Adventure Ausrama Blog

Sudden death in young people has a genetic cause - Long QT syndrome. There is a predilection for some young adults to suddenly die. In a way it is similar to cot death: until now the cause was unknown. The "disease" has been identified and is called Long QT syndrome. A third of sudden "unexplained" deaths in people up to their mid thirties die of heart rhythm complications due to the inherited illness. The heart problem is not always evident in autopsies. Parents can also die of the condition in later life. The faulty gene runs in families and is generally passed on to some offspring. A gene testing study of children having symptoms of heart disease is showing that many carry the gene.  Ongoing monitoring of youngsters is saving lives.  However, there is no official program that tests all children.  Some, of course are not diagnosed early and it is these who are at risk of sudden death.  It is heart breaking for a family to lose a child in this way, ◆ Genetic...

It never fails to amaze me how new things are discovered on our doorstep when the majority of people think everything is known about nature.  This is particularly true in Australia where a low number of people live on a vast continent.  Some places have not even been visited by humans for thousands of years. Dr Lisa-Ann Gershwin has identified two species of jellyfish that can carry Irukandji syndrome.  The new species are Keesingia gigas and Malo bella .  Doctor Gershwin works for CSIRO.  There are now 16 species that can cause Irukandji. Keesingia can grow to 50 cm in bell height.  This is by far the largest jellyfish.  Juvenile leatherjacket fish safely live in its subumbrellar cavity as with the more common medusas. The two newly documented species have been generally known for some time.  However, they have not been found in Australian waters before.  They could have been present for a long time or maybe they are new, moving h...

Generally, people do not keep up with the latest infectious diseases that could come their way. We all know about the Asian flu because it has been around for a while. However, there is little fear involved because many believe that they will not catch it. Last year a new disease appeared called Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). It killed more than half of the 79 people infected. In the serious 1957-1958 Asian Flu outbreak the death rate was 0.13 per cent. While MERS is still present, the number of new cases has held steady. There is a worry that the disease could suddenly become highly contagious. It is not yet known whether the virus is spread by human contact or it has an animal source. The number of cases did rise during the Muslim hajj to Mecca. The World Health Organization (WHO) is in an emergency sitting at present considering whether to declare the coronavirus a public health emergency. An emergency would allow travel restrictions to be put in place. Pilg...