disease victims are children, and to provide urgent assistance for the affected people. The symptoms of this epidemic are accompanied by a high fever with severe pain and headache for several days and moves quickly said Ahmed Al-Qurashi, Chairman of SEYAJ. SEYAJ confirmed that a statistics of al-Zahra government hospital pointed of the arrival of forty cases on Saturday, while the statistics of al-Shifa recovery clinic reached to 35 cases. According to the tests that were made on a number of people from different villages of al-Zahra area are suffering from the same symptoms. The tests were examined in the laboratories of al-Hodeidah governorate by a committee formed by the Office of Health. The results showed that six out of ten have been testing them are infected with al-Dhanak fever and four of them condition is unknown, said Doctor Hassan Gaish, Manager of Health Office in al-Zahra district. Al-Zahra district is one of the poorest districts in al-Hodeidah governorate that suffer from a severe shortage of health services which makes such disease a real disaster where there are no laboratories able to diagnose such disease and test strips. There are not also laboratories highly qualified persons to respond such exotic diseases. Al-Mukrfess is the popular name of this epidemic and appeared more than a month in the city of Zabid, al-Garrahi, Bet al-Faqeeh and al-Khokha.

Canada 12/30/10

Three female prisoners at a Metro Vancouver jail have been diagnosed with swine flu. The inmates at the Surrey Pretrial Centre were given the antiviral medication Tamiflu as soon as their symptoms appeared and one has already recovered, a B.C. government spokeswoman said Wednesday. The spokeswoman said it is not unusual to see some H1N1 cases at this time of year in the prison system and, in fact, there had been only a minimal number of cases this winter. The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Swine flu can be especially severe in people with weakened immune systems, where it can quickly lead to pneumonia. In addition to medication for the affected inmates, isolation precautions have been put in place at the Surrey jail and other prisoners are being monitored. Flu shots are also offered to all prisoners when they are admitted to any B.C. jail. When the World Health Organization declared the 2009 swine flu pandemic over, more than 18,000 people around the world had died, including at least 426 Canadians.

Vietnam 12/30/10

More than 150 tonnes of red tilapias have died en masse in the past week in Cao Lanh District in the southern province of Dong Thap, resulting in losses of VND35 billion (US$1.7 million) for aquaculture farmers. Red tilapias are the world's most popular farmed fish. They are fast growing and low in mercury. The dead fish were being raised by 41 households along the Can Lo River. It was the first time such a disaster has occurred. "Tests on the fish and water samples reveal the deaths were caused by frequent ebb tides and the high densities of fish kept caged in pens," said Vu Thi Nhung, head of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment's Environmental Protection Division. The tests were conducted by the department and Can Tho University. Nhung added that ebb tides created high amounts of organic substances in the water, which helped make oxygen levels below regulated levels. The density of the fish in pens was 130-200 per square metre, much higher than the 90-150. "The more organic substances deposited, the less oxygen in the water. This is what killed them," said Nhung. She added that the department did not have any plan to support local farmers who lost their fish. But it will hold training courses to make sure farmers understand the proper technology for raising the fish.

Winter flu death toll revealed 12/30/10
Source: www.google.com...*017A

The number of people who have died as a result of the flu outbreak so far this winter will be revealed by the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The updated figure will come after it was announced on Wednesday that cases of flu rose by more than 40% last week, according to figures released by doctors. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) reported that incidences of flu in England and Wales reached 124 per 100,000 of the population in the week ending December 26. There were 86 per 100,000 cases in the previous week. There has been a general increase across all age ranges apart from children, with the middle-aged being particularly badly hit.

reply to post by ReginaAdonnaAaron


Thanks for your contributions, Regina.

Just so you know, copying someone else's work without quotation marks or attribution is illegal - it's plagiarism and against copyright law - and can get the site in trouble with the law, not just you.

Protocol here is to use "ex" and "/ex" to enclose your quotes, include a link - and of course, make at least some comment in your own words.

...H ave a good one.

Originally posted by soficrow
reply to post by ReginaAdonnaAaron

 

Thanks for your contributions, Regina.

Just so you know, copying someone else's work without quotation marks or attribution is illegal - it's plagiarism and against copyright law - and can get the site in trouble with the law, not just you.

Protocol here is to use "ex" and "/ex" to enclose your quotes, include a link - and of course, make at least some comment in your own words.

...H ave a good one.

If I was trying to pass it off as my own work, then yes it would be plagiarism. But that is not what I am doing.

This thread is a running tally of news reports of plagues & pestilence. If a source is not given it is from hisz.rsoe.hu...

There, hope that suffices for what I've posted prior to this.

I will use ex-text from here forward.

South Korea 12/30/10

A patient yesterday died from the H1N1 virus, the so-called swine flu which swept nationwide in 2009, at a hospital in the metropolitan region as concerns grew about the spreading of other viruses, including foot-and-mouth disease and avian flu. According to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 29-year old man visited a hospital on Monday complaining of a fever and muscle aches. The next day, it found he was infected with the H1N1 virus and sent him home. The hospital prescribed antibiotics. The patient’s symptoms worsened early Wednesday morning and he was hospitalized. He died later that day. You Dong-sook, a 36-year old actress, died from H1N1 in November after being infected while attending a film festival in Rome. Whether Wednesday’s victim travelled abroad has not been confirmed, the center said. The number of confirmed H1N1 cases in Korea stands at 23 out of 1,000 people, a rate only half that of 2009. The Health Ministry says the virus has weakened enough to be considered only as dangerous as normal influenza.

Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

People are good and healthy around my N american parts.
So,it's strange to see such big outbreaks elsewere.

Originally posted by whipsandchainsamerica
People are good and healthy around my N american parts.
So,it's strange to see such big outbreaks elsewere.

North Americans are affected by just as many plagues/epidemics as other parts of the world, they're just different and not necessarily reported as such. Things like obesity, Aids, Diabetes & Cancer.

Just wait... Asia will be most affected first but it will expand outwards.

North America is also going to be hit by a major natural disaster by the hand of God that will be the tipping point leading to Armageddon.

United Kingdom 12/31/10

The bug which causes Legionnaires’ disease was found at a Sunderland school. Both the gym and pool at Monkwearmouth Comprehensive School were closed after routine tests showed Legionella bacteria levels were above the accepted level. No one contracted the disease and steps were immediately taken to rectify the situation. Richard Smith, Services Manager for Sunderland Council, said: “Water systems in all schools and public buildings are regularly monitored in line with the approved code of practice for water hygiene management. “This includes routinely monitoring the temperature of the water systems, taking samples for testing, and cleansing and disinfecting water systems. “Legionella bacteria are widely found in natural water sources, and it is not unusual to find low levels in the water systems of buildings, particularly older buildings. “Routine tests recently carried out at Monkwearmouth school showed an increase above accepted levels of bacteria – including Legionella. “The school gym and pool were temporarily closed as a precautionary measure, and there was no further evidence found of any bacterial infection. “The gym and pool will reopen as soon as remedial work to restore the water supply to its normal levels is complete.” Mr Smith added that the council liaised with the Health Protection Agency to make sure that all appropriate measures would be taken and that there had been no cases of Legionella-related illness associated with the school. People catch the Legionella bacteria by inhaling small droplets of water suspended in the air, which contain the bacteria. It can affect anybody, but the elderly and those suffering from illness are most susceptible. Legionnaires’ disease was first identified in 1976 after an unusual outbreak of respiratory illness among people attending an American Legion convention in Pennsylvania. However, it is believed that this bacteria existed, but was unidentified, since 1947. In September, a woman needed treatment at Sunderland Royal Hospital after contracting Legionnaires’ while in the East Willows ward, at Cherry Knowle Hospital, Ryhope.

Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Haiti Cholera Update 12/31/10
Source: latino.foxnews.com...

The number of deaths in Haiti from the cholera epidemic afflicting the poverty-stricken nation since mid-October has risen to 3,333, the health ministry said Friday.

CDC: US Flu Deaths Reach Epidemic Level
Source: www.myfoxdetroit.com...

The number of flu cases in the US is on the rise and the proportion of deaths that have resulted from influenza and pneumonia have reached epidemic levels, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday in its weekly report. The data is not unusual for this time of year, with the number of cases typically peaking in January and February, the report said. Influenza cases were reported to be widespread throughout the US, with 13 states and Puerto Rico reporting regional activity, nine states reporting local activity and Washington, D.C., the US Virgin Islands and 23 states reporting sporadic activity.

Bacterial 'epidemic' among Tamil Nadu's elephants
Source: www.elephant.co.uk...

Experts are fearful of an epidemic among the elephant population of Tamil Nadu after six animals died in 15 days of a bacterial disease. According to Daily News and Analysis (DNA), "shocked" forest officials and experts are concerned that the disease could spread around the 5,630 elephants in the near-10,000 square km area in the state at the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula. BK Singh, the principle chief conservator of forests (wildlife), said that postmortem reports on the bodies confirmed that the animals had died from haemorrhagic septicaemia, an acute form of pasturellosis. In Tamil Nadu, this disease is said to be killing elephants in between three and 36 hours, as they contract a high fever and their vital organs fail. Three of the deaths occurred in the Byilore range of Biligiri Rangawildlife sanctuary, with a further three taking place in Satyamanagala range. Their rotting carcasses were found in the forests.

Pakistan in 2010: Blood, Flood and Drones
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com...

Mass migrations to cities and stagnating flood waters proved breeding grounds for the spread of diseases. Pakistan faced one of the worst epidemic of dengue fever in late October and November when thousands fell victim to Aedes aegypti. Death toll remained in the low 30s but infestation spread to all parts of Pakistan, triggering fears that the epidemic might be worse next year. Pakistan reported the highest number of polio infections in a decade with 126 new cases; 64 of these were from the lawless tribal areas where accessibility remains a major hurdle.

Syphilis spikes in Alberta, Canada- health officials looking for solutions
Source: www.examiner.com...

The sexually transmitted infection which was barely heard about anymore a few short years ago is rearing its head in places all over the globe. Here on this web site, I’ve discussed that dramatic increase in cases of the disease from China to North Carolina to Florida. Now it is being reported in the Global Saskatoon that the Canadian province of Alberta is facing an epidemic of syphilis in numbers that are clearly troubling. According to the report, in 1999, there were 2 cases of the spirochete infection in the province. Now a decade later, Alberta has reported 267 cases in 2009 and the outbreak shows no sign of slowing.

Flu levels almost double among children under five
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk...

NHS hospitals struggling to cope with the flu outbreak were on "black alert" yesterday, as figures showed that the number of children under five seriously ill with the disease has doubled in a week.

Follow-up hatchings threaten locust plague relief
Source: www.theage.com.au...

