© Christopher Lee for The New York Times
This story is part of a series by Public Health Watch and MyRGV.com. Puente News Collaborative is a partner in this collaboration.
Seek appropriate care. Dr. CJ Martínez-Menéndez, a neurologist at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, emphasizes that Parkinson’s treatment is a team effort. Finding a neurologist is the first step; ask for a referral to a movement disorders specialist, physical therapists and occupational therapists, and possibly a psychiatrist or psychologist for emotional support.
Join a support group. Two hospital systems — South Texas Health System and DHR Health System — hold monthly meetings. Another group meets at Siesta Retirement Village in Weslaco, Texas. Myla Garza, a Parkinson’s patient, encourages people not to be “afraid” of the diagnosis. “There are many things that can improve your quality of life,” she says.
Explore online resources. The Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Parkinson’s Foundation offer free, reliable information to help patients and families understand and cope with the disease. The Parkinson’s Foundation also operates a toll-free helpline (1-800-473-4636) available in English and Spanish.
Participate in Parkinson’s research projects. Contact brain@utrgv.edu for information about Dr. Kelsey Baker’s study at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. You can also email genetics@parkinson.org or call the Parkinson’s Foundation helpline (1-800-473-4636) to enroll in the foundation’s national genetic study, which offers free genetic testing to all participants.
© Delcia Lopez (MyRGV)
Texas trial, which lasted a week, drew national attention due to race, as Anthony is Black and Austin Metcalf was white
Following a trial that lasted just one week from jury selection to verdict, a Collin county, Texas, jury found Karmelo Anthony, now 19, guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf last year.
The closely watched trial drew national attention, with viral social media posts that highlighted the racial composition of the case: Anthony is Black; Austin was white. Attorneys selected 12 jurors and six alternates for the trial; none of the jurors was Black.
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© Photograph: Pat Lopez/AP
© Photograph: Pat Lopez/AP
© Photograph: Pat Lopez/AP
Attorney Dan Cogdell backs Paxton’s Democratic opponent and says the Republican is too focused on appeasing Trump
A lawyer who represented Ken Paxton, Texas’s attorney general, for nearly a decade over accusations of corruption and securities fraud is supporting Democrat James Talarico – and not his former client – in one of the biggest US Senate races.
Talarico on Monday drew attention to his campaign winning the endorsement of Houston attorney Dan Cogdell, who was part of Paxton’s defense team during the Republican’s historic impeachment trial in 2023 that ended in acquittal.
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© Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters
© Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters
© Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters
Esteban had never heard of the prison gang Los Paisas until he was held at the Adelanto immigrant detention center in California. As soon as he passed through the bars of his housing unit, other detainees made it clear he had to choose: join them or join another group made up of Russians, Indians, Chinese, and Armenians. He understood that doing neither would leave him defenseless, so he accepted. There was no initiation ritual and he was not asked to swear allegiance. The rules were simple: protect your own from violent people, settle internal disputes, and keep a measure of order in a place where authority often seemed insufficient. Over the months, deportations and transfers took away people he knew. They were replaced by newcomers, some of whom did not understand the dynamics of detention. He had to teach them. Before he knew it, Esteban was among the most long-standing members and, without seeking the role, he became one of the leaders of the gang.
© LUCY NICHOLSON (REUTERS)
© Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times
Department of Agriculture ays new cases in Texas and New Mexico as officials move to combat parasite’s spread
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday confirmed three additional cases of New World screwworm – two more in Texas and the other in New Mexico, according to the agency’s animal health arm.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the two Texas cases affected a calf in La Salle county and a goat in Gillespie county.
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© Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters
© Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters
© Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters
Per la prima volta dal 1966 gli Stati Uniti hanno confermato un caso di verme del Nuovo Mondo in Texas. A darne notizia è stato il Dipartimento dell’Agricoltura degli Stati Uniti (USDA), citato da Reuters, dopo il ritrovamento del parassita in un vitello nella località di La Pryor, a circa 50 chilometri dal confine con il Messico.
La scoperta ha riacceso l’attenzione su un organismo che il Paese era riuscito a eradicare oltre mezzo secolo fa e che oggi rappresenta soprattutto una minaccia per allevamenti e fauna selvatica. Secondo le autorità americane, si tratta al momento di un numero limitato di casi, ma sufficiente a far scattare misure di contenimento e monitoraggio nell’area interessata.
