Sri Lanka Dengue Outbreak Kills 250, Infects 85,000

Dengue cases in S-L increased 4.3 times compared with recent average

Ministry of Health (MoH) Sri Lanka has reported an increase in the number of dengue cases in the country this year. As many as 85,000 dengue cases, including 250 deaths, have been reported by MoH so far  this year (to July 7, 2017). The number of cases this year has reportedly increased by 4.3 times more than the average number of cases for the same period between 2010 and 2016, said WHO.

“The current dengue fever outbreak occurs in a context of massive heavy rains and flooding and is currently affecting 15 out of 25 districts in Sri Lanka where almost 600,000 people have been affected. Heavy monsoon rains, public failure to clear rain-soaked garbage, standing water pools and other potential breeding grounds for mosquito larvae attribute to the higher number of cases reported in urban and suburban areas.”

Risk Assessment (WHO)

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection caused by four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4). Infection with one serotype provides long-term immunity to the homologous serotype but not to the other serotypes; secondary infections put people at greater risk for severe dengue fever and dengue shock syndrome.

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the vectors widely adapted to urban and suburban environments. Dengue fever is endemic in Sri Lanka, and occurs every year, usually soon after rainfall is optimal for mosquito breeding. However DENV-2 has been identified only in low numbers since 2009 and is reportedly over 50% of current specimens which have been serotyped.

The current dengue epidemic is likely to have repercussions on public health in Sri Lanka.

• Additional information available via FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Mutant Mosquito Swarms to Be Unleashed in Florida

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,190 Days Left 

[December 8, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,190 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 ...

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes? What could possibly go wrong?!

Aedes aegypti, aka the yellow fever mosquito, is a vector for transmitting several tropical disease viruses including dengue fever, Chikungunya (CHIKV) and yellow fever.

This 2006 photograph depicts a female Aedes aegypti mosquito as she acquires  a blood meal from her human host, the biomedical photographer, James Gathany, at the Centers for Disease Control.  Dengue fever is caused by four virus strains spread by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. (Photo Credit: James Gathany/University of Notre Dame).

• Dengue fever is a virus-caused tropical disease that is spread by mosquitoes, especially Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

• Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are an invasive, domestic species with tropical and subtropical worldwide distribution that originated in Africa.

• The mosquito aquatic cycle, the life cycle from egg to larvae, pupae, and to an adult mosquito, takes 7-8 days and occurs in water.

• The life span for adult mosquitoes is about 3-4 weeks.

• Only the female mosquito bites for blood, which she needs to produce eggs.

• Female mosquitoes lay dozens of eggs up to 5 times during their life time.

• Florida scientists have proposed to unleash swarms of genetically modified male mosquitoes into the ecosystem in the hope that the mutant mosquitoes, ‘dubbed Frankenflies,’ would mate with healthy females and pass on their lab-engineered deadly birth defects.

• A Florida Keys resident has posted a petition, “Say No to Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Release in the Florida Keys,” on Change.org.

• “Even though the local community in the Florida Keys has spoken – we even passed an ordinance demanding more testing – Oxitec is trying to use a loophole by applying to the FDA for an ‘animal bug’ patent. This could mean these mutant mosquitoes could be released at any point against the wishes of locals and the scientific community. We need to make sure the FDA does not approve Oxitec’s patent.” The petition says.“Nearly all experiments with genetically-modified crops have eventually resulted in unintended consequences: superweeds more resistant to herbicides, mutated and resistant insects also collateral damage to ecosystems. A recent news story reported that the monarch butterfly population is down by half in areas where Roundup Ready GM crops are doused with ultra-high levels of herbicides that wipe out the monarch’s favorite milkweed plant.”

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

State of emergency in Marshall Islands as dengue outbreak spirals

Warmer, wetter weather boosting spread of mosquito-borne infectious diseases

Marshall Islands declare state of emergency as dengue fever outbreak spreads

Health officials in Majuro, Marshall Islands have declared a state of emergency as the outbreak of dengue fever cases doubles in two days.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 29

[October 29, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,600 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Majuro, Marshall Islands. The first case of dengue fever, an infectious tropical disease, was diagnosed at Majuro Hospital last week. The reported cases have now spiraled to at least 63, doubling in the past two days.
• Dengue fever is a virus-caused disease that is spread by mosquitoes.
• The disease’s flu-like symptoms include fatigue, fever, headache, nausea, swollen lymph nodes, vomiting, muscle aches, joint pains and a skin rash that resembles measles.
• The infection can develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, or result in dengue shock syndrome, leading to dangerously low blood pressure.
• Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a severe, potentially deadly infection spread by certain species of mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus).
• Symptoms of DHF are similar to  to those of dengue fever, but after several days the symptoms are followed by a shock -like state.
• Shock could cause death.
• DHF has killed hundreds of people in Pakistan, India, China and other SE Asian countries this year so far.
• Increases in temperature, precipitation, and humidity are exponentially boosting vector abundance and disease incidences throughout the world.

• Lahore, Pakistan. At least 31,036 cases of dengue fever have been recorded in Lahore alone, a report said.
•  Pakistan’s Health Department has “confirmed four deaths, including two from Lahore, due to Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) during the last 24 hours, which brought total figure of deaths to 290 in Punjab and 253 in Lahore.”
• “The dengue fever claimed four more lives on Friday, which brought the death count to 317 in the provincial metropolis.” Said the report.
• USA. Mosquito-Borne Dengue Fever Threat Spreading in the Americas: Dengue Fever Vulnerability in the United States

Dengue vulnerability in the United States. Among the social and environmental factors that increase community vulnerability to dengue and other infectious diseases are poor municipal infrastructure and frequent storm damage to homes. Red areas of the map show U.S. counties that have reported the presence of one or both of the mosquito species (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) that can potentially transmit dengue fever; blue regions highlight the area encompassing most of the positive counties. Numbers of suspected cases of dengue infection reported from 1995–2005, inclusive, are shown below each state name. Reported counts of suspected dengue fever cases are also included for the six Mexican states that border the United States. Source: NRDC

• Global Impact. Dengue fever and its complications cause about 100 million infections, resulting in  500,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths annually in over 100 countries.
• Dengue incidences have multiplied by 30-fold in less than 5 decades globally.
• The worst hit areas are India, Pakistan, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Africa.
• Currently, about 2.5 people are at risk of for dengue because of climate change.
• “Epidemic outbreaks during 2007 in Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Guyana affected hundreds of thousands,” NRDC report said.
• About 56 percent of Americans (175 million people, as of posting) live in counties where one or both of the mosquito species that can transmit dengue fever have become established.

Related Links

• Dengue fever toll climbs to 162
• Measles Outbreaks Continue in Canada, New Zealand, Europe

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar