CDC: Antibiotic-Resistant Shigella Spreading, Here Are The High-Risk Groups, How You Catch It

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It is late on a Sunday night and your son is clutching his stomach complaining of pain. He feels warm so you test his temperature and he definitely has a fever. He says he needs to use the bathroom and you are shocked to see that he has passed bloody diarrhea. You rush him to the emergency room in hopes that whatever he has is easily treated. A few days later you discover that your son actually has an antibiotic-resistant Shigella and that one of the few treatments available is not only more expensive but also more harmful than the antibiotics formerly used while not being as effective. You wonder how in the world your son contracted this disease which is spread through fecal matter. Could it have been at the party for new international students you attended on Friday night? Undoubtedly it would have been at that party. If you had only known of this bacterial infection common to the developing world then you could have taken steps to prevent it in your son.

The problem is that there are are some misconceptions regarding certain diseases in the U.S and where they are likely to originate. The CDC usually does a pretty good job looking at disease outbreaks and relaying to the public information by which they can protect themselves. However, unless the public is regularly checking the CDC website for themselves, they may not be aware of current disease outbreaks as the popular news websites don’t regularly post those type of stories. Sometimes these sites direct the information only to the segment of the population that they believe is affected. People who are not related to that specific segment of the population may be harmed by not getting the information they need to protect themselves and their families.

A good example of this is the recent outbreak of drug resistant Shigella that made news when it affected Kansas City. With a little research one can find that it has been affecting parts of the United States since May 2014. By February 2015 it had already been found in 32 states. By April the CDC decided it was important to let the public know how the outbreak started and how people could protect themselves. According, to their research about 50 percent of the cases originated in the homeless population and the other cases originated with international travelers. This multi-drug resistant Shigella has specifically been traced back to mostly international travellers from India and Dominican Republic. This information is not surprising once one looks at the rate of Shigella in those areas. They are both developing areas which do not have modern sewage systems.

It is also interesting that the CDC acknowledges that in the US the main outbreaks are occurring among child care facilities, gay men, and the homeless. At this same time some major news sources are mainly discussing Shigella spreading among children in child care settings. They are ignoring the fact that Shigella is also spread by international travelers, gay/bisexual men and the homeless. This is something that the general population should be aware of!

What should we learn from this information? First, this means that people traveling to developing countries should follow the advice from the CDC on how to avoid contracting Shigella. Second, residents of the US should be cautious of those immediately returning or coming from developing countries because the traveler could be infected with Shigella. The incubation period is about two days but a person may still infect others long after they are no longer showing signs of sickness. This is one reason Shigella is so contagious and at times difficult to contain.

This subject is important to me personally because I am related to one of the at risk groups by being married to a man from a developing country. When we travel internationally we are always aware of what we should be doing to protect ourselves from various diseases. However, we know that not everyone who travels internationally is as conscientious as we are. I am aware of this because many of my international friends travel back to the country of their origin, then spent part of their vacation sick from things as Shigella. They thought that since the country was their childhood home, they did not have to take the same precautions (drinking bottled water, not eating salads/fruit) that other travelers needed to take.

The media must be more diligent in informing the public concerning the entire risks of disease epidemics so that the populace can help stem the spread of infections and stop the outbreak.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6412a2.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0402-multidrug-resistant-shigellosis.html
https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/general-information.html#transmission

The Inside Story of Trump Campaign’s Connections to a Big-Money Super PAC

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[Editor’s note: This smells like another Establishment hit on Trump. Although we are not endorsing his candidacy, it’s apparent that the Ruling Class is hitting Trump for using the tool they designed and employed to keep themselves in power] As he brags that he is turning down millions of dollars for his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has leveled a steady line of attack against his rivals: that they are too cozy with big-money super PACs and may be breaking the law by coordinating with them . . .

What Trump doesn’t say is that he and his top campaign aide have connections to a super PAC collecting large checks to support his candidacy — a group viewed by people familiar with his campaign as the sanctioned outlet for wealthy donors.

This summer, Trump appeared at at least two events for the Make America Great Again PAC, which took his campaign slogan as its name and received financing from his daughter’s mother-in-law. A consultant for the super PAC is a Republican operative who has previously worked with Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, according to several people with direct knowledge of their ties.

The Trump campaign’s links to the low-profile group could undercut the candidate’s posture as the only Republican in the race who has not sought to curry favor with wealthy donors, a central part of his anti-establishment message.

Lewandowski denied that Trump or the campaign had given the green light to Make America Great Again. (Read more from “The Inside Story of Trump Campaign’s Connections to a Big-Money Super PAC” HERE)

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Watch: Clinton’s Southern Strategy? Hillary Fakes Her Accent for Local Crowd

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Hillary Clinton has started faking a Southern drawl to speak to Southerners, just as she did during her last presidential run eight years ago.