VICTORIAN farmers' hopes of the locust plague easing following recent cool weather have been dashed with the discovery of second-generation locusts hatching in Katunga, north of Shepparton. With the plague swarming south on hot winds in recent days, adult locust activity is now concentrated in a corridor running from Horsham across the state through Bendigo and Shepparton towards Wodonga. Community meetings are scheduled this week in the Grampians, at Halls Gap on Wednesday and Mirranatwa on Thursday. The Department of Primary Industries has staged about 500 such meetings with more than 10,000 attendees preparing to respond to the threat.

Russia 1/2/10
Source: RSOE

A state of emergency has been declared at a farm in Russia's southern republic of Kalmykia over an anthrax outbreak, the regional emergencies department reported on Sunday. Anthrax was detected in the meat of a cow that had been culled on suspicion of the disease at the livestock farm in the Gorodovikovsky district of Kalmykia. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the anthrax virus, the emergencies department said. Overall, 512 head of livestock, 256 head of small cattle, 21 horses and 64 pigs have been vaccinated to contain the spread of the anthrax outbreak in the district, the emergencies department said. Anthrax most commonly infects wild mammals and domestic cattle and sheep, which ingest or inhale the spores while grazing. Humans can be affected when exposed to blood and other tissues from infected animals. Anthrax can be highly lethal, but in some forms it responds well to antibiotic treatment and there are effective vaccines against the disease.

Sweden 1/2/10
Source: RSOE

A 7-year-old boy infected with the H1N1 virus has died marking Sweden's first death linked to swine flu this season, a health official was quoted as saying Saturday. The boy was one of three patients being treated at different intensive-care units in the southern Swedish region of Scania for H1N1 and died Friday, said Per Hagstam of the Scania division of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI). "What (the three) had in common was that they all belonged to the risk group and had for instance other types of complicated illnessess," Hagstam told the local daily Helsingborgs Dagblad. By Dec. 26, 65 people in Sweden were known to have contracted H1N1, which killed 30 Swedes during the last flu season, according to SMI. The World Health Organization declared the swine flu pandemic over in August, more than a year after the virus that emerged from Mexico sparked panic and killed thousands of people around the world before fizzling out.

Arkansas 1/2/10
Source: RSOE

About 1,000 black birds fell from the sky over Beebe on Friday night, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a news release Saturday. Around 11:30 p.m., the commission began receiving phone calls about the birds, most of which were dead and fell over a 1-mile span, the release said. Wildlife officer Robby King collected about 65 dead birds that will be sent to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission lab and the National Wildlife Health Center lab in Madison, Wis. Officers flew over the area and determined no birds had fallen outside that part of the city, the release said. Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said in the release that the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail. Or the birds could have died from stress if disturbed from their roost by fireworks celebrating the New Year. Beebe has hired the commission to dispose of the birds.

Two H1N1 patients hospitalized in Norway
Source: news.xinhuanet.com...

OSLO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A child and an old man have been hospitalized for suspected H1N1 infection in Norwegian hospitals, the Norwegian-language newspaper VG reported on Sunday. The child was hospitalized on Christmas Eve and transferred to Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo the next day while the second patient, a man in his 60s, was admitted to the intensive care unit at a hospital in Drammen on Dec. 30. The condition of the small child is stable while that of the old patient is serious.

Uganda: Over 40 Die of Yellow Fever
Source: allafrica.com...

THE yellow fever death toll in northern Uganda has risen to 48, the director general of Health Services, Dr. Nathan Mugisha, has said. He adds that the number of those infected by the deadly viral disease has also escalated to 190. The epidemic is confined in the 10 northern Uganda districts. Mugisha names the affected districts as Abim, Agago, Lamwo, Pader, Kitgum, Gulu, Arua, Kaabong, Kotido and Lira.

S. Korea reports another 5 cases of FMD
Source: english.yonhapnews.co.kr...

DAEJEON, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea confirmed five additional foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks at two beef cattle farms and a milk cattle farm in provincial areas on Sunday despite nationwide quarantine efforts to contain the spread of the highly contagious animal disease, provincial government officials said. The South Chungcheong provincial government said two milk cows at a farm in the central city of Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, have tested positive for FMD. All 50 animals at the dairy farm have been ordered culled and buried to prevent the spread of FMD, the regional government said, with livestock within a 10km radius of the outbreak not to be moved as a precautionary measure.

Snakes pose added danger to rescue effort in Queensland's flooded areas
Source: www.theaustralian.com.au...

EXTRA snakebite antivenom was airlifted into north Queensland yesterday. Authorities fear residents returning to previously flooded houses will face a plague of deadly reptiles. The snakebite danger was just one of the immediate and challenging health issues facing Queensland Health, which is coping with everything from contaminated water and sewage overflows to having to evacuate more than a dozen pregnant women and establish emergency clinics for stranded residents. State medical director for retrieval services Mark Elcock, who is co-ordinating helicopters and planes to relay patients from flood zones to major hospitals, said the situation posed a significant logistical challenge.

Thousands of dead birds fall out of the sky, North and South America
Source: bigwobblenews.blogspot.com...

Look at the following web service for yourself folks. Something is killing mass amounts of birds and fish worldwide. This is by no means a rare event for the past year. Something is happening. In the military Parakeets are used as early warning system to detect chemical attacks. The following copy and pasted from RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary hisz.rsoe.hu... About 1,000 black birds fell from the sky over Beebe on Friday night, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a news release Saturday. Around 11:30 p.m., the commission began receiving phone calls about the birds, most of which were dead and fell over a 1-mile span, the release said. Wildlife officer Robby King collected about 65 dead birds that will be sent to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission lab and the National Wildlife Health Center lab in Madison, Wis. Officers flew over the area and determined no birds had fallen outside that part of the city, the release said. Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said in the release that the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail. Or the birds could have died from stress if disturbed from their roost by fireworks celebrating the New Year. Beebe has hired the commission to dispose of the birds.

