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Mexico. There are about 200,000 Mexicans of Filipino ancestry living in Mexico, some of whom are of mixed blood heritage. They are descendants of Filipino slaves and immigrants who settled in Mexico during the colonial period. More recently, there were Filipinos who arrived as refugees to Mexico who fled from the Marcos dictatorship. Their communities are found in Guerrero, Michoacn, and Colima.

Middle East. Many Filipinos work in the Middle East (mostly Saudi Arabia and UAE) as engineers, nurses or hospital workers, accountants, office workers, construction workers, restaurant workers and maids. It is estimated that more than 2 million Overseas Filipinos are working in the Middle East.

New Zealand. There are about 17,000 Filipino residents and citizens in New Zealand called KiwiPino's, Filipino New Zealanders. New Zealand, as in the past, are currently recruiting Filipino qualified nurses. Filipinos in New Zealand, as well as prospective immigrants, often lean towards information technology, nursing and, more recently, telecommunications for careers.

Nigeria. Filipinos in Nigeria consist largely of migrant workers in the oil industry, though those in the capital city Abuja also work in the education and medical sectors. By mid-2008, their numbers had grown to an estimated 4,500, up from 3,790 in December 2005. They commonly hold skilled construction positions, among them pipe layers, welders, and engineers, and may earn as much as US$10,000 per month; however, those working in oil areas in Southeast Nigeria often find themselves the target of violence by local militants. Majority of the OFWs are working/residing in Lagos and Abuja. Filipino workers are actively petitioning the Philippine government to lift the travel and work ban in Nigeria.

Norway. The number of people with Filipino background in Norway is estimated to be about 12,000, most of them living in the Oslo urban area. In addition to Filipinos who have intermarried with Norwegians, there are at least 900 licensed Filipino nurses, over a hundred oil engineers employed mostly in offshore projects in the western coast of Norway and Filipinos or Norwegians of Filipino descent working in the government sector, diplomatic missions and NGO's and commercial establishments.

Pakistan. According to the statistics of the Philippine government, an estimated 3,000 Filipinos live and work in Pakistan. Filipinos in Pakistan work as domestic workers, and housemaids.

Singapore. Over 150,000 Overseas Filipinos work and reside in Singapore. A notable incident involving an OFW was the trial and execution of Flor Contemplacion for the alleged murder of her employer's child and another Filipina, Delia Maga.

South Korea. According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, as of December 2006, some 70,000 Filipinos work and live in Korea. Of this number, some 6,000 are permanent residents, some 50,000 work legally, and some 14,000 are "irregular" or do not have the proper documents.

Spain. There are around 50,000 Filipino legal workers living abroad in Spain, mainly in Barcelona and Madrid. Although many Filipinos did immigrate or ran away to Spain after the United States took over the islands in 1898, most of the Filipinos moved to the old metropolises during the 1960s and 1970s seeking jobs, which in many cases were related to housekeeping, healthcare or industrial activities. There's also a significant group of Spaniards of Filipino origins (some of whom are from 3rd and 4th generations) including some famous people like former Spanish Prime Minister Manila-born Marcelo Azcrraga Palmero or Isabel Preysler, mother of famous singer Enrique Iglesias. This group is estimated in at least 40,000 people. Furthermore, since Filipino citizens are entitled to obtain Spanish citizenship by proving two years of legal residence in Spain, it is estimated that there are around 150,000 people holding dual citizenship (Spanish/Filipino). All in all, the entire population of total or partial Filipino origins is around 300,000, nearly 0,7% of Spanish population.

Taiwan. According to the 2006 data of the government of Taiwan, there are 96,000 Filipinos currently living in Taiwan. Of these, 58,704 are in manufacturing industries and 34,602 are in social or personal services (e.g. maids). However, according to 2004 data by the Philippine Government, there are 2,037 Filipinos living in Taiwan permanently, 154,135 are in Taiwan for work contracts, and 4,500 go to Taiwan irregularly, which make a total of 160,672. It is not known why there is such a big difference between these two numbers (96,000 vs. 160,672).

Read more:
HIV cases in country continue to rise

Spillover Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic By David Quammen (Norton; 587 pages; $28.95)

In 2008, a Dutch woman on a guided trek through Uganda climbed gamely down into a remote, sunken cave - a cave better known for the few indolent pythons underfoot than for the tens of thousands of bats that teemed overhead. For several minutes, she and her party peered into the darkness and breathed the hot, pungent air, as they gingerly stepped across rocks slick with bat guano.

It was 13 days later, back home in the Netherlands, when the woman felt the first flush of illness; soon, her fever climbed, her organs failed, she went into a coma. Her shocking death was traced to a pathogen called Marburg virus: a rare (so far!) infection related to Ebola and harbored in African fruit bats.

David Quammen's "Spillover" catalogs the terrible and growing list of diseases that pass to humans from animals, and it isn't only misguided tourists who meet disaster in his grim tale. Australian parrot brokers catch psittacosis from their cockatoos. Bangladeshi climbers of date palm trees frequented by fruit bats contract Nipah virus. Neighbors of goat farms in the Netherlands come down with "Q fever."

Historically, and most consequentially to the human race, African bush meat hunters at some point became infected with a virus from the apes they butchered - progenitor strains of what we now know as HIV. "Everything comes from somewhere," Quammen reminds us. And most of humankind's emerging infectious diseases come from animal populations.

"Spillover" - so called because of the way the infections it describes spill over from one species into another - surveys the diseases that have erupted out of the animal world into humans over the last century or so, and in the process it tells numerous gripping tales of scientific derring-do.

We see public health officials investigating deadly epidemics in the Congo basin, veterinarians venturing into caves full of diseased bats, virologists wearing space suits to work in laboratories where the world's most dangerous pathogens are studied.

As he relates these stories, Quammen demonstrates that this struggle is essentially an evolutionary one, between predator and prey - with the microbe serving as the hunter and the human being as the hunted - and that it takes place in the context of a complex global ecology.

We are all connected, Quammen shows us, not only to each other but also to the bats of Australia roosting in suburban trees, the rhesus macaques being shipped to laboratories around the globe, to the mosquitoes alighting on Malaysian rice farmers. As a mutual substrate for emerging infection, Quammen shows us, "we are all in this together."

"Spillover" has abundant thrills typical of the pandemic nonfiction genre. As after reading Laurie Garrett's "The Coming Plague," Gina Kolata's "Flu" and Richard Preston's "The Hot Zone," readers may be tempted to put on protective equipment before boarding a crowded plane - or, more pertinently, before entering a bat cave.

See the article here:
'Spillover,' by David Quammen

Thousands of deer in states like South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma have been found dead from Blue Tongue Disease (BT) or epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD).

This disease is transmitted to deer by midges (culicoides imicola) that live at limited water sources. BT has killed a few hundred deer and EHD has taken thousands.

The major signs of the disease are high fever, excessive salivation, swelling of the face and tongue. These diseases cause deer to lose their appetite, which reduces their weight. The deer will also lose their fear of man and grow progressively weaker. The tongue swells and turns, and deer can be found lying down in pools of water to cool down. Internal bleeding can occur.

The sickest animals die within one week. Incubation period is five to 20 days. Infections typically do not last more than 60 days. The disease is killed off by cold weather, but no efficient treatment has been found.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued no warnings against eating the meat. The disease is not passed from one deer to another, nor is it passed on from deer to humans.

BT causes death in less than 25 percent of deer. Once the deer dies, the virus also dies in less than one day.

Deer are usually affected in the southeast United States during August and September by EHD and BT. A bad year for infections can reduce deer herds by 245 percent.

Outdoor Trivia

A cheetahs lifespan in the wild is 12 years. A sharks cornea is used for human eye transplants.

Here is the next set of questions to see how much you know the outdoors: What is the largest land predator? How many species of butterflies are there?

Original post:
Outdoors: Deer-killer disease found in state

(Memphis) The survivor of a serial killers attack is in the hospital, battling injuries she received from the ambush several years ago.

Its been a tough five years for Hugh Wooten and his family. In 2007, Wootens father, Herbert, was gunned down on his Fraser front porch by Dexter Cox.

It just tore me up, said Wooten.

Cox also shot Wootens mother Barbara, crippling her health.

It grazed her breast, went through her lower colon and came out above her hip.It damaged a nerve in her left leg, said Wooten.

Shes also fighting a complicated and mysterious virus.

It got into her blood stream and made her heart week. Its some kind of virus, they dont know what it is, said Wooten.

This past week, Barbara Wooten had a heart transplant. Her son says the family is still suffering from those devastating shots fired by Cox in October 2007.

Seeing all these tubes in her, its bringing all that stuff back together again, expressed Wooten.

Right now, the grandmother is in the ICU. Doctors expect her to be home in a few weeks. But even with a new heart, she will continue to struggle.

Read the rest here:
Victim of Serial Killer Attack Seeks Help

Click photo to enlarge

Dr. Beth Vesco-Mock

Then last week the El Paso Veterinary Medical Association issued a press release addressing a massive fall outbreak of parvo in the Southwest, specifically El Paso.

I have seen an increase here at the Animal Service Center of the MesillaValley in the past two weeks. I have spoken with local veterinary clinics here in Las Cruces and two of them said they are seeing new parvo cases every day. Therefore, I have decided to use my little corner of the newspaper to educate dog owners on what parvo is and how easily it can be prevented.

Parvovirus is a viral disease of dogs. It affects puppies much more frequently than it affects adult dogs because they have immature immune systems. The virus likes to grow in rapidly dividing cells. The intestinal lining has the biggest concentration of rapidly dividing cells in a puppy's body so that is where the virus likes to live.

What are the normal symptoms of parvo?

The big three are vomiting, foul-smelling diarrhea, and lethargy. Symptoms usually begin with a high fever, lethargy, depression, and loss of appetite. Secondary symptoms appear as severe gastrointestinal distress, such as vomiting and

How is this virus transmitted?

Canine parvovirus is carried by dogs. Any adult dog can be a carrier whether they are showing clinical signs or not. In other words, you should consider every dog as a potential carrier. Generally, it takes seven to 10 days from the time of exposure for dogs and puppies to start showing symptoms and to test positive for parvo. Parvo is highly contagious to unprotected dogs, and the virus can remain infectious in ground contaminated with fecal material for years in the correct conditions. Parvo is an extremely hardy virus that most disinfectants cannot kill. Chlorine bleach is the most effective and inexpensive agent that works. It is easy to transmit parvo on the soles of shoes, hands, clothing, etc. Therefore, dogs/puppies can contract parvo without ever leaving their yards.

Parvo, despite what you might hear, is not an airborne virus. It is excreted in the feces of infected dogs, and if someone - human, dog, bird, etc. - steps in (or otherwise comes in contact with) the excrement, the possibility for contamination is great. Some people speculate that birds invading a dog's food dish can deposit the parvovirus there. If you think you may have come in contact with parvovirus, a strong solution of bleach and water does kill the virus, so you can wash your shoes and clothes, even your hands with it, to reduce the risk of infecting your dog. Rest assured that parvovirus is specific to dogs alone and cannot be transmitted to humans or other pets of a different species, such as cats.

More here:
Parvovirus is a killer of puppies in Doña Ana County