The tactic drew chuckles, derision and not a little resentment when she tried it in 2007 and 2008. But she was back at it again in Alabama on Saturday, putting on a heavy twang to express her contempt for Republicans.

With Bernie Sanders narrowing her lead or overtaking her in early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, Clinton is hoping for a “Southern firewall,” and her itinerary of upcoming events reveals a determinatiion to set it ablaze quickly. She wants to win in South Carolina and then in the many Southern states holding primaries on “Super Tuesday,” where Sanders is polling much worse.

That could mean a lot more of these type of videos, capturing her speaking in a voice she did not learn during her childhood in Illinois and schooling in New England. (Read more from “Clinton’s Southern Strategy? Hillary Fakes Her Accent for Local Crowd” HERE)

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Captain America Battles Right-Wing Conservatives in New Comic [+video]

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In the latest issue of Marvel’s revamped Captain America, the iconic superhero takes on a group of right-wing conservatives trying to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the border.

In “Captain America: Sam Wilson #1,” the superhero also known as Sam Wilson heads to the border to take on an “evil” militia group known as the Sons of the Serpent, who are patrolling the area between Mexico and Arizona, according to a video summary of the issue created by the MacIver Institute. . .

The villain continues to describe the need for a wall along the U.S. border — another common theme among Republican presidential candidates. (Read more from “Captain America Battles Right-Wing Conservatives in New Comic” HERE)

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Man Who Interrogates Clinton on Benghazi Is Veteran Prosecutor

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The South Carolina prosecutor looked straight at the camera, relishing his role on an episode of the show “Forensic Files” as he discussed fingerprints, DNA testing and other evidence pointing to a murder suspect . . .

A year later, Trey Gowdy was elected to Congress, where his hard-nosed prosecutorial style is casting him in a much larger drama. At stake: his own reputation and the perhaps the political fate of a potential future president of the United States.

This Thursday, he will lead the high-stakes interrogation of Hillary Clinton over her role in the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans. And Clinton won’t be the only one on the hot seat. Gowdy, the 51-year-old chairman of the House committee investigating the attacks, finds himself defending the panel against charges that it’s only a partisan Republican effort to derail Clinton’s presidential campaign.

While Gowdy will be at the center of the political drama, his background is in court. Friends in Congress say that while leading investigations and questioning witnesses is clearly part of Gowdy’s DNA – his three dogs are named Judge, Jury and Bailiff – the highly charged political atmosphere has been frustrating . . .

“Trey does not like politics, he likes finding the truth,” said Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. “He stopped doing 70 percent of his shows like going on Fox, because this is a serious opportunity to find the truth and he wants to be less involved in the political process.” (Read more from “Man Who Interrogates Clinton on Benghazi Is Veteran Prosecutor” HERE)

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Pelosi: Democrats ‘Open’ to Helping GOP Elect Speaker

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi signaled Saturday there could be “an openness” among at least some House Democrats to voting for a Republican speaker on the floor — and she suggested the GOP turmoil could help put Democrats back in charge come 2017.

“I think in our caucus there is interest and support. There’s an openness to a bipartisan approach to this,” Pelosi said in an interview at the Texas Tribune Festival . . .

“Do you want him to be totally destroyed in his caucus if I mentioned who I thought would be good?” Pelosi said when asked by the Texas Tribune’s Abby Livingston about the prospects of her casting a vote for a Republican speaker. “That would be the end of him” . . .

Boehner’s eventual announcement of his intent to resign at the end of October rendered those discussions moot, but until that point, members of the House Freedom Caucus were counting on Democrats voting “present,” or even in favor of Pelosi, as a way of keeping Boehner from getting the 218 votes he needed to keep his gavel.

As conservatives drew nearer to forcing the crucial vote on the House floor, Democrats stayed silent on what their strategy would be — whether they would help protect Boehner from an insurrection or sit back and watch the Republican Conference implode. Pelosi’s statement Saturday was the first indication of what Democrats might have done in that situation. (Read more from “Pelosi: Democrats ‘Open’ to Helping GOP Elect Speaker” HERE)

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The Freedom Caucus’ Unprecedented Insurgency

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Congress has never seen anything quite like the House Freedom Caucus. There’s always someone unhappy on Capitol Hill and it’s not unusual for malcontents to band together. A rebellion made up of members who refuse to work with either party, however, is something that hasn’t happened in living memory.

“This is an unusual and indeed unprecedented development in the history of the party,” says Geoffrey Kabaservice, a research consultant to the Main Street Partnership, a centrist GOP group.

Parties—particularly those with large majorities—almost inevitably split into factions. And congressional history is replete with examples of groups that balked at party leadership. But the insurgents we remember—the ones who weren’t quickly and completely marginalized—managed by and large to find common cause with members of the other party. Southern Democrats, for instance, forged a “conservative coalition” with Republicans that dominated Congress for much of the 20th century.

There hasn’t been a bloc like the Freedom Caucus for at least a century, one that refuses to work with its own party leadership while being steadfastly unwilling to reach across the aisle. “There have been groups that often broke from the party, but in doing so, they didn’t stand as a third force,” says former GOP Rep. Mickey Edwards. “This group is very different.”

The Freedom Caucus, rather than breaking from Republican ranks, has forced Republican leaders to break from them. It’s a perverse sort of political jujitsu. One of outgoing Speaker John Boehner’s supposed crimes was that he went begging Democrats for help passing legislation when he couldn’t find the votes within his own caucus. Some rank-and-file Republicans, meanwhile, have made a separate peace with Democrats on reviving the Export-Import Bank. Normally the opposite would happen and it would be the insurgents reaching across the aisle. But that presupposes an interest in governing. (Read more from “The Freedom Caucus’ Unprecedented Insurgency” HERE)

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Is the Malaria Parasite the Cancer Cure We’ve Been Looking For? Accidental Discovery Displays Remarkable Results

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As far as accidents go, stumbling upon a potential cure for cancer is one we can all probably forgive. According to a recent study, a group of Danish scientists might have done just that by discovering that a potential malaria vaccine had the unexpected side effect of killing tumors.

Malaria is bloodborne disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite. It is spread through humans by mosquito bites and, according to UNICEF, kills up to a million people each year. Malaria is especially dangerous for pregnant women as the parasite may attack the placenta, which then puts the child’s life at risk. In their ongoing efforts to prevent these specific infections, scientists from the University of Denmark made a remarkable observation: Due to the similar characteristics between tumors and placentas, the same technique malaria uses to attack and destroy placentas could also be used to destroy cancer tumors.

“The placenta is an organ, which within a few months grows from only few cells into an organ weighing approximately 2 pounds, and it provides the embryo with oxygen and nourishment in a relatively foreign environment,” study author Ali Salanti said in a statement. “In a manner of speaking, tumors do much the same — they grow aggressively in a relatively foreign environment.” (Read more from “Is the Malaria Parasite the Cancer Cure We’ve Been Looking For? Accidental Discovery Displays Remarkable Results” HERE)

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America Is a Bomb Waiting to Explode

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[Editor’s note: This story is from “RT News,” an agency of the Russian government. Please keep that in mind as you read this excerpt] The United States is in decline. While not all major shocks to the system will be devastating, when the right one comes along, the outcome may be dramatic.

Not all explosives are the same. We all know you have to be careful with dynamite. Best to handle it gently and not smoke while you’re around it.

Semtex is different. You can drop it. You can throw it. You can put it in the fire. Nothing will happen. Nothing until you put the right detonator in it, that is.

To me, the US – and most of the supposedly free West – increasingly looks like a truck being systematically filled with Semtex.

But it’s easy to counter cries of alarm with the fact that the truck is stable – because it’s true: you can hurl more boxes into the back without any real danger. Absent the right detonator, it is no more dangerous than a truckload of mayonnaise. (Read more from “America Is a Bomb Waiting to Explode” HERE)

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Cops Are Asking Ancestry.com and 23andMe for Their Customers’ DNA

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When companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe first invited people to send in their DNA for genealogy tracing and medical diagnostic tests, privacy advocates warned about the creation of giant genetic databases that might one day be used against participants by law enforcement. DNA, after all, can be a key to solving crimes. It “has serious information about you and your family,” genetic privacy advocate Jeremy Gruber told me back in 2010 when such services were just getting popular.

Now, five years later, when 23andMe and Ancestry both have over a million customers, those warnings are looking prescient. “Your relative’s DNA could turn you into a suspect,” warns Wired, writing about a case from earlier this year, in which New Orleans filmmaker Michael Usry became a suspect in an unsolved murder case after cops did a familial genetic search using semen collected in 1996. The cops searched an Ancestry.com database and got a familial match to a saliva sample Usry’s father had given years earlier. Usry was ultimately determined to be innocent and the Electronic Frontier Foundation called it a “wild goose chase” that demonstrated “the very real threats to privacy and civil liberties posed by law enforcement access to private genetic databases.”

The FBI maintains a national genetic database with samples from convicts and arrestees, but this was the most public example of cops turning to private genetic databases to find a suspect. But it’s not the only time it’s happened, and it means that people who submitted genetic samples for reasons of health, curiosity, or to advance science could now end up in a genetic line-up of criminal suspects. (Read more from “Cops Are Asking Ancestry.com and 23andMe for Their Customers’ DNA” HERE)

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