I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Chalk this up as another reason to not want mosquitoes biting you. Health officials in the state are warning residents in southwest Michigan that this year’s plentiful blood sucking population could be harboring a deadly virus.
“If we see more than three cases in a cluster we consider that an outbreak. This is an outbreak,” State Veterinarian Steven Halstead told the Kalamazoo Gazette.
The disease is Eastern Equine Encephalitis. EEE has been confirmed in three horses in the southwest portion of the state, and officials are awaiting word from tests on two other horses. The disease is spread from birds to equines (horses and mules) and can sometimes infect people. The virus effects the brain, causing swelling.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says the disease is rare in humans, but if it develops it is severe.
Severe cases of EEE (involving encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain) begin with the sudden onset of headache, high fever, chills, and vomiting. The illness may then progress into disorientation, seizures, or coma. EEE is one of the most severe mosquito-transmitted diseases in the United States with approximately 33% mortality and significant brain damage in most survivors.
There is no treatment for the virus, only management of the virus’ symptoms.
Health officials are warning people in southwest Michigan to use mosquito repellent and to fix areas where mosquitoes could enter homes.
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