Tag Archives: Zika

Mutant mosquito update

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping you informed on the news you can really use. Four years ago, the Zika virus became an issue. More than 300 people were infected in Texas. Zika can cause birth defects and fetal neurodevelopmental abnormalities in pregnant women. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mutant mosquito update

Good luck avoiding mosquitoes

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

You can’t stop them, you can only hope to contain them. Living in an area with so many mosquitoes means local officials can’t just ignore them, right? Harris County tries to lower the number of bugs both by spraying and … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Good luck avoiding mosquitoes

New fronts in the war on mosquitoes

Posted on June 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Science marches on. In the center of Anita Schiller’s dragonfly-ring-clad hand, a dragonfly nymph is scooting around. The dedicated naturalist and entomologist is explaining how the insect (which is a water-dwelling dragonfly with gills before it grows wings) expels water … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on New fronts in the war on mosquitoes

There’s always time for an attack on Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This one comes with an attack on local control, so it’s a twofer. Texas and its local governments would no longer be able to partner with abortion providers or their affiliates — even for services like sexual health education and … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Texas Infectious Disease Readiness Task Force

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We have such a thing, and at a time like this that’s good to know. Most Texans don’t regularly concern themselves with infectious diseases such as typhus, Ebola, Zika, or the plague. But in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, public … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Texas Infectious Disease Readiness Task Force

The mosquitopocalypse is coming

Posted on September 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It just keeps getting better and better. Harvey’s rain may have left Houston behind, but there’s another storm headed our way. It’s a cloud of mosquitoes, which breed in standing water and soon will be hatching by the millions. “It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Let’s use mutant mosquitoes to fight Zika

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong? The Bayou City’s teeming mosquito population spawns in dark, wet nooks and carries a slew of deadly tropical diseases that could ravage the region. So Houston is pondering a sneak attack, something akin to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Still asking for Zika help

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Following reports of the first local mosquito-borne Zika infections in the U.S., Mayor Sylvester Turner is once again calling on the state of Texas and federal government to provide financial assistance to help fight it. “There are … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Still asking for Zika help

First baby affected by Zika born in Texas

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Won’t be the last, unfortunately. A baby boy born with microcephaly in Harris County is the first Zika-affected infant in Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced Wednesday. The baby’s mother contracted Zika in Colombia, and the baby … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on First baby affected by Zika born in Texas

Building a better mosquito trap

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I love this story. Harris County officials are teaming up with tech-giant Microsoft to find and research mosquitoes that could carry the Zika virus or other mosquito-borne diseases, the county public health department said Tuesday. As part of “Project Premonition,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Building a better mosquito trap

No athlete should go to the Olympics if they don’t want to

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Spare me. It’s like a Draymond Green kick straight to your special place. The world’s grandest athletic stage, providing a public platform for the greatest basketball stars alive to unite for a single cause. Cherished history and untouchable names – … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mayor Turner asks for Zika help

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox. With members of the local legislative delegation at his side and an illegal tire dump as the backdrop, Mayor Sylvester Turner called on the state of Texas to declare the Zika virus a public health emergency and … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Don’t let the mosquitoes bite

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s going to be a challenge. Mosquitoes don’t breed in flood waters. They drown in them, said Dr. Mustapha Debboun, director of the Mosquito Control Division at Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services. But it’s after the flood waters … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments