EDM Briefing: Deadly Rat-Spread NYC Disease, Oroville Dam, Cheese Recall

Emergency and disaster management briefing for February 15, 2017: A rat-spread disease kills one and sickens two in New York City as health officials launch an investigation, residents are allowed to return home as threat of spillway failure at the Oroville Dam lessens, Listeria contamination prompts expanded cheese recall to other brands and products, current and former TSA and airport workers in Puerto Rico indicted on drug smuggling charges, H7N9 bird flu in China is prompting concerns of an outbreak, World Health Organization declares yellow fever outbreak is over, a robot able to access Unit #2 reactor core at Fukushima Daiichi records highly lethal radiation levels, El Niño being blamed as cause of historic beach erosion on West Coast beaches, U.S. losing battle against cyber attacks.

1. One person has died and at least two more individuals have been [link url=”http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rat-spread-disease-leptospirosis-kills-1-person-sickens-2-in-nyc-officials-say/” title=”infected by a rat-spread disease in the Bronx borough of New York City”]. The three individuals were diagnosed with a bacterial infection known as Leptospirosis, a disease that is most commonly spread through contact with rat urine. City health officials noted that [link url=”http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-1-Killed-2-Sickened-Disease-Linked-to-Rat-Urine-NYC-Health-Officials-413805353.html” title=”the infections occurred within a one block radius”] and are working to reduce the rat population in the area to prevent further spread of this serious, but treatable disease.

'They Run Around Rampantly': Rare Disease Spread By Rat Urine Infects 3, Killing 1, In The Bronx https://t.co/IIFJ23uUfp

— Linda Aukschun (@Sisal13) February 15, 2017

2. After two days, [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-live-updates-oroville-dam-evacuations-lifted-for-some-communities-1487108990-htmlstory.html” title=”evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday afternoon”] for those living in the valleys situated below the Oroville Dam in California. The evacuation order was reduced to an evacuation warning, with officials cautioning residents to be prepared to evacuate again at a moments notice if conditions within the spillway change. Nearly 200,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes on Sunday night after a [link url =”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/02/14/its-like-the-rock-was-melting-the-stunning-destruction-at-oroville-dam-and-the-work-ahead/?utm_term=.c305fa13819f” title=”hole developed in the emergency spillway”] and prompted concerns that it might collapse. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/oroville-dam-counter-sensationalism/” url2=” https://amuedge.com/what-is-wrong-with-the-nations-dams/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/infrastructure-critical-to-americas-continued-economic-success/”]
3. Multiple cheese products distributed by [link url=”http://nbc4i.com/2017/02/13/several-brands-of-cheese-recalled-due-to-listeria-concerns/” title=”MDS foods in Massillon, Ohio are being recalled”] after being found that they were contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Other products that might be contaminated with the bacteria are also being recalled by the distributor. MDS Foods was supplied by Deutsch Kase, LLC of Middleburg, Indiana with [link url=”http://myfox8.com/2017/02/14/listeria-related-cheese-recall-expands/” title=”Colby and Colby Jack minihorn cheeses that were found to be contaminated with the bacteria”] that can cause serious, and sometimes fatal infections. This is just the [link url=”http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/02/string-of-cheese-recalls-continues-as-does-listeria-probe/#.WKRbYLYrKcY” title=”latest in a string of recalls”] prompted by the [link url=”https://www.foodsafety.gov/recalls/recent/” title=”discovery of Listeria monocytogenes in finished cheeses”] distributed by the Indiana supplier.

