Disease

Climate Change Making People Sick

Man-made climate change is now so pervasive that it is making people sick, a leading expert warns.

Beyond the heat-related deaths and illnesses around the Northern Hemisphere this summer, Dr. Sandro Galea, dean of Boston University School of Public Health, says the warming climate is also sending disease-carrying insects into new territories.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that ailments caused by flea and tick bites tripled in the U.S. between 2004 and 2016, with Maine seeing a 20-fold increase in cases of tick-borne Lyme disease.

Galea describes climate change as acting like a disease, with its symptoms including polluted air, flooded streets, burning forests and death.

Mad cow disease found in Florida, USA

A cow in America has tested positive for deadly Mad Cow Disease - the ultra-contagious bug that was feared to have claimed 177 British lives after an outbreak in the 1990s.

The diseased animal had belonged to Florida livestock ranchers, and was destined to be slaughtered and sold for meat. The illness can be passed to humans who eat infected beef.

The cow is one of just six in America that has tested positive for H-type BSE - the bacteria that triggers the disease - in the last 15 years. It was detected on August 26 as part of a routine surveillance of cattle found to be unfit for slaughter.