Arkansas 1/3/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

An Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman says dead drum fish now cover a 20-mile section of the Arkansas River near Ozark. Seven teams from the state agency visited the affected portion of the river Friday. Commission spokesman Keith Stephens says an official estimate of how many fish have died is expected on Monday, but he tells the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the number is likely in the hundreds of thousands. The commission determined the fish died in the river from a dam near Ozark to a bridge along State Highway 109 near Clarksville. Stephens says some of the live drum fish were sick and will be sent to a lab at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff for testing. Drum fish are bottom feeders that eat other fish and insects.

Germany 1/3/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Around 1,000 farms are being closed in the German state of Lower Saxony, the state agriculture ministry announced Monday, after high concentrations of dioxin were found in eggs and animal feed. The affected farms are thought to have purchased fat for animal feed that was contaminated with dioxin, the ministry said. The farm closures were a cautionary measure while tests were carried out. The closed farms raise egg-laying chicken, pigs and turkey. Saxony has more than 50,000 farms, the state agriculture ministry said. Reports of high concentration of dioxin in eggs and poultry have risen in the past week after the first anomalous findings were registered mid-December. Last week, up to double the permitted levels of dioxin were found in eggs and chickens in two farms in North Rhine-Westphalia. At one farm, 8,000 laying hens were culled after eating contaminated feed. The regional veterinarian estimated that around 120,000 contaminated eggs had reached the shops, but said several thousand were being returned. While it appeared that the dioxin entered Germany from a Dutch supplier, agriculture authorities in the affected states were investigating how the contaminated fat had reached the farms in the form of animal feed. North German animal feed manufacturer Harles & Jentzsch said a Dutch supplier had delivered contaminated fat, which in turn had emanated from a bio-diesel plant run by Petrotech AG in Germany. Petrotech AG produce the plant-based fatty acid as a by-product in the manufacture of bio-diesel from palm, soya and rapeseed oil. The corporation refused to comment.

Zimbabwe 1/3/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Authorities in Zimbabwe on Monday confirmed an outbreak of cholera in Mbare, one of Harare's oldest suburbs, with at least 20 households having reportedly been affected. The report comes amid fears that the disease may be spreading again across the poverty-stricken country. Portia Munangazira, a doctor and director in Zimbabwe's Ministry of Health, told the German Press Agency dpa Monday that Harare was still struggling to eradicate the pandemic, which claimed over 4,000 lives and affected thousands more nationwide in 2008. 'We leant a lot from the experience of 2008/2009, but we can't stop it (cholera). We still have determinants of cholera,' she said. She noted ongoing problems with water quality and lack of proper waste disposal. A particular problem is sewage flowing into wells for drinking water. Munangazira said it is certain that the sewage is carrying cholera. 'We are worried that there is an outbreak both in urban and rural areas,' she said. Residents in Mbare have told dpa that problems with the sewer system have resulted in raw sewage contaminating drinking water. Last year Zimbabwe recorded 14 deaths due to cholera.

Germany 1/3/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Around 1,000 farms are being closed in the German state of Lower Saxony, the state agriculture ministry announced Monday, after high concentrations of dioxin were found in eggs and animal feed. The affected farms are thought to have purchased fat for animal feed that was contaminated with dioxin, the ministry said. The farm closures were a cautionary measure while tests were carried out. The closed farms raise egg-laying chicken, pigs and turkey. Saxony has more than 50,000 farms, the state agriculture ministry said. Reports of high concentration of dioxin in eggs and poultry have risen in the past week after the first anomalous findings were registered mid-December. Last week, up to double the permitted levels of dioxin were found in eggs and chickens in two farms in North Rhine-Westphalia. At one farm, 8,000 laying hens were culled after eating contaminated feed. The regional veterinarian estimated that around 120,000 contaminated eggs had reached the shops, but said several thousand were being returned. While it appeared that the dioxin entered Germany from a Dutch supplier, agriculture authorities in the affected states were investigating how the contaminated fat had reached the farms in the form of animal feed. North German animal feed manufacturer Harles & Jentzsch said a Dutch supplier had delivered contaminated fat, which in turn had emanated from a bio-diesel plant run by Petrotech AG in Germany. Petrotech AG produce the plant-based fatty acid as a by-product in the manufacture of bio-diesel from palm, soya and rapeseed oil. The corporation refused to comment.

Flu epidemic expected in Bulgaria in January - official
Source: www.sofiaecho.com...

Bulgaria will be hit by a flu epidemic in January 2011, according to Professor Bogdan Petrounov, director of the National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, as reported by Focus news agency on January 4 2011. According to Petrounov, there is currently an increase in recorded flu cases in the country. It is too early, however, to talk of an epidemic. In order for such to be declared by the medical authorities, the cases of infection must reach the benchmark of 200 for 10 000 people. At the moment they are at about 70 people for every 10 000. Bulgaria will be attacked by the now familiar and notorious Swine Flu or H1N1 virus, which will be accompanied by another virus, the so called Perth virus, identified for the first time in Perth, Australia.

The Banana Epidemic
Source: eater.com...

