Latest news with #NexstarMediaWire
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
People may have been exposed to TB at these two San Diego County shelters
(Above: Nexstar Media Wire video explainer about the difference between endemics, epidemics and pandemics) SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Residents, employees and volunteers who were at two local shelters earlier this year may have been exposed to tuberculosis, San Diego County health officials said Tuesday. According to a news release from the county, the people may have been exposed to TB at the Father Joe's Villages Paul Mirabile Center located at 1501 Imperial Ave. and the San Diego Rescue Mission South County Lighthouse at 2400 Euclid Ave. in National City. Coronado shoreline closed due to sewage from Tijuana River The dates of potential exposure at the Paul Mirabile Center were between Feb. 14 to March 18 and from April 6 to May 7. People may have been exposed to TB at the National City facility between March 28 to April 11. County health officials said there is currently no evidence of a TB outbreak at the aforementioned sites, nor were the reported exposures linked with ones that were previously reported at shelters operated by Father Joe's Villages. People experiencing homelessness have a higher risk of getting TB due to being in larger congregate settings, barriers to health care and other factors, according to the county. TB is transmitted when someone inhales bacteria that are present in the air. This may occur when someone speaks, coughs, sings or breathes. County health officials encourage anyone who spends a lot of time indoors with someone who is sick with TB to get tested for the disease. About 175,000 residents across San Diego County have latent TB infection, which means they do not show symptoms but have tested positive. About 5% to 10% of these cases may develop into active cases if they are not treated, the county stated. The county is currently working with the affected shelters to notify those who may have been exposed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
San Diego man accused of trying to smuggle 17 exotic birds into the U.S.
(Above: Nexstar Media Wire video on endangered versus threatened species) SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A man from San Diego appeared in federal court this week after being accused of attempting to smuggle 17 exotic birds into the United States from Mexico. According to a complaint, Ricardo Alonzo, 26, was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers while trying to cross through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said. Passenger arrested after alleged bomb threat reported on plane leaving San Diego During a search of his vehicle, officers found four bags with 10 burrowing parakeets, five yellow-crowned Amazon parrots and two red-lored Amazon parrots under the rear seat. The two red-lored Amazon chicks who were in Alonzo's vehicle died and were transferred to a quarantine facility managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prosecutors stated. The announcement came just about a week after CBP officers announced they recently stopped previous attempts to smuggle 27 parrots and three chickens into the U.S. at both the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry. Amazon parrots are a native species to Mexico, the West Indies and northern South America, and burrowing parakeets are native to Chile and Argentina, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. All species of Amazon parrots and the burrowing parakeets are listed as endangered species. If successfully smuggled into the country, authorities deem them dangerous due to the possibility of them carrying and spreading Avian influenza (bird flu), the attorney's office stated. Bird flu is highly contagious and may lead to severe symptoms or death in humans and other birds, including poultry on U.S. farms. Alonzo faces charges of importation contrary to law and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison plus a $250,000 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Two birds in San Diego County test positive for West Nile virus
(Above: Nexstar Media Wire video explaining the West Nile virus) LEMON GROVE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego County officials say two dead crows found in Lemon Grove tested positive for West Nile virus. It marks first time this year that the virus has been detected in San Diego County. The two crows were collected during routine monitoring, according to the county. Decomposed whale carcass washes up San Diego beach The West Nile virus mainly affects birds, but humans may get infected with the disease if they are bitten by mosquitoes that previously fed on an diseased bird. Symptoms in humans include headaches, fever, nausea, fatigue, skin rash or swollen glands, according to health officials. Infection could also lead to death in rare cases. The best way to avoid becoming infected with West Nile virus is to protect oneself against mosquitoes, according to the county. This includes dumping out water collected around homes to prevent mosquitoes from breeding and wearing long sleeves and pants or using insect repellent while spending time outdoors. Insect repellent should contain DEET, picaridin, lemon eucalyptus oil, para-menthane-diol, 2-undecanone or IR3535, health officials say. Plus, people should also secure their screens on windows and doors to keep insects away, according to the county. Other tips can be found on the county website. Increased mosquito sightings, unmaintained swimming pools and dead birds may be reported to the County Vector Control Program at (858) 694-2888 or vector@ The county says no human cases of West Nile have been reported so far this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
These places in San Diego County were named among the ‘best' in California
