Tag Archive for 'rabies'

While the media is focused on pandemic Swine Flu, here along America’s North Shore, we must be wary of other diseases. Here are several articles to remind us all about them.

“One of the problems with trying to protect wildlife is first establishing what species live in an area, what habitat they’re using, how large the population is,” Rogers said. “The more data we get, the clearer picture we’ll have.”

Such data is particularly helpful with secretive species like the jungle cat, which are poisoned and hunted extensively throughout the Middle East. Through vaccinations and booster shots — if a cat is caught again — the coalition is helping to preserve a protected species and national treasure of Iraq, Smith said.

A hospital corpsman with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade teaches a Marine how to insert a needle into a vein as part of a Combat Lifesaver Course here March 24. Marines gain this knowledge so they can support corpsmen in the field in need of assistance. Photo by Cpl. Aaron Rooks

The HSSS team members said they are prepared in case anyone contracts one of the many diseases in the country, which the brigade medical planner, Navy Lt. Diana Loffgren, said is possible. She said there are currently several confirmed cases of malaria in troops serving in Afghanistan, but noted that none of these cases involve U.S. service members.

CDC rec on travel to USA: The incidence of communicable diseases is such that they are unlikely to prove a hazard for international travelers greater than that found in their own country. There are, of course, health risks, but in general, the precautions required are minimal.