From the ASPR Blog:  Why some emerging infectious diseases cause epidemics

Forty years ago, a patient exhibiting symptoms believed to be from malaria sought treatment in a small village in the Republic of the Congo in Africa. Later, it was determined this patient didn’t suffer from malaria, but from a virus that would cause a major disease outbreak decades later and more than 1,000 miles away: Ebola.  So why do some infectious diseases turn into epidemics while others don’t?  George Korch, Senior Science Advisor for ASPR, explains 5 key factors that enable some viruses to cause epidemics.   Learn More >>

Top 10 Zika Response Planning Tips: Brief Information for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Health Officials Planning to respond to the Zika outbreak is can be challenging, but CDC has tools, resources, and guidance for state, tribal, local, and territorial health officials on preparing for Zika. Check out CDC’s Top 10 Zika Response Planning Tips to help you get started. Learn More >>

Preparing together across generations

Disasters can be particularly hard for young children and older adults.  As you think about ways that you plan to keep all of the people who matter to you healthy in a disaster, consider how their needs may change.  Whether you are planning to keep little ones safe or you are starting a conversation with older parents about what you will do to help each other when a disaster strikes, check out these resources to help you prepare across generations. Learn More >>

Reducing Antibiotic Resistance:  What You Can Do Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die each year as a direct result of these infections. But there are steps that each of us can take every day – like washing your hands and staying up-to-date with vaccines – that can help slow the spread of antibiotic resistance.  Find out what you can do every day, when your sick, when you travel, and more to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. Learn More >>

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With the recent centennial of the National Park Service, we’ve seen much publicity in favor of national parks within the United States. The idea of natural protected areas is viewed as a general good among popular opinion. Who could be opposed to the conservation of nature? In reality, there’s a very disturbing history behind the creation of the U.S. national parks, which went hand-in-hand with “manifest destiny” and genocidal policies against the indigenous peoples for whom those “pristine” areas were actually their ancestral territories. That tendency has been, and continues to be, replicated around the world. READ THE REST »

1775 – An early and unofficial American flag was raised by Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Mott after the seizing of Fort Johnson from the British. The flag was dark blue with the white word “Liberty” spelled on it.

1776 – British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution.

1789 – The U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed the Department of State.

1821 – Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador proclaimed independence.

1853 – Reverend Antoinette Brown Blackwell was ordained becoming first female minister in the United States.

1857 – Timothy Alder earned a patent for the typesetting machine.

1858 – The first mail service begins to the Pacific Coast of the U.S. under government contract. Coaches from the Butterfield Overland Mail Company took 12 days to make the journey between Tipton, MO and San Francisco, CA.

1883 – The University of Texas at Austin opened.

1909 – A New York judge rule that Ford Motor Company had infringed on George Seldon’s patent for the “Road Engine.” The ruling was later overturned.

1909 – Charles F. Kettering applied for a patent on his ignition system. His company Delco (Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company) later became a subsidiary of General Motors.

1916 – During the Battle of the Somme, in France, tanks were first used in warfare when the British rolled them onto the battlefields.

1917 – Alexander Kerensky proclaimed Russia to be a republic.

1923 – Oklahoma was placed under martial law by Gov. John Calloway Walton due to terrorist activity by the Ku Klux Klan. After this declaration national newspapers began to expose the Klan and its criminal activities.

1928 – Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic penicillin in the mold Penicillium notatum.

1935 – The Nuremberg Laws were enacted by Nazi Germany. The act stripped all German Jews of their civil rights and the swastika was made the official symbol of Nazi Germany.

1940 – The German Luftwaffe suffered the loss of 185 planes in the Battle of Britain. The change in tide forced Hitler to abandon his plans for invading Britain.

1949 – “The Lone Ranger” premiered on ABC. Clayton Moore was the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels was Tonto.

1950 – U.N. forces landed at Inchon, Korea in an attempt to relieve South Korean forces and recapture Seoul.

1953 – The National Boxing Association adopted the 10-point scoring system for all of its matches.

1955 – Betty Robbins became the first woman cantor.

1959 – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev arrived in the U.S. to begin a 13-day visit.

1961 – The U.S. resumed underground testing of nuclear weapons.

1965 – “Lost in Space” premiered on CBS TV.

1965 – “Green Acres” premiered on CBS TV.

1971 – Greenpeace was founded.

1978 – Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks to win his 3rd World Heavyweight Boxing title.

1982 – The first issue of “USA Today” was published.

1983 – The U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House of Representatives in their condemning of the Soviet Union for shooting down a Korean jet with 269 people onboard.

1990 – France announced that it would send an additional 4,000 soldiers to the Persian Gulf. They also expelled Iraqi military attaches in Paris.

1993 – The FBI announced a new national campaign concerning the crime of carjacking.

1994 – U.S. President Clinton told Haiti’s military leaders “Your time is up. Leave now or we will force you from power.”

1995 – The U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing.

1997 – The domain name “google.com” was registered.

1998 – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the Iranian military to be on full alert and massed troops on its border with Afghanistan.

1998 – It was announced that 5.9 million people read The Starr Report on the Internet. 606,000 people read the White House defense of U.S. President Clinton.

1999 – The United Nations approved the deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force in East Timor.

2003 – In Independence, MO, the birthplace of Ginger Rogers was designated a local landmark. The move by the Independence City Council qualified the home for historic preservation.

2012 – Legoland Malaysia opened in Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia.