Items

• 
  2021-01-25

  Why camels are worrying coronavirus hunters

  In northern Kenya, researchers are working to prevent a dangerous coronavirus – Mers – from jumping from camels to humans again. But climate change is making their job more difficult. I It’s thought that Covid-19 originated in animals before jumping to humans. Now experts are warning that the chances are the next pandemic will, too. Seventy-five percent of the newly emerging diseases currently affecting people originate in animals, according to Predict, a US government-funded collaboration by infectious disease experts across the globe. Already, Predict scientists have identified 1,200 new zoonotic, or animal-borne, diseases. But scientists estimate there are some 700,000 more zoonotic diseases we don’t even know about yet. ... “That infection” is Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers), a novel coronavirus that so far has proven to be at least 10 times more deadly than Covid-19. It was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 2012. By 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) had identified “1,761 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Mers-CoV, including at least 629 related deaths”. Later that year, an outbreak at a hospital raised the alarm that it’s not just camel herders who are susceptible to the disease, but anyone at all. But while camels can be carriers, the Mers threat to humans is mostly man-made. As human-induced climate change makes droughts more frequent, prolonged, and severe, herders have had to abandon cows and other livestock for camels because only they can survive weeks without water. The result is a growing number of camels in close contact with humans – the perfect conditions for the spread of a deadly disease. Mers causes the same sorts of respiratory system complications as Covid-19, including pneumonia. Symptoms often start with nasal congestion, a cough, chest pains, or difficulty breathing. In the worst cases, it may cause fibrosis – irreversible scarring – in the lungs. This can be deadly. More than one-third of all humans known to have contracted Mers have died from it, according to the WHO. Once it jumps from animals to humans, a Mers outbreak could grow rapidly. Saudi Arabia alone saw 15 people infected in December 2019 and January 2020 – three of whom were hospital workers infected by their patients. “The fact that RNA viruses such as coronaviruses mutate means you never know what could happen with that particular virus,” says Zimmerman.
• 
  2021-02-07T18:36

  Mask Trash

  This is a photograph of a mask discarded on the side of my yard, in the desert where many animals such as coyotes, quail, javelinas, and rabbits make their homes. I have seen much pandemic-related trash discarded on the sides of the road, on sidewalks, and in people’s yards during this pandemic: hand sanitizer bottles, masks, wipes, etc. With the pandemic has come an increase in the use of disposable materials such as these, adding to environmental degradation and displaying a disregard both for people and for animals. This photo of mask trash shows a toxic side effect of the pandemic and a reminder that people need to use non-disposable items whenever possible and show respect for our natural environment by not throwing things away in this manner.
• 
  2020-04-02

  A Simple Way to Still Have Fun While Remaining Isolated From Others.

  This is an image I took while enjoying the beautiful desert of Arizona with my brother. It is a great way in my opinion to get out of the house, stay active, and have fun while still doing my part in socially distancing myself from others and isolating myself from the world.