Local West Nile Virus Case Confirmed
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirms there have been of West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Texas so far this year. One case has been confirmed in AG真人百家乐 County. The individual has been hospitalized.
The neuroinvasive form of the disease can affect a person鈥檚 brain or spinal cord, and can be fatal. The first deadly case of the disease was confirmed in Texas but there are reports of as many as three deaths in the state. West Nile virus, carried by mosquitoes, causes the disease.
West Nile fever, also caused by the virus, is generally considered less serious because it does not invade the nervous system. The that roughly half the cases that states have reported so far this year are of the the more serious form of the disease.
Mosquitoes breed in standing water. To help reduce the risk of exposure to the virus, public health officials urge residents to ensure they empty containers which collect rain and otherwise eliminate standing water from their properties. You can also protect yourself from exposure by using insect repellent or wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants when spending time in mosquito-infested areas.
Although not all mosquitoes carry the virus, it has been of the insects this season.
Barton Springs Pool Open After Storm
Barton Springs Pool is after being .
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department shut down the pool last Monday after a caused flooding and debris collected in the springs.
The pool has now resumed its normal operating hours 鈥� 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will be closed on Thursday as usual for regular cleaning.
Safety Board: Oil Rig Blowout Indicators Need Improvement
A government safety panel says the procedures BP and other offshore drilling companies use to identify and quell rig blowouts would not significantly decrease the likelihood of another incident like the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has a scheduled as part of a public hearing in Houston today and tomorrow. Testimony is expected to recommend offshore drilling companies be required to gather and publicly report effective safety performance indicators.
鈥淭here is a need for indicators specifically related to the risks of a blowout, especially offshore,鈥� safety expert Andrew Hopkins says in 鈥�,鈥� one of the reports to be presented and reviewed at the public hearing.
Eleven workers were killed in the and about 200 million gallons of oil flowed into the Gulf from the blown-out Macondo well. On the night of the blowout, drillers took about 40 minutes to recognize that a "kick" 鈥� a pressure-building precursor to a blowout 鈥� had occurred, by which time it was too late.
鈥淥ne can therefore easily imagine an indicator based on response time to kicks,鈥� Hopkins says.
Other include the reporting of the number of well cementing failures and the number of gas alarms. The public hearing starts at 9 a.m.
