VOICE OF THE PEOPLE - Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Posted: 28 May 2019 03:30 AM PDT

Reckless, disrespectful

Sometime on the evening of Thursday, May 23, on Route 256 less than one kilometre east of the Elmfield Road junction, a big black bear was struck and killed by a large vehicle travelling west at a high rate of speed.

To the person or persons responsible, I have two questions: Why did you leave this animal blocking a good portion of the westbound lane, and why were you driving so fast? This not only endangered the lives of those travelling behind you, but it also showed a huge amount of disrespect toward this magnificent creature. It deserved better.

Billy MacDonald, Elmfield

Citizen input a charade

The May 25 article "Police actions 'shockingly brutal'/Activist removed from meeting" was confirmation of what I already know. Some companies in the business of ruining our environment hold meetings and invite the public to participate so the companies appear to be interested in what concerned individuals have to say.

These companies are only interested in making money. They don't care if rivers, streams, forests, and wildlife are destroyed. God help you if you are intelligent and ask uncomfortable questions and challenge these companies. Then the police have to be called in. Why do we actually have a provincial Environment Department? It seems to me that smart, compassionate everyday citizens are doing unpaid work for it.

Miriam LeCain, Goffs

No more carriage tours

I live on the corner of Prince and Creighton streets in Lunenburg and I encounter horse-drawn carriages laden with tourists daily on my walk "downtown" to the post office, etc. Rarely is the driver attentive to the horse or to what is happening on the road. He or she is almost always completely turned around, facing the passengers, gabbing away, regaling them with the tales of olden days. Imagine if we thought it was OK to drive cars through town doing this.

It is a miracle that someone — a child, a baby, a senior, a resident of our beautiful community or one of the magnificent horses that is used purely for profit — has not been killed or seriously injured. Horses, noise, exhaust, hot pavement and busy tourist traffic do not mix!

Also, the horses have to deal with summertime traffic speeding by (often at 60-70 km/h), busy, impatient drivers, incredible heat and humidity, no shelter or shade at their "resting" spot on Bluenose Drive and working incredibly long days.

Imagine if someone tied two dogs to a pole on Bluenose Drive with no shelter and little water for hours on end in the intense summer heat and humidity — there'd be an instantaneous public outcry!

Please, Lunenburg council, will you consider banning this cruel, archaic and abusive form of entertainment? Join the growing list of progressive North American cities and towns (Montreal being the most recent) that have come to their senses and realized what an incredibly dangerous and inhumane practice horse-drawn carriage tours are.

Susan Black, Lunenburg

Sable horses neglected

Government inaction regarding Sable Island's horses is something that ought to be of great concern to all Canadians, but since Sable Island is part of Nova Scotia, it's especially relevant to the people of this province.

Many horses on the island die of starvation or exposure to the elements. Their teeth are worn down by a lifetime of exposure to sand and marram grass, and their small size is attributable to the lack of available food.

The Saskatoon Star Phoenix reports that Sable Island horses have about three times more parasite eggs in their fecal material as domestic horses do. These include a parasitic lung worm that causes respiratory diseases. Reproductive diseases also trouble the animals.

The harsh weather conditions makes their short lives much harder. Many die of hypothermia, as they have neither the body fat nor the suitable vegetation to see them through the winter — which comes with raging storms. The horses are also known to consume significant quantities of sand, wearing down their teeth and blocking their gastrointestinal tracts.

It's time for Parks Canada to remove these animals from that sandbar and provide them a suitable habitat.

Jeddy MacDonald, Judique

What Are 'Kissing Bugs' and How Do They Give You Chagas Illness? - Infosurhoy

Posted: 24 May 2019 03:26 AM PDT

bug_magnifying_glass_1296x728-header-1296x728 — There have been reports of these insects in numerous states, but experts say the risk is still low of them spreading the disease to you. Getty Images

Triatomines are bugs with a cute nickname and some nasty, potentially deadly habits.

Known as the "kissing bug," triatomines come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are found in 28 U.S. states, in particular Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

There have also been recent reports of the insects showing up in states where they aren't all that common.

The "kisses" they give are actually bites. The bugs are blood suckers that tend to bite people on the face and around the mouth.

And when they do, they poop. And sometimes that poop gets ingested by their victims.

It's gross and also potentially dangerous.

Some triatomines carry in their feces a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease. That ailment can have serious long-term health consequences if untreated.

Experts stress, however, that the risk of Chagas infection remains low.

Not every kissing bug carries the parasite. And even if you are bitten by an infected bug, odds are you still won't be infected.

That's because the bite itself doesn't transmit the disease.

