The Big Wobble-More bird flu, stock up on chicken and turkey, going up in price

Click on RSOE Alert map to enlarge, red squares indicate humans infected or dead
Nepal has reported a confirmed outbreak of severe H5N8 bird flu on a poultry farm in Koshi region, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday, citing a report from the Nepalese authorities.
The virus killed 3,650 of the 6,200 hens exposed, with the remaining animals culled, the Paris-based OIE said.
Nepal had already reported last month an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu among backyard chickens and ducks.
Daily reports are coming in from around the world as the avian flu pandemic has now got a foothold in every continent except Australia.

Home Page

The Wire

Click on RSOE Alert map to enlarge, red squares indicate humans infected or dead
(Reuters) - Alabama has found bird flu at three poultry facilities in the northern part of the state, its agriculture department said on Tuesday, near where two cases were detected recently in Tennessee. Alabama has "not received any definitive" test results that confirm its cases are highly pathogenic, which is the more lethal form of the virus for poultry, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries said.
On March 5, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the first U.S. case of highly pathogenic flu in commercial poultry in more than a year at a chicken farm in southern Tennessee.
Days later, the state said it had detected less-dangerous low-pathogenic flu at another chicken farm nearby.

Officials confirmed a low-pathogenic bird flu strain had been detected in a Jennie-O Turkey Store operation in western Wisconsin last week.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture posted notice of the case to the Organization for Animal Health's website Tuesday.
Austin, Minnesota-based Hormel Foods Corp., which owns Willmar, Minnesota-based Jennie-O, confirmed the H5N2 strain was detected Saturday at its Barron, Wisconsin, operation.

Home Page

The Wire

Photo CNN
The Oklahoma Forestry Service says 75 percent of Clark County has burned in wildfires.
It amounts to more than 461,000 acres burned.
The forestry service reports damage to 34 buildings, 21 homes and three bridges.
Sunday, Sen. Jerry Moran was in Clark County to tour some of the damage.
Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer joined him.
One person died and at least least seven people were hurt in the wildfires.
Thousands of cattle were lost.
A local veterinarian estimates that anywhere from 3,000 to 9,000 cattle were killed, however many of the cattle are now calving so the actual figure is much higher.
In response to this loss, an effort is underway to help with relief efforts for orphaned calves.
You can details of this effort and how you can help on the

Home Page

The Wire

Photo The Atlantic
The much anticipated major winter storm is unfolding across the northeastern United States and will bring travel to a halt as it dumps heavy snow across the region.
Thousands of flights were canceled and school districts across the entire region were closed in advance of the nor’easter. Several states have declared a state of emergency, including New York and New Jersey and the D.C. area.

Heavy snow will continue to spread across the region through Tuesday, with blizzard conditions possible from northeastern Pennsylvania through Maine.
The governor has issued a state of emergency as a nor'easter starts to bring snow to Maryland overnight.
The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning beginning at 7 p.m. Monday and lasting through 2 p.m. Tuesday for western Maryland, the D.C. area, the Baltimore area and Cecil and Kent counties.
A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon south of Baltimore.
A wind advisory takes effect for the lower Eastern Shore from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Wind gusts could exceed 30 mph.
Gov. Larry Hogan signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in Maryland beginning Monday at 9 p.m.
The measure allows the coordination and activation of resources, the governor's office said.
"Our state is taking every precaution and coordinating all available resources to respond to this winter storm," Hogan said in a statement.
"We urge all Marylanders to use common sense and to stay indoors and off the roads.
A state of emergency means that residents need to remain alert and regularly check for updated weather forecasts as conditions change."
The heaviest snow is expected in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
Then, a mix of sleet and rain is possible before the storm turns back to all snow later Tuesday morning.
Periods of lighter snow or snow showers will continue into Tuesday evening.
The computer models continue to show the rain-snow line moving into the Baltimore area, which means sleet and rain could cut down on snowfall amounts.
The position of the area of low pressure is important.
If the storm tracks closer to the coast, there will be more sleet and rain that could cut down on snow totals.
If the storm tracks farther out to sea, there will be more snow.

Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been declared throughout New York state as a "very dangerous" winter storm bears down.
The state of emergency begins at midnight, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Non-emergency state workers in all but the North Country are being told to stay home, and much of the public transit will be suspended in New York City.
The state urges downstate commuters to stay home if possible.
Blizzard warnings have been expanded to include much of eastern New York and the Catskills.
It's the first blizzard warning for the Catskills since 2001, the National Weather Service office in Binghamton said.
"Extremely dangerous travel conditions due to snow covered roads, white-out conditions along with blowing and drifting snow," the Albany weather service office said.
Greyhound has canceled bus service throughout the Northeast.
Airports are already delaying or canceling flights.
The powerful nor'easter could dump up to 2 feet of snow in the eastern half of the state.
Winter storm warnings are in effect from West Virginia to Maine.

xx

Getty Images
One of the most famous volcanoes in the world, the Popocatepetl in Mexico has erupted again.
It has erupted twice during this weekend, sending ashe all over its neighboring towns.
Popocatepetl volcano has erupted two times since Saturday evening.
The Mexican volcano has emitted hundreds of short, low-intensity bursts of gas and smoke, Mexican authorities said on Sunday afternoon.
Popocatepetl is located near Mexico's Puebla valley so the residents there are a bit happy that there was not much lava.
It is specifically located about 80 miles east of Mexico City.
Because of the eruption of the Popocatepetl volcano, the area is now under "yellow alert".
That means people should protect their food and themselves from falling ash.
Meanwhile, the authorities believed that the eruption is still ongoing even though the camera and the naked eye cannot see anything at the moment.
On Friday night, March 10, the volcano's crater lit up and it colored the sky with a brilliant display of orange fire.
Each and every time the volcano belched smoke, the color intensifies, Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention reported.
Just last year, Mexico's largest and most feared volcano, Popocatepetl erupted.
It came back life again with a major eruption of very toxic smoke and ash caused by an earthquake in January this year.
It has feared many people.
Authorities said that it might lead to a bigger eruption, Express stated.
It has erupted many times last year but has stopped with minimal damage.
The eruption of the volcano can be seen if the sky is clear enough.
The neighboring volcano, Iztaccihuatl can also be seen clearly in the distance.
On the other hand, in North America, Alaska's Bogoslof volcano has also erupted, scaring people for the worst as many natural calamities have been occurring.




Home Page

The Wire