Plagues
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Bizarro Earth

More than 800 dead in Pakistani floods

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© AP Photo/Mohammad SajjadA woman sits outside her house flooded by heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, July 30, 2010. Boats and helicopters struggled to reach hundreds of thousands of villagers cut off by floods in northwest Pakistan on Friday as the government said it was the deadliest such disaster to hit the region since 1929.
Flooding in Pakistan has killed more than 800 people in a week, a government official said Saturday as rescuers struggled to reach marooned victims and some evacuees showed signs of fever, diarrhea and other waterborne diseases.

The flooding caused by record-breaking rainfalls caused massive destruction in the past week, especially in the northwest province, where officials said it was the worst deluge since 1929. The U.N. estimated Saturday that some 1 million people nationwide were affected by the disaster, though it didn't specify exactly what that meant.

The information minister for the northwest province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said reports coming in from various districts across the northwest showed that more than 800 people had died due to the flooding. Many people remain missing.

Floodwaters were receding in the northwest, officials said, but fresh rains were expected to lash other parts of the country in the coming days.

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Mysterious Plague Killing Off Bats, Bugs Get Free Rein

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© Marvin Moriarty/U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceThis little brown bat is seen hibernating in Greeley Mine, Vermont with the white fungus visible on its muzzle, wings, and ears.
Experts Don't Know How To Stop Spread of Deadly Fungus

A spreading plague has killed more than a million bats across the eastern U.S., and wildlife experts have no clue how to stop it.

As it rolls across the country and into Canada, the mysterious fungus threatens to disrupt the ecological balance, which could result in the spread of bugs that destroy crops and force swatting barbequers to flee indoors.

Called White-Nose Syndrome because of the white substance found on the noses of bats, it causes bats to move around and burn calories during the winter months when they should be hibernating and reserving energy. Scientists are not exactly sure why the fungus affects bats, where it came from originally, or how to stop its spread. One thing is for sure -- bat populations are being decimated by the fungus. Among some bat species, the mortality rate is 99 percent.

"There might be regional extinctions of particular bat species," said Noelle Rayman, assistant national White-Nose Syndrome coordinator at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told ABCNews.com.

Sherlock

Zambia: Investigation into mysterious disease launched

The Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Zambia have launched an investigation into the mysterious disease suspected to have broken out in Zambia.

The unknown disease, which is characterized by fever, coughs and bleeding from any part of the body, is reported to have so far claimed three lives.

Ambulance

India: Mysterious disease kills 10

Rourkela - At least 10 persons have died of a mysterious disease within a span of eight days near Bondamunda, about 10 km from here, triggering panic among local people.

Fifteen other patients from the area who complained of mild fever, severe headache and vomiting are being treated in several hospitals of the district, doctors said adding that efforts are on to identify the disease.

Question

Nepal: Mysterious disease claims 4 lives

Four persons have died while hundreds have been affected by an unknown disease at Kolti VDC ward numbers 5, 6 and 7 of Bajura district within the past four days.

It has been learnt that all patients suffering from this disease have similar symptoms of fever and pain in the upper and lower limbs, causing the patients to be bedridden. However, due to lack of medical services in these villages, the disease is yet to be identified.

According to Kolti locals, Khante Rokaya, 40, Birjitey Rokaya, 35, Khanti Rokaya, 60, and Kala Rokaya, 45, have died due to the disease.