Month: April 2022

Mississippi is chlamydia and gonorrhea capital of the U.S. — while Nevada has the most syphilis cases per capita, official figures reveal. Cases of common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) hit record highs across America during the first year of the pandemic, despite normal testing being interrupted by Covid. The outbreak was biggest in the Magnolia state thanks to a stigma around getting tested for the diseases and admitting to an infection, an epidemiologist in its department of health told DailyMail.com. They added that poor healthcare coverage — leading many to put off getting tested — and rising rates of drug abuse were also fueling infection levels.  In Nevada, STD prevention workers have blamed that state's growing hook-up culture leading to more anonymous sex via dating apps fo...

A resident of Waldo County has died from Powassan, an uncommon tick-borne virus, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. It is at least the third Powassan death recorded in Maine, according to the state CDC. The virus is rare, but the number of reported cases has increased nationally in recent years. Of 14 cases confirmed in Maine since 2010, three were reported last year and one this year, according to the Maine CDC. Powassan cases are most frequent in the Northeast and the Great Lakes region from late spring to mid-fall – ticks’ most active season. The symptoms of Powassan can greatly vary in severity – from no symptoms at all, to fevers, infection of the brain, or death. Many people infected with the virus don’t show symptoms, according to the U.S. C...

With more cases of bird flu detected in wild and domestic birds across Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources suggests Michiganders take down their bird feeders and birdbaths out of an abundance of caution.  Birds flock to Michigan in April and May as they migrate through the Great Lakes region after wintering in Central and South America. Migrating species, such as the colorful yellow-rumped warbler or the soaring broad-winged hawk, may seek out food sources in backyard bird feeders, causing some Michigan birders to worry about spreading the avian influenza, also known as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI),  HPAI was first detected in the state in a backyard, nonpoultry flock of birds in Kalamazoo County in late February. Birds at the Detroit Zoo were moved indoors in ...