https://twitter.com/cnnhealth/status/831669355834380288

4. A ring of current and former U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and airport workers in Puerto Rico were indicted Tuesday on [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/13/prosecutors-tsa-workers-helped-puerto-rico-based-ring-smuggle-100m-cocaine.html” title=”charges of allegedly smuggling more than 20 tons of cocaine into the United States”] over more than a decade. According to authorities, [link url=”http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/319246-tsa-employees-arrested-for-cocaine-smuggling-operation-in-puerto-rico” title=”the cocaine’s worth likely topped $100 million”], and charges included conspiracy to possess and the intent to distribute cocaine. TSA baggage screeners and security checkers used their positions as federal employees to waive luggage containing cocaine through security. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/rogue-aviation-workers-are-biggest-threat-to-aviation-security/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/egyptair-flight-804-brings-renewed-focus-on-tsa-in-u-s/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/tsa-has-taken-steps-to-improve-security-effectiveness-gao-says/”]
5. According to Chinese officials, at least [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-birdflu-china-idUSKBN15U07D” title=”79 people died in January from the H7N9 bird flu”] prompting concerns of an outbreak among the nation’s residents. The total since October now stands at 100 deaths and infections have increased at an alarming rate, with 306 individuals infected since October and 192 of those reported in just the last month. [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-birdflu-china-idUSKBN15U07D” title=”World Health officials”] note that the disease is transmitted by contact with “infected poultry or contaminated environments”, and Chinese officials are [link url=”http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2070385/chinese-poultry-markets-closed-after-outbreak-bird-flu” title=”warning residents to avoid live poultry markets”] to prevent exposure to the virus. 

January #H7N9 #birdflu deaths in #China: @NPR saying 24 https://t.co/xm1jejfUxD @Reuters_Health 79 https://t.co/Zjnc2wqgkl Which is it? pic.twitter.com/3LKSEKqVmH

— Social Good. By Design. (@InisCom) February 15, 2017

6. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the [link url=”https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/02/15/world/africa/ap-af-africa-yellow-fever.html?_r=0″ title=”yellow fever outbreak in Congo and Angola”] that has killed nearly 400 people is over. Angola first detected the outbreak late in 2015 which resulted in [link url=”http://outbreaknewstoday.com/africa-yellow-fever-outbreak-declared-41639/” title=”965 confirmed cases of yellow fever in both nations”] and thousands of suspected cases in both Congo and Angola. The use of vaccines can easily prevent this mosquito-spread disease for which there is no known cure. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/sunday-book-reviews-pandemics/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/using-lenses-to-tighten-emergency-management-plans/” url3=” https://amuedge.com/nearly-300-mumps-cases-washington-state/”]
7. Nearly six years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, [link url=”https://amuedge.com/fukushima-radiation-high/” title=”a robot has accessed a location near the reactor 2 core”] and found massive radiation levels. The measurement recorded a jaw-dropping 530 sieverts of radiation per hour. Now the concern is how Japan will move forward in the [link url=”https://amuedge.com/an-historical-look-at-japans-triple-disaster-on-31111/” title=”decommissioning process of the three nuclear reactors”] at Fukushima Daiichi with such high radiation level readings nearly six years after the disaster. [relink url=”http://edmdigest.com/response/fukushima-daiichi-an-ongoing-water-contamination-problem/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/tepco-to-create-ice-wall-to-prevent-groundwater-contamination/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/an-historical-look-at-japans-triple-disaster-on-31111/”]
8. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) indicate that as a result of El Niño, [link url=”http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/02/14/el-nino-california-beach-erosion-in-201515-was-highest-ever-recorded/” title=”West Coast beach erosion in 2015/16 is the highest recorded in over 145 years”]. The [link url=”http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14365″ title=”recent study”] focused on 1243 miles of coastline from Washington to Southern California and measured sand, wave, and water levels and conducted GPS topographical surveys. According to the USGS, findings showed that [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-el-nino-california-20170214-story.html” title=”erosion was 79 percent above normal”] on 29 beaches in California, Oregon, and Washington, with California beach erosion exceeding historical extremes. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/storms-preview-sea-rise-damage-to-california-roads-cities/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/climate-change-adaptation-and-infrastructure/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/small-island-nations-increasing-resilience-with-climate-change-innovation-and-adaptation/”]
9. In a recent statement, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, [link url=”https://threatpost.com/dhs-chairman-paints-bleak-us-cybersecurity-picture/123739/” title=”Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX)”], noted that the United States is losing the fight against cyber attacks that are coming from faceless hackers. Rep. McCaul noted that the [link url=”http://www.govtech.com/security/RSA-2017-We-Are-Losing-the-Cyberdefense-Battle.html” title=”threats are also coming from nation-states and from terrorists”] who have exploited social media to encourage mass murder attacks, and are “snatching our financial data and locking down access to our healthcare information.” [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/feds-hire-thousands-of-cyber-security-professionals/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/more-millennials-likely-to-seek-cybersecurity-as-a-career/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/sacrificing-privacy-for-cybersecurity/”]