What Caught My Eye Today

HIV - According to French scientists, a new strain of HIV has been identified in a Cameroonian woman. That can't be good. The three previously known strains are related to a virus found in chimps, but the new one appears related to a form of simian immunodeficiency virus recently discovered in wild gorillas. So far, the woman shows no signs of AIDS and is not taking any HIV drugs. The finding highlights the need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western Central Africa. I find it interesting how something like this gets practical no media coverage, while the H1N1 virus is being played up like the second coming of the plague.

Speaking of which...

Argentina - Schools across most of Argentina have been closed for a month because of an outbreak of swine flu. At least 230 people of died from the virus so far. The Education Ministry ordered the regular winter break of two weeks to be doubled to help prevent further infections. Argentina has reported the second largest number of H1N1 flu cases in the world, behind the United States. I heard we were contemplating longer school closures as well, but then we reconsidered and reduced the school closures or eliminated them altogether. Turns out government officials are worried that our nation's youth is dumb enough already without missing even more class time.

I did mention the plague didn't I?

China - A town in western China is under quarantine due to an outbreak of pneumonic plague, which has killed 3 people. Pneumonic plague is the deadliest and most rare form of plague. Unlike the bubonic plague, which is spread only by fleas, pneumonic plague can be spread from person to person. Untreated, it kills 60% of its victims, though early treatment cuts the death rate to 15%. A spokesperson for the World Health Organization said, "It's not something we're very worried about, but we are keeping an eye on it." Not worried about an affliction that--even when treated--is lethal to 15 out of 100 people? Are you kidding me? The swine flu--which has a rate of fatality of a couple of hundredths of a percent--has the WHO flipping out. Am I missing something here?

Estonia - In the latest Happy Planet Index (click here), an international survey of "life satisfaction", Estonia scored last in all of Europe. The researchers who conducted the survey said that Estonians seem to have a lack of "social cohesion." The index combines environmental impact with human well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which, country by country, people live long and happy lives. At the risk of stating the obvious, this piqued my interest enough to see how well some other countries fared on this list. Strangely, the folks in Central America seem quite content with their lives. The top four (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Guatemala) all come from the same region. China comes in at #20, France at #71, the United Kingdom at #74, Iraq at #79, Iran at #81, Canada at #89, Russia at #108, and the good ol' United States coming in at a stellar #114. Estonia ranked #131, just so you know. And if you are a glass half empty sort of person, then Zimbabwe is the place for you. Those poor schmucks came in dead last on this survey.

Cricket - According to my eyes on the ground in the UK, the Australians did not beat the English in the fourth test of the biannual cricket tournament. I want to make sure I've got this right--"It was not so much a victory for the Aussies as a total thrashing." Now for those of you who have been paying attention (and I'm sure there is at least one of you out there), the series is all tied up going into the fifth and final test later this week. Stay tuned.

Golf - I'm thinking that rather than calling it the World Golf Championship it would be easier to it Tiger Woods Trophy Case. Dude won his 16th WGC trophy, fth of the season and 70th overall this past weekend at the Firestone Invitational. Did I mention that he was three strokes behind at the start of the final round and ended up winning by four. That just ain't right.