- Email: [email protected]
Tick virus warning
US EPA
UPFRONT
US oil pipeline’s big leak MORE than a quarter of a million gallons of petrol have spilled into a pond in central Alabama after an underground pipeline ruptured earlier this month. The pipeline shuttles 1.3 million barrels of fuel across the US every day. It has now been shut off and the governors of several states have declared a state of emergency to allow fuel truck drivers to drive longer shifts to prevent shortages. The fuel has run into a defunct mining retention pool, which feeds a creek that flows into the Cahaba river, a couple of kilometres away, home to dozens of rare and threatened species. The fuel hasn’t yet made it to the river, says Chris Smith at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
“Currently it seems to be contained,” Smith says. “There are, no doubt, some threats, but right now there doesn’t seem to be any significant impact on the Cahaba river or the tributary.” The river is the longest undammed river in Alabama, and preserves the unique ecology of the region, Smith says. That includes 13 species found only in the Cahaba, as well as the largest known patch of Cahaba lilies, ethereal white flowers that grow in shallow, fast-moving water, and which are already threatened by dam construction. “We didn’t dodge a bullet, we dodged a howitzer hit,” says Myra Crawford at Cahaba Riverkeeper, an environmental organisation dedicated to protecting the river.
–Contained so far–
Tick virus warning PEOPLE in Spain have been warned to take precautions against a fatal disease that has reached the country. Hikers, farm workers and hospital staff could all be at risk of catching CrimeanCongo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), which causes diarrhoea, vomiting and heavy bleeding. Spread by ticks, CCHF can be fatal for 30 per cent of those who catch it. Last month, two people in Spain caught the disease – the first instance of local transmission of CCHF in western Europe.
“When people come into contact with ticks and crush them, the virus can get through the skin” In its report on the two cases, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Solna, Sweden, concluded that the virus was probably brought to Spain by ticks hitching a ride on birds migrating from Morocco or other areas of North Africa. “We are targeting risk exposure groups such as livestock farmers 6 | NewScientist | 24 September 2016
and hunters who frequently come into contact with animals,” says Herve Zeller at the disease-control centre. “They can be in contact with ticks, and by crushing them it can allow the virus through their skin,” he says. The first infection was of a hiker walking in the Ávila region of Spain, who died. A healthcare worker who helped treat the hiker in Madrid also caught it from him. The healthcare worker had severe symptoms but is now showing signs of recovery, and is no longer being kept in preventative isolation. CCHF is endemic in a sweep of territories covering north-west China, India, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. Although mostly spread by Hyalomma ticks, the virus can also be transmitted through contact with infected blood. The Spanish cases suggest the disease could spread in the southern countries of western Europe. Sampling of farm and wild animals in recent years has identified ticks carrying the virus in the Spanish province of Cáceres, which borders Portugal.
Space base launch CHINA has launched its second space station, and a two-member crew is to follow next month. The launch of Tiangong-2 is another step towards China’s goal of a selfsustaining space station by 2022, and a reminder of the nation’s space prowess. Chinese officials announced that a Long March 2F rocket launched Tiangong-2 from China’s Gobi Desert at 2204 local time, coinciding with the lunar Mid-Autumn Festival.
Tiangong-2 will manoeuvre into orbit about 380 kilometres above Earth, then change to 393 kilometres in October when a Shenzhou-11 capsule arrives carrying two astronauts, who will live on the station for 30 days. Despite its small size, Tiangong-2 is an important precursor to a larger space station that China aims to launch in the next six years. It’s not all political posturing. Tiangong-2 carries 14 experiments, including atmospheric sensing instruments that can detect air pollution.
Double extinction looming CHINA is not doing enough to save the world’s smallest porpoise, the vaquita – just 60 animals remain. That’s according to a report by non-profit organisation the Environmental Investigation Agency. The critically endangered porpoise is only found in the Gulf of California. It often gets tangled in gill nets targeting the totoaba, a similarly sized fish that is also endangered and whose fishing and international trade are banned.
Swim bladders from the totoaba, known as “aquatic cocaine”, are sought for their putative medicinal properties, and can fetch tens of thousands of dollars in China. The trade still thrives there, despite a fall in prices and the ban, according to the EIA. “Open illegal trade in Chinese markets clearly shows the lack of enforcement,” says Clare Perry, head of the agency’s Oceans campaign. “If we don’t stop the illegal trade, this will be a dual extinction.”