Tropical Race Four is a soil-borne illness that affects the most commonly grown variety of banana, the Cavendish, that has nearly wiped out entire populations of the fruit in Asia and Australia. Experts are keeping their eye on Latin American plantations, the source to America's banana supply: "Americans are snookered. They'd better wake up and realize it, or they're not going to have any bananas to eat." [New Yorker, subs. req'd]

Stara Zagora is nearing epidemic of hepatitis A
Source: www.focus-fen.net...

The town of Stara Zagora is nearing epidemic of hepatitis A. Only in the last few days in the county hospital in Stara Zagora were adopted 150 people, bTV announced. Only today 15 new patients with jaundice were hospitalized. The source of infection is not clear yet. Doctors in Stara Zagora do not remember such a boom of hepatitis for years.

Nepal 1/4/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Typhoid fever broke out with the rise in cold wave in various Village Development Committees (VDCs) and Hetauda municipality of Makawanpur for the past couples of days. Daily 30-35 patients of typhoid visit Hetauda hospital for treatment while 30 patients are being admitted and treated, according to the hospital. Infants, children and elderly people are mostly affected from typhoid in Makawanpur, informed Narsingh Maharjan of the hospital.

Germany 1/4/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Around 1,000 farms are being closed in the German state of Lower Saxony, the state agriculture ministry announced Monday, after high concentrations of dioxin were found in eggs and animal feed. The affected farms are thought to have purchased fat for animal feed that was contaminated with dioxin, the ministry said. The farm closures were a cautionary measure while tests were carried out. The closed farms raise egg-laying chicken, pigs and turkey. Saxony has more than 50,000 farms, the state agriculture ministry said. Reports of high concentration of dioxin in eggs and poultry have risen in the past week after the first anomalous findings were registered mid-December. Last week, up to double the permitted levels of dioxin were found in eggs and chickens in two farms in North Rhine-Westphalia. At one farm, 8,000 laying hens were culled after eating contaminated feed. The regional veterinarian estimated that around 120,000 contaminated eggs had reached the shops, but said several thousand were being returned. While it appeared that the dioxin entered Germany from a Dutch supplier, agriculture authorities in the affected states were investigating how the contaminated fat had reached the farms in the form of animal feed. North German animal feed manufacturer Harles & Jentzsch said a Dutch supplier had delivered contaminated fat, which in turn had emanated from a bio-diesel plant run by Petrotech AG in Germany. Petrotech AG produce the plant-based fatty acid as a by-product in the manufacture of bio-diesel from palm, soya and rapeseed oil. The corporation refused to comment.

Plague of snakes and crocodiles threaten flood-hit Australians
Source: www.mirror.co.uk...

THE “Biblical” flood wreaking havoc in Australia has unleashed a plague of crocs, deadly snakes and spiders. Extra snakebite anti-venom has been airlifted into the city of Rockhampton, one of the worst-hit parts in the state of Queensland. Mayor Brad Carter, said: “Snakes have been swimming at people’s feet as they make their way in the water. “I know one guy killed four snakes this morning, one of which was a Taipan – the more it bites the more it injects venom that could kill.”

Further locust warning
Source: www.abc.net.au...

Farmers in Victoria are being warned to expect more plague locusts. Australian plague locusts which hatched in spring are swarming in central and northern Victoria and have begun laying eggs. The Department of Primary Industries says they've received reports of more than 400 new egg beds, and there has been at least one confirmed hatching of a second generation of locusts. State locust controller John Balfour says most of the egg beds are concentrated in a band that stretches across the middle of the state. "That area does encompass a large number of horticultural properties and it also encompasses irrigated dairy properties with vulnerable pastures." "There are certainly enterprises in that area that could be severely adversely affected."

Third World farmers and the great rat plague
Source: westernfarmpress.com...

“Over the past 3 years, major rat outbreaks have led to staggering impacts on the lives of poor farmers in Asia,” said Dr. Grant Singleton, rodent expert at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). “Moreover, rodent outbreaks across Asia’s rice farms are getting increasingly worse.”

Mysterious killing of fish in coastal
Source: www.parana-online.com.br...

A survey conducted by the Federation of Fishermen's Colony of Paraná, Paranaguá on the coast of the state, indicates that at least 100 tons of fish (sardine, croaker and catfish) have turned up dead since last Thursday off the coast of Parana.

New Zealand 1/4/11
Source: RSOE

Fisheries officials are investigating the death of hundreds of snapper washed up on Coromandel Peninsula beaches. Beachgoers at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay found the fish - many with their eyes missing - dead on the sand yesterday. Aucklander James Hughes, who was visiting friends, said they were sitting around when children in their group ran towards them holding fish. "We said, 'Where'd you get them?' and they said they just started floating up to the beach." Mr Hughes and others on the beach began walking towards the spot where the fish had washed up, and found many dead fish in the water too. "We spoke to boaties coming in and they said there was a carpet of them floating in the water." A Department of Conservation official told Mr Hughes fish in the Coromandel area were starving because of weather conditions. "That's just completely untrue. This was something deliberate and it's just wrong," Mr Hughes said. Ministry of Fisheries official Brendon Mikkelsen said the fish had been in the water for at least 12 hours and would be unsafe to eat. Last night, another ministry official said the matter was being investigated. It would be illegal to deliberately dump snapper, but there could be an innocent explanation, such as a net splitting.

