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What are the symptoms of meningitis and is there a vaccine?

BBC News

What are the symptoms of meningitis and is there a vaccine? Two people have died following an outbreak of meningitis in Kent. The death of a year 13 pupil at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Faversham was confirmed by the local MP on Monday. The second person who died was a student at the University of Kent. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it was notified of 13 cases with signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia from Friday to Sunday in the Canterbury area.


Two die in university meningitis outbreak

BBC News

Two people have died following an outbreak of invasive meningitis at the University of Kent. BBC South East understands that a further 11 people from the Canterbury area are currently in hospital and reported to be seriously ill. It is understood that most are aged between 18 and 21 and are students at the university. Both of the people who have died are also believed to be between 18 and 21, with one also confirmed to be a student. More than 30,000 students, staff and their families are being contacted by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to inform them of the situation.


Millions across 10 US states brace for 'severe' tornado outbreak in just hours

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Kentucky mother and daughter turn down $26.5MILLION to sell their farms to secretive tech giant that wants to build data center there Horrifying next twist in the Alexander brothers case: MAUREEN CALLAHAN exposes an unthinkable perversion that's been hiding in plain sight Hollywood icon who starred in Psycho after Hitchcock dubbed her'my new Grace Kelly' looks incredible at 95 Kylie Jenner's total humiliation in Hollywood: Derogatory rumor leaves her boyfriend's peers'laughing at her' behind her back Tucker Carlson erupts at Trump adviser as she hurls'SLANDER' claim linking him to synagogue shooting Ben Affleck'scores $600m deal' with Netflix to sell his AI film start-up Long hair over 45 is ageing and try-hard. I've finally cut mine off. Alexander brothers' alleged HIGH SCHOOL rape video: Classmates speak out on sickening footage... as creepy unseen photos are exposed Heartbreaking video shows very elderly DoorDash driver shuffle down customer's driveway with coffee order because he is too poor to retire Amber Valletta, 52, was a '90s Vogue model who made movies with Sandra Bullock and Kate Hudson, see her now Model Cindy Crawford, 60, mocked for her'out of touch' morning routine: 'Nothing about this is normal' Millions across 10 US states brace for'severe' tornado outbreak in just hours Millions of Americans have been told to prepare for a possible tornado outbreak on Tuesday. Meteorologists warned that severe thunderstorms are expected from the southern Plains into the southern Great Lakes vicinity starting between 4pm and 6pm CT. The states currently at risk include Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Tennessee .


Measles outbreak could see unvaccinated pupils excluded from schools in north London

BBC News

Parents in north London have been told their children could be excluded from school if they are not fully vaccinated against measles amid an outbreak of the highly-contagious disease. Unvaccinated pupils identified as close contacts of people with measles could be excluded for 21 days in accordance with national guidelines, Enfield Council said in a letter to all parents in the borough in late January. At least 34 children have contracted measles in Enfield so far this year, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said, and a number sent to hospital. A local health chief meanwhile told the BBC: We are worried because actually, this is a significantly increased number than what we're used to. Asking unvaccinated, close contacts of measles cases to stay off school is fairly standard practice when there are local outbreaks.


Locust swarms may meet their match in protein-enriched crops

Popular Science

The specialized crops could save farmers millions. A swarm of desert locusts fly after an aircraft sprayed pesticide in Meru, Kenya in 2021. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Swarms of locusts devouring a farmer's livelihood might sound apocalyptic, but major locust infestations are a regular problem in agricultural communities around the world. These locust swarms--dense, droning packs of certain grasshopper species--can cover hundreds of square miles, and the insects consume vast amounts of vegetation and threaten global agriculture.


Diarrhea slowed down Roman soldiers

Popular Science

Intestinal parasites that still plague us today were all over Roman Britain. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. The soldiers guarding the Roman Empire's northwestern frontier had a real parasite problem. Scientists analyzing the sewer drains from the Roman fort Vindolanda (near Hadrian's Wall in northern England) found three types of intestinal parasites --roundworm,whipworm, and . The findings published in the journal mark the first time that has been documented in Roman Britain.


Artificial Intelligence Applications in Horizon Scanning for Infectious Diseases

Miles, Ian, Wakimoto, Mayumi, Meira, Wagner Jr., Paula, Daniela, Ticiane, Daylene, Rosa, Bruno, Biddulph, Jane, Georgiou, Stelios, Ermida, Valdir

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

This review explores the integration of Artificial Intelligence into Horizon Scanning, focusing on identifying and responding to emerging threats and opportunities linked to Infectious Diseases. We examine how AI tools can enhance signal detection, data monitoring, scenario analysis, and decision support. We also address the risks associated with AI adoption and propose strategies for effective implementation and governance. The findings contribute to the growing body of Foresight literature by demonstrating the potential and limitations of AI in Public Health preparedness.


Falcons help keep bird poop off your delicious cherries

Popular Science

They might be the smallest falcon, but American kestrels still intimidate other birds. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. No one wants poop on their cherries . Farmers in northern Michigan could get some help on this fecal matter from some feathered allies. Small falcons called the American kestrel help deter smaller birds that like to snack on the fruit when it is growing.


Combining digital data streams and epidemic networks for real time outbreak detection

Lyu, Ruiqi, Turcan, Alistair, Wilder, Bryan

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Responding to disease outbreaks requires close surveillance of their trajectories, but outbreak detection is hindered by the high noise in epidemic time series. Aggregating information across data sources has shown great denoising ability in other fields, but remains underexplored in epidemiology. Here, we present LRTrend, an interpretable machine learning framework to identify outbreaks in real time. LRTrend effectively aggregates diverse health and behavioral data streams within one region and learns disease-specific epidemic networks to aggregate information across regions. We reveal diverse epidemic clusters and connections across the United States that are not well explained by commonly used human mobility networks and may be informative for future public health coordination. We apply LRTrend to 2 years of COVID-19 data in 305 hospital referral regions and frequently detect regional Delta and Omicron waves within 2 weeks of the outbreak's start, when case counts are a small fraction of the wave's resulting peak.


Google Has a Bed Bug Infestation in Its New York Offices

WIRED

Employees at the company's Chelsea campus were told to stay home after exterminators found "credible evidence" of an infestation. Google's New York office is shown in lower Manhattan. Google employees working at the company's Chelsea campus in New York City received a notice on Sunday alerting them to a possible bed bug outbreak at the office. Exterminators arrived at the scene with a sniffer dog "and found credible evidence of their presence," according to an email obtained by WIRED. The email was sent to all Google employees in New York on behalf of the company's environmental, health, and safety team.