PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: French Caribbean Facing Zika Epidemic - Taking Extra Measures!

An Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito behind the Zika virus
seems to operate like a heat-driven missile of disease. Scientists say the hotter it gets, the better the mosquito that carries
Zika virus is at transmitting a variety of dangerous illnesses. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

February 3, 2016 - FRENCH CARIBBEAN - Two French regions in the Caribbean face an epidemic of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which was just declared a global public health emergency, and France's government is sending extra hospital equipment and preparing extra medical staff to combat it, the health minister said Wednesday.

Marisol Touraine told reporters that Martinique and French Guiana have had 2,500 potential cases and about 100 confirmed Zika cases since mid-December, including 20 pregnant women and two people suffering a temporary paralysis condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

"Our system of health and sanitary alert is fully mobilized," Touraine said. "There are three objectives: to prevent, reinforce monitoring and anticipate."

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization declared Zika a global public health emergency after being linked to brain deformities in babies in South America. Several thousand cases of microcephaly have been reported in Brazil since October, although researchers have so far not proven a definitive link to the virus. No vaccine exists for Zika.

A few cases have been reported in Guadeloupe and Saint Martin, also part of the French Caribbean. Nine people have come to mainland France with Zika this year, but Touraine said there is no risk of epidemic on the mainland.

She said the government will expand access to testing to include doctors' offices and recommend condom use in the region, where she plans to make a visit later this month to check on the situation.

Health officials say a person in Texas has become infected with the Zika virus through sex, in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States amid the current outbreak in Latin America.

The virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators had been exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted. There was a report of a Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Africa and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

Touraine also recommmended that people returning from affected areas avoid donating sperm or undergoing in vitro fertilization for a month afterward. - AP.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Global Seismic Uptick - Strong Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Strikes The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge!

September 05, 2013 - ATLANTIC OCEAN - A strong earthquake registered as magnitude 6.0 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) occurred at the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 04:01:35 UTC on September 5, 2013.

USGS earthquake location.

The epicenter was located 1378km (856 miles) northeast of Remire-Montjoly, French Guiana; 1380km (857 miles) northeast of Cayenne, French Guiana; 1380km (857 miles) northeast of Kourou, French Guiana; 1388km (862 miles) northeast of Matoury, French Guiana; and 1446km (899 miles) northeast of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana.

EMSC registered it as a magnitude 5.9.

The depth of the tremor was 10.0km (6.2 miles).

USGS earthquake shakemap intensity.

The earthquake happened in a transform part of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge - new thin oceanic crust where magma creates new land. This was very powerful earthquake for this region, however, it was harmless considering the location. There was no tsunami warning or alert issued.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South American Plate in the South Atlantic.

EMSC earthquake historical seismicity.

Although the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is mostly an underwater feature, portions of it have enough elevation to extend above sea level. The section of the ridge which includes the island of Iceland is also known as the Reykjanes Ridge. The average spreading rate for the ridge is about 2.5 cm per year.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Powerful 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge!

June 24, 2013 - NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE -  A powerful magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck along the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge on Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

USGS earthquake location.

The earthquake was recorded at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles) and was located just over 1242 kilometres (772 miles) from Remire-Montjoly, French Guiana and 1359 kilometres (844 miles) northeast of Salinopolis, Brazil

The quake occurred at 22:04:13 UTC.

No tsunamic watch, warning or advisory was issued by either the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center or the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The agencies issued the notification saying the determination was based on historical earthquake and tsunami data.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world.

USGS earthquake shakemap intensity.

It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South American Plate in the South Atlantic.

The Ridge extends from a junction with the Gakkel Ridge (Mid-Arctic Ridge) northeast of Greenland southward to the Bouvet Triple Junction in the South Atlantic.

Although the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is mostly an underwater feature, portions of it have enough elevation to extend above sea level.

The section of the ridge which includes the island of Iceland is also known as the Reykjanes Ridge. The average spreading rate for the ridge is about 2.5 cm per year.