Louisiana 1/4/11
Source: RSOE

Motorists stopped and gawked at hundreds of dead red-winged blackbirds on a highway in Pointe Coupee Parish, La., Monday, just days after residents of Beebe, Ark., saw more than 1,000 birds fall from the sky on New Year's Eve. On Monday, state biologists were gathering up some of the approximately 500 blackbirds and starlings that lay dead along Louisiana Route 1 near Pointe Coupee Central High School for testing. The United States Geological Survey has noted 16 incidents in the past 30 years where more than 1,000 black birds have died at the same time, usually the result of tightly-packed flocks flying into bad weather. What's more, more than 5 billion birds die of natural causes in the United States each year, so it is, in a way, unusual that Americans don't witness more major bird kills. Yet the use of improved testing and a state of heightened concern on the parts of state ornithologists is a proper response, even if the two bird kills had not come so close together, experts say. "Birds can be really good indicators of environmental problems, so I'd hate to think that 5,000 would die and nobody would care," says Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation at the National Audobon Society, in Washington. "It's worth investigation to find out what happened because there is potentially something we should worry about and it's potentially something that has an odd, but benign cause." Americans have theorized that everything from fallout from secret government weapons testing to UFO collisions downed the birds in Arkansas. But the newly-discovered bird rain in Louisiana is likely to focus more serious attention to the plight of blackbirds now bundled in winter flocks that can number over 100,000 birds. Postmortem tests of birds in the Arkansas incident showed evidence of blunt force trauma to many of the victims, which Mr. Butcher says means that it's likely the birds were spooked by New Year's Eve fireworks and may, in mass confusion, have run into cars and houses. Since blackbirds are considered a nuisance by farmers, the mass death in Louisiana could be attributable to a legal pest control effort. Pest control experts kill blackbird roosts in several ways, including spraying water on birds to induce hypothermia or by using legal poisons. Most such poisons work quickly, but a botched control attempt could mean that birds may have flown away from the roost and died nearby.

Woman reports dozens of dead birds in her yard (KY.)
Source: www.wpsdlocal6.com...

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. — Near her car, a dead bird. A quick walk to her mailbox, another. Scattered across her front yard, a local woman discovered dozens of dead birds. "I've never seen anything like it. Never," Sandy said of the discovery. Sandy, who asked we not share her last name, first noticed the birds several days ago but cleaned them up, not thinking twice. "I have outdoor pets and just assumed they were bringing them from around the neighborhood." But when she noticed more birds Monday morning, she panicked, "I had just seen the story on the news about the birds in Arkansas and I was scared." In fact, 3,000 blackbirds seemed to fall from the sky there- starting last Friday. Autopsies have since ruled out poisoning. One top biologist from Cornell University said the birds were "....probably asleep in a single tree when a washing machine-type thunderstorm sucked them up into the air, disoriented them, and even fatally soaked and chilled them."

Hundreds of snapper wash up on beaches
Source: www.stuff.co.nz...

Hundreds of dead snapper have washed up on Coromandel beaches, leaving holidaymakers perplexed. People at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay, on the north-east of the peninsula, were stunned when children came out of the sea with armfuls of the fish and within minutes the shore was littered with them. Charlotte Pearsall, whose family have lived at Little Bay for the last 30 years, said she had never seen anything like it. ''It was so surreal,'' she said. ''It's such an incredible waste - it could've fed the whole northern tip of the Coromandel.'' People with binoculars said the snapper stretched as far as they could see and boaties reported ''a carpet of floating fish further out to sea all along the coast''.

Hundreds more birds found dead, this time in Louisiana
Source: content.usatoday.com...

Three days after thousands of blackbirds were found dead in Arkansas, some 500 red-winged-blackbirds and starlings were found dead along a quarter-mile stretch of highway in Louisiana, hundreds of miles to the south. The Associated Press reports that the latest dead birds were found Monday near Labarre, about 300 miles south of Beebe, Ark., where thousands of birds fell from the sky on New Year's Eve. State biologists are sending some of the Louisiana birds for testing in Georgia and Wisconsin. Preliminary necropsies on the dead birds in Arkansas "showed trauma," said Karen Rowe, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ornithologist. "The birds obviously hit something very hard and had hemorrhages." Beyond that, all the birds were healthy.

'Very large' fish kill reported in bay
Source: www.baltimoresun.com...

State officials say they are investigating a "very large" fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay, but suspect cold temperatures killed them, rather than any water-quality problems. An estimated 2 million fish have been reported dead from the Bay Bridge south to Tangier Sound, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which investigates fish kills. The dead fish are primarily adult spot, with some juvenile croakers.

10,000s of Birds found dead in Manitoba
Source: ______beforeitsnews/story/336/601/10,000s_of_Birds_found_dead_in_Manitoba.html

Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada. Officials from Health Canada are scrambling to deal with the sudden death of 10′s of thousands of wild birds somewhere in the province. Officials dodged local reporters who were removed from outside the Level-4 Canada Science center. Local reports have circulated that an extremely virulent strain of bird flu has infected both wild and farm birds. At the same time an extremely aggressive winter flu has hit Canada sometime in December and mortality rates are expected to rise alarmingly in vulnerable populations.

Look to the skies and the waters and the new curse being brought upon this planet as calamity occurs in revoking Yahweh’s previous commandment concerning this:

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

Ecclesiastes 9:12 “For man certainly does not know his time: like fish caught in a cruel net, or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time, as it suddenly falls on them.”

Mankind has proved itself to be in Satan’s image. Mankind has been revoked of any rule over the animal kingdom as Yahweh brings devastation to the wildlife as a preview of what mankind can expect to rain down upon itself and surface from the depths of a poisoned planet. The rain of dead fowl and sea life coming to the surface will reveal the stagnation of mankind’s own future fate. The curse coupled with plague is ever widening on this planet. Only a remnant will survive what has come in upon this planet.