(Above: Nexstar Media Wire video on California's most visited national parks) SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The California State Parks Foundation revealed the results of a new poll featuring the most loved state parks for outdoor adventures, including hiking, camping, birdwatching and more. The inaugural 'Best of California's State Parks' poll launched in early spring, inviting people to vote on their favorite state parks. The foundation said the poll received 1,358 submissions across a range of categories, honoring their beloved natural and historical sites. Popular beach in San Diego County to host surfing in the 2028 Summer Olympics A state park in San Diego County earned the top distinction of one category in the list, plus an honorable mention in another. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park won the title of 'Best California State Park for Wildflowers' for its seasonal array of desert lilies, dune primroses and ocotillo, the list stated. Other blooms have been found in Anza-Borrego, including phacelia, wooly sunflower and some types of poppies. The desert landscape erupts into a visual symphony of wildflowers each spring, though the vibrancy of each bloom depends on rain patterns and temperatures in the months prior. 'I love how, upon parking…and opening your car door, you are immediately hit with the pleasant aroma of wildflowers. One of the best sensations in the world!' said Elexis Padron, whose review was quoted in the list. With its 'dramatic landscapes and endless starry skies,' Anza-Borrego Desert State Park also earned an honorable mention for the 'Best California State Park for Camping.' The category was ultimately won by Morro Bay State Park in San Luis Obispo County. Here are some other places in San Diego County that nabbed a spot on the list: Torrey Pines State Beach Winner, 'Best California State Park for Picnicking' Palomar Mountain State Park Honorable mentions, 'Best California State Park for Picnicking,' 'Best California State Park for Dog-Friendly Adventures' Cardiff State Beach Honorable mention, 'Best California State Beach' California has more than 280 state park units, which includes state beaches, reserves, recreational areas and others. Moreover, there are 15,000 campsites, over 11,000 known prehistoric and historic archaeological sites, and 5,200 miles of trails spread across the Golden State. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New study suggests early COVID-19 strain spread from bats by wildlife trade
Above: Nexstar Media Wire video on the differences between COVID, RSV, strep and the flu. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A recent study from an international team of researchers, including those from UC San Diego's School of Medicine, gives new credence to the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic spread naturally by way of wild mammal trade, as opposed to a lab leak. The study, which was published in the science journal Cell on Wednesday, examined the evolution of the COVID-19 virus — SARS-CoV-2 — and compared it to a coronavirus behind an earlier outbreak, the 2002 SARS pandemic. Using genome sequencing to map the histories of these and more than 250 coronaviruses, the scientists found a number parallels in the evolution of the viruses behind SARS and COVID that suggest the two shared a similar mode of dispersal. Scripps Health announces extension of contract with Anthem Blue Cross These findings, in their view, dispute the contested theory that COVID originated from a lab leak, even as the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans have ratcheted up promotion of supposition in recent months. The ancestors of both viruses, the study says, had circulated in horseshoe bats across much of China and other countries in southeast Asia for millennia, mutating as it interacted with other coronaviruses inside the cells of its host. This genetic mixing, which is called recombination, creates new variations of the virus, each more potent until it reaches the point where it can become a human pathogen. The closest ancestor identified by the study to SARS and COVID reached that tipping point only a few years before it was reported by humans — about one to two years before SARS was first detected in Guangdong Province and five to seven years before COVID emerged in Wuhan. However, the distance between the origin of this viral ancestor and where the pandemics began was too far to have been carried just by bats. Instead, the study says these viruses spilled over into other wild animals, which were unwittingly carried hundreds of miles by traders. The consensus among researchers of the earlier SARS pandemic has generally agreed this is how the virus reached Guangdong relatively quickly, most likely having hitched a ride to animals like palm civets or raccoon dogs commonly traded for their fur and meat. That patten of zoonotic spread, the new study argues, bolsters the plausibility that SARS-CoV2 reached Wuhan from southwest China in the same manner. 'For more than two decades the scientific community has concluded that the live-wildlife trade was how those hundreds of miles were covered,' said Dr. Michael Worobey, the head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona who served as a co-senior author on the study. 'We're seeing exactly the same pattern with SARS-CoV-2.' The researchers point to an earlier study they conducted that traced human transmission of COVID-19 back to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, where many wild mammals are sold by traders, as further evidence for natural zoonotic spillover. 'At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a concern that the distance between Wuhan and the bat virus reservoir was too extreme for a zoonotic origin,' said Dr. Joel Wertheim, a professor of medicine at UCSD School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health and a co-senior author of the study. Lawsuit filed against Aladdin Mediterranean Café amid ongoing salmonella investigation 'This paper shows that it isn't unusual and is, in fact, extremely similar to the emergence of SARS-CoV-1 in 2002,' he continued. That said, proponents of the lab leak theory have pointed to this distance as proof of their explanation of COVID's early spread, arguing it must have been human intervention in the form of scientists that transported the coronavirus from southwest China to Wuhan. However, no evidence has been provided that an earlier strain virus was in fact at the the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the lab at the center of the theory, before the pandemic. While researchers concede the debate on COVID's origins may in all likelihood remain unsettled, the study's authors say their findings remain notable, giving researchers additional insight into a possible future coronavirus outbreak. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
