News for the week 2023-07-31

The Prepared Support - July 31, 2023

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

5  

Prepper Chat Night is this Friday evening, Aug 4, on Discord at 6PM Pacific / 9PM Eastern. Join our Discord now at this link so you’ll be ready when the event starts:

https://discord.gg/rPU6tAzM?event=1127826982269354024

Prepper Chat Nights are on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month. It’s a video call where we mostly talk about our recent prepping experiences and lessons. The video part is optional, and some choose to skip that part for privacy reasons.

===

Note: The Friday chats aren’t the only reason to join Discord. While the website remains the better place for guides, articles, and experience reports, Discord really shines for conversation or helping someone through an immediate situation. The two work well together, and I use both every day.

 

Leprosy becoming endemic in southeast United States, especially central Florida.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/8/22-0367_article

“Florida, USA, has witnessed an increased incidence of leprosy cases lacking traditional risk factors. Those trends, in addition to decreasing diagnoses in foreign-born persons, contribute to rising evidence that leprosy has become endemic in the southeastern United States. Travel to Florida should be considered when conducting leprosy contact tracing in any state.”

“Central Florida, in particular, accounted for 81% of cases reported in Florida and almost one fifth of nationally reported cases.”

What can we do about it? Avoid touching wildlife, especially armadillos. Talk to a doctor if you have a bad rash. The total number of cases is still quite low, so this is mostly just something to keep an eye on for later.

 

Takeaways:  I’m not going to cancel a trip to Florida because of this.  Armadillos are a fact of life in the South, but there’s little to no risk for 95% of the population.  It’s a low risk even for that segment of the population because you have to have prolonged contact with it.  And even if they do get it, it’s treatable with no long term impact if caught early enough.

 

Saving Lives at the Grand Canyon, One Salty Snack at a Time

“In a summer of deadly heat for hikers in the Southwest, rangers at Grand Canyon National Park use a pioneering approach of aggressive messaging and outreach to prevent disaster on the trails.”

This amusing article has lots of tips not only about how to stay safe in the heat, but also about how to help those who are less inclined to prepare. The rangers couldn’t keep up with the number of rescues needed in their park, so they found a variety of ways to prevent people from getting in trouble in the first place.

 

Rising tensions between Iran and United States. Iran has seized several commercial cargo ships. United States is sending patrol ships near Iran and intends to put defensive marines on US cargo ships.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/iran-boosts-navy-with-missiles-drones-us-offers-guards-gulf-ships-2023-08-05/