Look for entire towns being swallowed up by the earth as Yahweh’s curse against mankind seeks to free this planet from Satan’s grip. The curse was removed from the earth after the great flood. but not from mankind. Now the curse on them has gone into full swing. The elite holy angelic army, the Lions of Zion, will soon challenge the governments of this planet for air supremacy. Past power passed to them by Satan will then be revoked as they are also cut to the ground like their father.

Numbers 16:32 “The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people, and all [their] possessions.”

Exodus 15:12 “You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them.”

Isaiah 9:16 “The leaders of the people mislead [them], and those they mislead are swallowed up.”

Isaiah 14:12 “Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground.”

Satan will soon lose air supremacy over this planet’s skies.

Isaiah 54:16 “Look, I have created the craftsman who blows on the charcoal fire and produces a weapon suitable for its task; and I have created the destroyer to work havoc.”

Israel 1/5/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Three people have died, 14 in critical condition as deadly flu spreads mainly through central Israel. Hospitals were swamped Wednesday morning with patients seeking treatment for the swine flu, which hit Israel for the second sequential winter. The Health Ministry announced Wednesday morning that 14 people had been hospitalized in critical condition, among them six children. Three people have already died from the flu this year, including a 15-year old boy who appeared healthy but succumbed to the disease within a single day. Idan Levy's death was said to have sparked a panic, and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv bore the brunt of it late Tuesday night. Patients arrived in droves, carrying children displaying flu symptoms, and many found themselves waiting for a spare bed for up to four hours. Central Israel was hit hardest this year, according to the ministry's data, with 3,043 people seeking treatment, while Jerusalem was least affected, with just 457 people seeking medical assistance. More than 8,000 people altogether have had symptoms, the ministry said.

Sri Lanka 1/5/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

More than 150 people were treated for food poisoning at the Negombo hospital yesterday morning, Dr. Sanath Galgamuwa, Medical Superintendent of the hospital told Daily Mirror online. He added that 35 persons were admitted to the medical ward of the hospital while 120 persons received treatment at the OPD. The reason for the food poisoning is suspected to be food served at a garment factory for an event held the day before.

Florida 1/5/11
Source: hisz.rsoe.hu...

Thousands of dead fish are floating in Volusia County Tuesday. They were all in Spruce Creek in Port Orange. The fish kill is unusual, according to people who live along the creek, because it's warm. It's been a week since there were freezing temperatures, but there are fish lining the banks. Some said it's the worst kill they've ever seen; thousands of fish lined the twists and turns of Spruce Creek. The sheer number of fish and the smell were both overwhelming. "It was fun last night trying to sleep with the smell going on," said resident Sunny Morningstar. "Even with your windows closed and everything?" WFTV reporter Jason Allen asked. "Yes, yes," Morningstar said. Buzzards and pelicans flocked to the site Tuesday and swarmed above the water. They filled trees and private boat docks and waited at the water's edge for an easy meal. Kayakers on the creek told WFTV, that during their five-hour paddle, they'd seen fish around every bend and it appeared to be one of the most extensive kills they had seen. "This looks a little worse than last year, at least this area. I don't remember this being that populated as it is this time," resident Mike Kovach said. The Fish and Wildlife Commission was aware of the kill. A representative said it started last week. The representative blamed last week's cold temperatures and speculated the kill wasn't growing, but that winds were causing fish to just pile up. Most of the fish were mullet, ladyfish and catfish, and not the valuable sporting fish called snook that died in mass during a cold spell last year. Residents told WFTV the fish kill is big enough that it's attracting brown and white pelicans from the beach, which are birds they rarely see this far inland.

Floods unleash plagues
Source: www.thenewage.co.za...

Australia Residents fled their homes and sandbagged properties yesterday as a major town was threatened by a flood disaster, which unleashed a plague of snakes and crocodiles. Tens of thousands of people in Rockhampton braced themselves for complete isolation as waters that have inundated an area bigger than France and Germany, and closed the town’s airport and railway, lapped at the last remaining road link. Tales of crocodile sightings swept the besieged cattle-farming centre northeast of Brisbane, with a population of 75000, while snakes up to 2m long were spotted around the town centre. The snakes, including highly venomous taipans, brown snakes and red-bellied blacks, were climbing trees and hiding in people’s houses as they searched for dry refuge, residents said.

Next comes the rat plague
Source: www.theaustralian.com.au...

KANGAROOS, snakes and other native animals escaping Queensland floodwaters now find themselves sharing higher ground with humans and livestock. While the increased presence of venomous creatures has added another element of danger to the rising floods, in the long term there is also the threat of rat plagues as some species thrive where others have either been killed off or forcibly relocated.

Threat of mouse plague in SA
Source: www.abc.net.au...

Farmers in South Australia are reminded to take extra precautions this year to control mice and reduce the threat of another plague. Greg Mutze from Biosecurity SA says mice numbers could explode again this year due to later rains, poor harvest conditions and summer weeds providing food for the pests. He says last year's high mouse numbers through most cereal growing areas in SA could be seen again. "Quite a number of people are reporting that we are seeing more mice around than usual so it's likely that they've got a higher starting population going into the cropping cycle that we are currently in and the build up towards next autumn and winter is starting off form a slightly higher base level and so that also increases the risk."

Death toll nears 3,500 from cholera epidemic in Haiti
Source: www.monstersandcritics.com...

