Armyworms March across Southern Africa Plaguing Crop Fields

• CJ Members

Outbreaks of Armyworms across Southern Africa threaten crops in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe

• An outbreak of armyworms has plagued Malawi, spreading across the southern African country and threatening maize and other crops.
• Malawi is the third country in the region to be invaded by armyworms.

• Details of Alert are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

14 Million Face Hunger in Southern Africa

Southern Africa’s planting window closes with little or no prospect of rain

About 14 million people in southern Africa are facing hunger after a poor harvest last year caused by prolonged periods of drought.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) says it is increasingly concerned about food security for an estimated 14 million people in southern Africa after prolonged periods of drought led to a poor harvest in 2015.

The window for the planting of cereals is closing rapidly, or already closed in some countries, with little or no rain falling in many areas, and the outlook is alarming, said WFP.

“Driving through southern Zambia, I saw fields of crops severely stressed from lack of water and met farmers who are struggling to cope with a second season of erratic rains,” said WFP Executive Director who recently visited to drought-prone southern Zambia. “Zambia is one of the biggest breadbaskets in the region and what’s happening there gives serious cause for concern not only for Zambia itself but all countries in the region.”

Worst affected in the region by last year’s poor rains are Malawi (2.8 million people facing hunger), Madagascar (nearly 1.9 million people) and Zimbabwe (1.5 million) where last year’s harvest was reduced by half compared to the previous year because of massive crop failure.

In Lesotho, the government last month declared a drought emergency and some 650,000 people – one third of the population – do not have enough food. In Lesotho as elsewhere, water is in extremely short supply for both crops and livestock. Also causing concern are Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland.

Food prices across southern Africa have been rising due to reduced production and availability. The price of maize – the staple for most of the region – is 73 percent higher in Malawi than the three-year average for this time of year.

“One particularly worrying symptom of southern Africa’s vulnerability to food and nutrition security is the alarming rate of chronic malnutrition. Levels of stunting among children in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia are among the worst in the world. This affects children’s physical growth, cognitive development, as well as their future health and productivity,” said the report.

 

Significant Earthquake Strikes Central Africa

M 5.1 Quake Strikes LAKE MWERU REGION, CONGO-ZAMBIA Border

Centered at 9.65S, 28.60E the quake occurred at a depth of about 2km, Emsc reported.

Earthquake Details
Magnitude: 5.1mb
Region LAKE MWERU REGION, CONGO-ZAMBIA
Date time: 2015-08-19 at 22:15:45.6 UTC
Location: 9.65S, 28.60E
Depth: 2km
Distances:

• 254 km NE of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo [pop: 1,373,770]
• 174 km N of Mansa, Zambia [pop: 42,277]
• 37 km SW of Nchelenge, Zambia [pop: 23,693]

Viral hemorrhagic fever kills 4 in Johannesburg

Killer virus in South Africa identified

South African health officials  have identified a viral hemorrhagic fever which killed four people in Johannesburg. They believe the bug is a new strain of the deadly arenavirus.

Vero E6 tissue culture cell infected with an arenavirus.  Image shows extracellular virus particles budding from the cell surface.  Magnification approx. 12,000 times. Image courtesy Cynthia Goldsmith, MS, Infectious Disease Pathology Activity, DVRD, NCID, CDC.

Epidemic curve of cases of infection with an arenavirus, South Africa, September – October 2008. Source: Special Pathogens Unit and Epidemiology Division, NICD; Gauteng Provincial Outbreak Response Team and partners; SA-FELTP residents; Department of Anatomical Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand and the National Health Laboratory Service. Image may be subject to copyright.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified the new strain, which has not been named yet.  that has yet to be named, said Barry Schoub, executive director of the National Insititute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

“The virus is new in terms of its genetic make up and there is currently no vaccine against it, [and has] high lethal potential for humans.” said Barry Schoub, executive director of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

South Africa’s department of health first identified the disease in a woman who was airlifted from Zambia to a Johannesburg hospital in September, 2008. AFP reported.

The female patient, a member of the medical staff who accompanied her, a nurse and a hospital cleaner who came into contact with her, later died.

“A last person who is currently under observation at a hospital is responding well to (anti-viral) treatment,” said Janusz Paweska, head of a special pathogens unit at NICD.

What are the Arenaviridae? (Source CDC)

The Arenaviridae are a family of viruses whose members are generally associated with rodent-transmitted disease in humans. Each virus usually is associated with a particular rodent host species in which it is maintained. Arenavirus infections are relatively common in humans in some areas of the world and can cause severe illnesses.

The virus particles are spherical and have an average diameter of 110-130 nanometers. All are enveloped in a lipid (fat) membrane. Viewed in cross-section, they show grainy particles that are ribosomes acquired from their host cells. It is this characteristic that gave them their name, derived from the Latin “arena,” which means “sandy.” Their genome, or genetic material, is composed of RNA only, and while their replication strategy is not completely understood, we know that new viral particles, called virions, are created by budding from the surface of their hosts’ cells. (Source: CDC).  Fact Sheet (PDF)

Related Links

• National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD)
• Arenaviridae