Nonostante il nome con cui è comunemente conosciuto, il verme del Nuovo Mondo non è un verme vero e proprio. Si tratta della larva della mosca Cochliomyia hominivorax, una specie presente in alcune aree dell’America Centrale, dei Caraibi e del Sud America.
Come riporta Reuters, le femmine depongono le uova all’interno di ferite aperte o nelle mucose di animali a sangue caldo. Quando le uova si schiudono, le larve iniziano a nutrirsi dei tessuti vivi dell’ospite scavando progressivamente nella carne. Se l’infestazione non viene individuata e trattata in tempo, può provocare gravi lesioni e persino la morte dell’animale.
Negli Stati Uniti il parassita era stato eliminato negli anni Sessanta grazie a un programma che prevedeva il rilascio massiccio di mosche sterili, una strategia che oggi le autorità stanno nuovamente valutando per contenere la diffusione del focolaio.
Sì, ma gli esperti invitano a mantenere le giuste proporzioni. Il verme del Nuovo Mondo colpisce soprattutto bovini, cavalli, animali domestici e fauna selvatica. In casi più rari può infestare anche gli esseri umani, provocando una forma di miasi, cioè un’infestazione da larve che si sviluppano all’interno di ferite o lesioni cutanee.
Secondo le autorità sanitarie statunitensi, i casi nell’uomo restano comunque poco frequenti e il rischio per la popolazione è considerato basso. Inoltre il parassita non rappresenta un problema per la sicurezza alimentare: non infesta carne destinata al consumo, frutta o altri alimenti presenti nella catena commerciale.
A preoccupare maggiormente non è tanto il rischio sanitario per la popolazione quanto il possibile impatto economico. Come evidenzia Reuters, il patrimonio bovino degli Stati Uniti si trova già ai livelli più bassi degli ultimi 75 anni. Un’eventuale diffusione del parassita potrebbe causare ulteriori perdite agli allevatori, aumentare i costi sanitari e incidere sulla produzione di carne bovina. Negli ultimi anni Washington ha investito milioni di dollari per rallentare l’avanzata del parassita dal Messico verso nord, intensificando i controlli sugli animali e rafforzando le attività di sorveglianza lungo il confine. Dopo la conferma del caso in Texas, le autorità hanno istituito un’area di controllo attorno al focolaio, limitato gli spostamenti degli animali e avviato nuove misure di monitoraggio. Per ora il numero di infestazioni confermate resta contenuto.
L'articolo Torna il verme del Nuovo Mondo negli Stati Uniti dopo 60 anni: cos’è il parassita che può colpire anche l’uomo proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.
The confirmation of a case of the New World screwworm (NWS) in Texas set off alarm bells across the United States, marking the return of a pest that had been eradicated from the country more than half a century ago. The discovery comes at a particularly sensitive time for the livestock industry, which is facing the smallest cattle herd in 75 years and record-high beef prices, raising concerns about the potential economic consequences of a spread of the parasite.
© Daniel Becerril (REUTERS)
He takes this newspaper’s call on a train bound for Hamburg, home of St. Pauli, continues by car and says goodbye almost an hour later in his office at the headquarters of the modest club, which he has chaired since 2014. Oke Göttlich (Hamburg, Germany; 50) is also one of the 13 vice presidents of the DFB, the German Football Association. And earlier this year, amid threats from Donald Trump’s administration to invade Greenland, Göttlich, a trained journalist, said enough was enough. “What reasons justified the boycotts by certain countries of Olympic Games in the 1980s?” he asked, referring to Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984, in the Hamburger Morgenpost. “In my view, the current threat is greater than back then, so we must have this discussion; a footballer’s life is not worth more than the life of any of the people being directly or indirectly attacked by the host country of the next World Cup.”
© Stuart Franklin (Getty Images)
The redrawing of electoral districts, or gerrymandering, in the United States is reaching unprecedented levels. After the Supreme Court’s late-April ruling changed electoral rules and curtailed minority rights, Republicans have stepped up efforts to dismantle majority-Black districts, especially in the South, though the strategy extends to states beyond that region.
© Jay Janner (The Austin American-Statesman vía Getty Images)
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