Skip to content

More About Bats and Ebola…

A great article was recently published in the scientific literature called “Mapping the zoonotic niche of Ebola virus disease in Africa” by David Pigott and others.  This study used fancy mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS), to map the concentration of the three species of bats known carry Ebola (check out our earlier post about bats).  The bat map is combined with a map of human populations to show the places of greatest risk.  The top part of the map shows the number of people at risk.  The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the most, with 11.7 million people.  The grey box… Read More »More About Bats and Ebola…

smog layer

Ozone and Climate Change: The deadly truth

Ever seen a thick layer of haze hanging over a city in the summer?  That’s ozone.  I remember years back, mountain biking in the summer heat at South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona. I would ride up the mountain until I was eye level with the layer of blue haze.  I used to think, “This can’t be good.”  Maybe that’s why old Doc Goodwell gets a little wheeze every now and again.  Who knows. Anyhow, the recent proposed change in the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation governing ozone has brought it back into the spotlight.  The EPA wants to lower the maximum amount of ground… Read More »Ozone and Climate Change: The deadly truth

How NOT to DIE from Ebola! The key to Ebola treatment…

Wanna know how not to DIE from Ebola?  First off, try not to exchange bodily fluids with a floridly infected person (as we talked about in an earlier post).  However, if you do end up catching Ebola you probably got it by taking care of a sick family member or you are a healthcare worker taking care of the infected.  If you are youngish (under 45) and get medical care early, you have a good chance of  survival. The highly respected medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine, recently published two very interesting articles on Ebola treatment in Africa.  One article… Read More »How NOT to DIE from Ebola! The key to Ebola treatment…

Bats, Ebola and Climate Change, Oh My!

The last time I studied Ebola was back in public health school many years ago.  At that time the reservoir was unknown, but scientists were closing in.  The reservoir is the place where the virus hides between outbreaks.  Turns out, in the case of Ebola, it hides out in fruit bats.  Three  different species to be exact: the hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus),  the little collared fruit bat (Myonycteris torquata), and Franquet’s epauletted fruit bat (Epomops franqueti). Fruit bats are, of course, mammals like you or I.  Some of them are sorta cute, looking like a chihuahua with wings (although some of them… Read More »Bats, Ebola and Climate Change, Oh My!

Sweet and Sour Carbon for you America!

(This post I owe to my mom.  She gets emails from the organizations discussed below, and was kind enough to send them to me.  I have digested them into bite sized chunks for your amusement, my faithful readers.  Enjoy!)   The White House announced Wednesday that President Obama had engaged in top-secret negotiations with the Chinese about reducing carbon pollution.  President Obama was in China, November 10th to the 12th for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. According to The White House Blog… “After 2020, the United States will reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions to 26-28% below 2005 levels by… Read More »Sweet and Sour Carbon for you America!