UPFRONT
US oil pipeline’s big leak MORE than a quarter of a million gallons of petrol have spilled into a pond in central Alabama after an underground pipeline ruptured earlier this month. The pipeline shuttles 1.3 million barrels of fuel across the US every day. It has now been shut off and the governors of several states have declared a state of emergency to allow fuel truck drivers to drive longer shifts to prevent shortages. The fuel has run into a defunct mining retention pool, which feeds a creek that flows into the Cahaba river, a couple of kilometres away, home to dozens of rare and threatened species. The fuel hasn’t yet made it to the river, says Chris Smith at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
“Currently it seems to be contained,” Smith says. “There are, no doubt, some threats, but right now there doesn’t seem to be any significant impact on the Cahaba river or the tributary.” The river is the longest undammed river in Alabama, and preserves the unique ecology of the region, Smith says. That includes 13 species found only in the Cahaba, as well as the largest known patch of Cahaba lilies, ethereal white flowers that grow in shallow, fast-moving water, and which are already threatened by dam construction. “We didn’t dodge a bullet, we dodged a howitzer hit,” says Myra Crawford at Cahaba Riverkeeper, an environmental organisation dedicated to protecting the river.
–Contained so far–
Tick virus warning PEOPLE in Spain have been warned to take precautions against a fatal disease that has reached the country. Hikers, farm workers and hospital staff could all be at risk of catching CrimeanCongo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), which causes diarrhoea, vomiting and heavy bleeding. Spread by ticks, CCHF can be fatal for 30 per cent of those who catch it. Last month, two people in Spain caught the disease – the first instance of local transmission of CCHF in western Europe.
“When people come into contact with ticks and crush them, the virus can get through the skin” In its report on the two cases, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Solna, Sweden, concluded that the virus was probably brought to Spain by ticks hitching a ride on birds migrating from Morocco or other areas of North Africa. “We are targeting risk exposure groups such as livestock farmers 6 | NewScientist | 24 September 2016
and hunters who frequently come into contact with animals,” says Herve Zeller at the disease-control centre. “They can be in contact with ticks, and by crushing them it can allow the virus through their skin,” he says. The first infection was of a hiker walking in the Ávila region of Spain, who died. A healthcare worker who helped treat the hiker in Madrid also caught it from him. The healthcare worker had severe symptoms but is now showing signs of recovery, and is no longer being kept in preventative isolation. CCHF is endemic in a sweep of territories covering north-west China, India, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. Although mostly spread by Hyalomma ticks, the virus can also be transmitted through contact with infected blood. The Spanish cases suggest the disease could spread in the southern countries of western Europe. Sampling of farm and wild animals in recent years has identified ticks carrying the virus in the Spanish province of Cáceres, which borders Portugal.
Space base launch CHINA has launched its second space station, and a two-member crew is to follow next month. The launch of Tiangong-2 is another step towards China’s goal of a selfsustaining space station by 2022, and a reminder of the nation’s space prowess. Chinese officials announced that a Long March 2F rocket launched Tiangong-2 from China’s Gobi Desert at 2204 local time, coinciding with the lunar Mid-Autumn Festival.
Tiangong-2 will manoeuvre into orbit about 380 kilometres above Earth, then change to 393 kilometres in October when a Shenzhou-11 capsule arrives carrying two astronauts, who will live on the station for 30 days. Despite its small size, Tiangong-2 is an important precursor to a larger space station that China aims to launch in the next six years. It’s not all political posturing. Tiangong-2 carries 14 experiments, including atmospheric sensing instruments that can detect air pollution.
Double extinction looming CHINA is not doing enough to save the world’s smallest porpoise, the vaquita – just 60 animals remain. That’s according to a report by non-profit organisation the Environmental Investigation Agency. The critically endangered porpoise is only found in the Gulf of California. It often gets tangled in gill nets targeting the totoaba, a similarly sized fish that is also endangered and whose fishing and international trade are banned.
Swim bladders from the totoaba, known as “aquatic cocaine”, are sought for their putative medicinal properties, and can fetch tens of thousands of dollars in China. The trade still thrives there, despite a fall in prices and the ban, according to the EIA. “Open illegal trade in Chinese markets clearly shows the lack of enforcement,” says Clare Perry, head of the agency’s Oceans campaign. “If we don’t stop the illegal trade, this will be a dual extinction.”