Port-au-Prince - Health officials said 3,481 people had died from cholera in Haiti in less than three months of the epidemic that is not yet under control. Haiti's Health Ministry said it had recorded 157,300 cases of infection since the outbreak in October. It said an average of 22 people were dying each day by the end of the year, down from a previous daily high of 60.

Roof Rats Big Problem in Yakima, Washington
Source: www.pctonline.com...

YAKIMA, Wash. — Pests always come in cycles but for 2010 the big problem in Yakima, Wash., was roof rats. Action News discovered these little guys can do big damage. Last year they were found to be the cause of at least one major fire. Roof rats historically know for spreading the black plague are now spreading in Yakima. Pest control expert Dan Nyssen said from 2009 to 2010 he has seen business for rodents in Yakima more than double.

Bulgarian Govt Assuages Fears over Hepatitis Epidemic
Source: www.novinite.com...

As the number of hepatitis A cases in Southeastern Bulgaria grew in the past couple of days, the government has declared there was no need to “dramatize” the situation. On Wednesday, Bulgaria’s Health Minister Stefan Konstantinov announced the exact number of hepatitis cases – 142 in Stara Zagora, 26 in Kazanlak, 16 in Chirpan, 15 in Galabovo. Konstantinov says only the Stara Zagora municipality has an “epidemic situation” but the people who have the virus actually got infected a month ago.

3 children dead, over 30 sickened as measles outbreak hits flooded S. Philippines
Source: news.xinhuanet.com...

DAVAO CITY, Philippines, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least three children have died in a measles outbreak that hit two towns in southern Philippines, local authorities on Wednesday said. The measles epidemic that hit Talaingod and Kapalong towns in Mindanao's Davao del Norte province came as the region is still reeling from rain-induced flooding and landslides that have already killed at least 15 people. Over thirty people are also hospitalized due to the viral disease, and eight of them were confirmed to have contracted the disease, according to Basilio Libayao, mayor of the upland Talaingod town. "What alarmed us was that even our town physician was not spared from the disease although he was lucky to have recovered from it," Libayao said.

Croatia: Swine Flu Cases Rise to 150
Source: www.balkaninsight.com...

Croatian doctors think that the 150 patients suffering from the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, represent only a tenth of the real number of cases. 59,000 individuals were infected with this strain of flu in 2010, and officials worry that this year's epidemic has just begun.

440 malaria cases in Limpopo
Source: www.iol.co.za...

At least 440 cases of malaria have been reported in Limpopo, provincial health department spokesman Cecil Motsepe said on Wednesday. “During the last two weeks, an increase in the notification of malaria cases was observed in Limpopo. “This increase is mostly confined to the known malaria high-risk areas; the north-eastern parts of Vhembe district and eastern Mopani.” Three people died from malaria in the Musina, Donald Fraser and Malamulele hospitals last week

Two million off sick after New Year break
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk...

Nearly two million workers called in sick on the first day back after the New Year break, with the number of people struck down by a cold or flu increasing by 12 percent. The cost to the economy is estimated to have been some £302 million, the research showed. Of those calling in sick on Tuesday, 275,000 blamed a cold, cough or flu for their absence, at a cost of £45 million, and 12 per cent up on last year.

Foot-And-Mouth Disease continues to spread through South Korea
Source: www.cattlenetwork.com... EST_NEWS_

OL News reports South Korea is experiencing its worst foot-and-mouth disease outbreak ever as it has spread to an additional three cattle farms and one pig farm, bringing the total known cases to 85. The highly contagious virus continues to spread throughout South Korea despite the nationwide quarantine effort. The first FMD case was discovered in Andong on November 28. The virus has reached five of the nine provinces in South Korea and resulted in the culling of over 778,850 animals on 2,769 farms. The current outbreak has resulted in more deaths than the previous worst epidemic, in 2002, when 160,000 animals were killed. The country will issue vaccines to 700,000 cattle in an effort to keep its beef industry intact. Pigs, which are more commonly raised on larger farms than cattle, may also receive shots.

Dozens of jackdaws found dead in Sweden
Source: news.yahoo.com...

TOCKHOLM – Officials say about 50 birds have been found dead on a street in Sweden. Veterinarian Robert ter Horst says the cause of jackdaws' deaths was unclear but that fireworks were set off near the scene Tuesday night. The birds were found dead on Wednesday.

Now East Texas also reports hundreds of dead birds
Source: www.allvoices.com...

Texans are observing hundreds of dead birds on an East Texas bridge, according to a breaking report by KLTV in Tyler. This latest discovery compounds the mystery of recent reported discoveries of dozens, hundreds, even thousands of dead birds and fish documented in the southern United States as well as dead wildlife reports in other parts of the world this week.

40,000 'devil' crabs wash up on Kent coast
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk...

Thousands of dead crabs have washed up along the Kent coast, with environmental experts believing the cold weather in Britain is to blame. The Velvet swimming crabs - also called devil crabs - are thought to be victims of Britain's coldest December in 120 years, which left sea temperatures much lower than average. More than 40,000 of the crabs - Britain's largest swimming crab - are littering beaches around Thanet, along with smaller numbers of whelks, sponges and anemones. Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk...

Dead Birds Reported by Residents in Southern Illinois
Source: www.associatedcontent.com...

Dead birds falling from the sky have made headlines in Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana, but residents around Marion, Illinois have also found dead birds in recent days. A cluster of households in the same family that living close together in rural Marion reported finding dead birds in their yards around the same time as the Beebe, AR dead birds.