The parasite usually only enters the body when triatomine feces is rubbed into fresh bite locations, other breaks in the skin, or through mucous membranes like those in the eyes or mouth.

Chagas disease can also be transmitted in several other ways, including via blood transfusions, organ transplants, from infected pregnant women to their babies, and by consuming uncooked food that's contaminated with triatomine feces. But these cases are rare.

Bitten in Delaware

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) casts new attention on the kissing bugs.

Epidemiologists reported the first-ever documented case of a kissing bug bite in the state of Delaware, although the young victim tested negative for Chagas disease.

There have also been recent reports of the insect being found in Illinois as well as in Pennsylvania and other places.

That doesn't mean kissing bugs — or the disease — are becoming more common.

"According to the CDC, the bugs were first reported in the state of Georgia in 1855 and have been reported in many states across the southern United States ever since," Paula Eggers, RN, an infectious disease epidemiologist for the Delaware Division of Public Health, told Healthline.

"There is no evidence to suggest that the bugs are increasing in number or spreading. Rather, increased awareness about the bugs and about Chagas disease likely has resulted in an increase of bugs recognized as or thought to be triatomines," she said.

"It's not an emerging disease, just a neglected disease," Paula Stigler-Granados, PhD, an assistant professor at the Texas State University School of Health Administration and leader of the Texas Chagas Task Force, told Healthline. "The biggest struggle we have is getting healthcare providers to diagnose and treat the disease."

A problem for pets

In Texas, the Chagas Task Force was convened after officials at Lackland Air Force Base reported that dogs on the base were getting infected and dying from Chagas disease.

That sparked concern that the disease could be quietly spreading among the human population as well.

Researchers subsequently discovered that 60 to 70 percent of the triatomine bugs collected in Texas were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease.

Stigler-Granados said veterinarians are more aware of Chagas disease than medical doctors. In the United States, dogs are far more at risk of being bitten by kissing bugs than people.

"Dogs sleep outside. They eat the bugs," she said. "They're an easy blood meal."

People, by contrast, don't face as high a danger.

"The risk is low because in most places we have pretty good housing conditions and we don't sleep outside," Stigler-Granados said.

Not just 'south of the border'

Both triatomines and Chagas disease are more common in Mexico, Central America, and South America than in the United States.

An estimated 8 million people living in those countries have Chagas disease.

There are also an estimated 300,000 people living in the United States who carry the disease, but only a handful of cases of Chagas transmission have been reported in the States. Most people from the United States were infected in other countries.

"Honestly, we really don't see this disease," Dr. Gary Procop, a pathologist associated with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and past chair of the College of American Pathologists Microbiology Resource Committee, told Healthline. "We've always looked at it as a 'south of the border' disease."

However, as more people infected with Chagas disease move into the United States, the disease could spread, said Procop.

Acute and chronic symptoms

Immediately after infection, Chagas can cause fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, and — when triatomine feces is accidentally rubbed in the eye — a swelling of the eyelid called Romaña's sign.

In the long term, Chagas disease can cause cardiac problems such as an enlarged heart, heart failure, altered heart rate or rhythm, and cardiac arrest.

There can also be gastrointestinal complications such as an enlarged esophagus or colon.

Chagas infections often occur during childhood. Because the disease often doesn't cause acute symptoms, most people who have Chagas don't know they're infected.

If detected, the disease can be treated using an anti-parasitic drug called benznidazole.

Seal the gaps

Kissing bugs can live indoors or outdoors.

They often live in cracks and holes in substandard housing, in bedrooms, near pet sleeping areas, and in rodent nests or burrows.

But a few basic preventive steps can reduce your odds of being "kissed" by a triatomine.

Homeowners should seal cracks or gaps in walls, windows, doors, and chimneys to prevent bugs from entering the house.

Don't let pets sleep outside and keep their bedding area clean.

Keep outdoor lights, which attract bugs, away from the house.

And clean up any debris near the house that could potentially serve as a nest for kissing bugs.

"Triatomines will take a blood meal wherever they can get one — people, dogs, rats, snakes, you name it," said Stigler-Granados. "So it's important to know what they look like to keep them away from your house."

Procop advises people living in areas with greater triatomine populations not to ignore an unusual bug bite.

"I definitely would get tested if I was in Texas and I had a kissing bug bite," he said.

"Chagas disease would not be on my worry-about list, especially compared to diseases like influenza and the measles," said Procop. "It's something to keep an eye on, but every time we draw blood from patients with suspected blood parasites we look for this pathogen, and we never find it."

That said, Stigler-Granados cautioned that more research is needed to determine just how prevalent Chagas disease is.

"It may not be that common a disease, but we also don't know how uncommon it is," she said.

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