Trundling through the suburban streets of the Bronx last week, the truck looked like any other New York City council vehicle. Only the fine spray pouring from the back gave a clue to its real purpose: saving lives.
It was on the track of the killer West Nile virus, an infection that first appeared in the US four years ago and will this year spread to the entire country. Experts are predicting that this year will see the worst-ever American outbreak of the disease, which is carried by mosquitoes.
New York has begun preparing for the worst. Squads of vans have sprayed the city's outskirts to kill the insects and destroy any larvae they may have laid in the swampy land around the metropolis.
The trucks work through the night and people with respiratory problems have been warned to stay indoors as they pass.
Last year the virus appeared in 44 states, infected 4,156 people and killed almost 284. This year, as the peak season begins, the signs are not encouraging. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control believe the disease is being detected at three times the rate of last year. It has been found in states where it did not appear last year and there have been 446 cases and 10 deaths.
"We could be in for a very serious affliction this summer," said USCDC Director Julie Gerberding.
Experts warn that the disease is spreading so fast and adapting so well to local conditions that it may become present 12 months a year in some areas.
The disease is usually harmless to humans and goes unnoticed. But in some cases, especially among the elderly, it can trigger a serious reaction, leading to coma and death, caused by a rapid swelling of the brain. There is no treatment -- a vaccine is believed to be at least a decade away.
Another killer virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, is adding to the threat. Usually there are fewer than five cases a year in the US, but this year there have already been seven. While West Nile kills about 15 per cent of those who fall seriously ill, EEE has a fatality rate of up to 70 per cent.
The epidemic is being caused by unusually warm and wet weather on the east coast that has seen mosquitoes breeding in huge numbers. It has even spurred some calls to bring back mass spraying with DDT, which helped to eradicate malaria-carrying mosquitoes in America in the 1970s.
Many say that current official advice -- to use mild sprays and encourage people in infected areas to slather on insect repellent -- is not enough. However, environmental concerns about the effect of DDT and fears that it carries a cancer risk -- the chemical is banned in Britain -- has made its use politically difficult.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the