"That truth should be silent I had almost forgot"--Enobarbus in ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, back in Rome after having been too long in Egypt.---------
Melville's PIERRE, Book 4, chapter 5: "Something ever comes of all persistent inquiry; we are not so continually curious for nothing."
1909 April 22 Mount Airy News. Cousin Columbus
Cockerham had died 4 February 1908:
Eugene and George Hays were fined $15 each and the cost in the
action for an assault on a negro, Roof Bryan at the sale of the late Columbus
Cockerham. It appeared that the negro had acted in an impudent manner towards a
white man and the boys ran him home in a rather rough manner. They fired off
their pistols and caused the negro to leave with all possible speed. They
claimed that they tried to arrest the negro and he ran and the shooting was
done in an attempt to intimidate so that they could arrest him.
Books! Books! I have just been listening to the female teacher in Florida who used her diverse library to interest her diverse students. A book by a black man who mentions facing racism? Out! But the shelves are being stripped. The news shows bare shelves, the books not burned yet but piled up somewhere to be checked by a "media specialist." How long can Florida go on being crazy?
In the 4th grade in East Vanport there were several feet of low shelves of books under the window in the back of the classroom. The teacher had to leave and appointed me to keep the books in order. What order? I have forgotten. But when I tried to order them the new teacher screamed at me to sit down and keep my hands off the books.
All I wanted to do for many years was have books to lay my hands on.
Dangerous fungal illness rapidly spreading across country, doctors warn
Chris Oberholtz
SAN FRANCISCO
– Doctors are warning of a dangerous fungal illness rapidly spreading
across the country, especially affecting those living or visiting the California and Arizona areas.
If
you think it sounds like something from the cutting room floor of "The
Last of Us" series, where a parasitic fungal infection devastates
mankind, there are some very base-level similarities.
Valley fever
(also called coccidioidomycosis or "cocci") is a significant cause of
pneumonia, said Dr. Brad Perkins, chief medical officer at Karius, a company that provides advanced diagnostics for infectious diseases.
"This
is a fungus," said Perkins, a former Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention official who led the anthrax bioterrorism investigation.
"Most causes of pneumonia are caused by bacteria. This is a fungus that
lives in the soil and is breathed in dusty situations, whether it's a
dust storm or around construction or excavation."
FILE
-- Emily Arellano, second from left, has Valley fever and underwent
treatment three days a week at San Joaquin Valley Pulmonary back in
2005. She, along with others who undergo the same treatment, sits in a
room full of recliners and falls asleep during the hour-long treatment
with intravenous antibiotics.
Valley fever
and COVID-19 share many of the same symptoms as a cough, difficulty
breathing, fever, tiredness or fatigue. In rare cases, it can spread to
other body parts and cause severe disease.
Animals, including
pets, can also get Valley fever by breathing in fungus spores from dirt
and outdoor dust. However, it cannot spread from one person or animal to
another. There are about 200 deaths a year due to the disease.
"Those
are mostly people with severe immunocompromising illnesses underlying
this infection," Perkins said. "It can be a devastating infection in
those people. That's pretty rare, fortunately."
Prevention is challenging, according to Perkins. Risk is mostly associated with travel to high-risk areas.
"People
concerned about their risk of developing Valley fever should try to
avoid dusty situations, mostly in the summer and in peak heat," Perkins
said.
You should also see your doctor if you develop signs or symptoms of pneumonia.
A sandstorm and the sun are seen in Death Valley, California, on Nov. 08, 2018.
The fungi that cause Valley fever are Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasiii, the CDC reports.
In the U.S., scientists have found C. immitis primarily in California, as well as Washington State. C. posadasii is found primarily in Arizona, as well as New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and portions of southern California.
According
to the CDC, Southern California, particularly the southern San Joaquin
Valley, and southern Arizona, including metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson,
have the highest reported rates of Valley fever. The disease is likely
also common in parts of West Texas and along the Rio Grande River.
Perkins has a word to the wise for the thousands
of football fans traveling to State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona,
for the Super Bowl to see the Kansas City Chiefs take on the
Philadelphia Eagles.
"If you're just traveling to the airport and
to the hotel and to the Super Bowl, you're probably going to be fine,"
Perkins said. "If you're out hiking in the desert, you might want to
give some consideration to your risk for development of Valley fever."
The Arizona Department of Health Services
said 11,523 reported cases of Valley fever was reported in the state in
2020. In total, 94% of cases were reported in 3 counties – Maricopa,
Pima and Pinal, which are home to Phoenix and Tucson.
A man wears a breathing mask while bicycling through Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018.
While
most people who breathe in the spores don’t get sick, those who develop
Valley fever typically feel better on their own within weeks or months.
About 5% to 10% of people who get Valley fever will develop serious or
long-term lung problems.
"Many people are asymptomatic when they get this infection, so they don't have any symptoms at all," Perkins said.
Having an infection, however, is probably protective in the future.
"If
you're one of the lucky ones that that gets infected and doesn't have
symptoms, you probably have some degree of protection in the future,"
Perkins adds.
If you do develop symptoms, they look pretty much like typical pneumonia caused by bacteria.
"If
you see a physician, whether you're hospitalized or as an outpatient,
they will likely prescribe medicines that are for bacteria and won't
have any impact on this fungus," Perkins said.
Perkins adds that
is one way Karius offers the need for a better diagnostic test for
diseases like this one, particularly in immunocompromised patients. A
single diagnostic test by Karius, using a single blood draw, can
identify whether this is a bacterium or fungi of any type and get
doctors the information they need and get patients on the right therapy
more quickly.
The
increased number of cases are primarily associated with people
migrating to areas like Arizona and California, and people traveling
there for recreation, Perkins said.
"Many of those may be retirees
or older adults that, one, have not been exposed to Valley fever in the
past, and, two, maybe immune suppressed at higher risk for disease," he
adds.
The climate crisis may be to blame as well. As heat
increases, that may be facilitating the reproduction of the fungus in
the soil in these areas.
"It's important to note that the entire
western United States has some level of Valley fever, but it's much
higher in the Phoenix region of Arizona and certain parts of the
interior of California," Perkins said.
A study published in the
journal GeoHealth estimated that the range of Valley fever could reach
the border with Canada before the end of the century.
