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WORLD NEWSSaturday 20 August 2016

Haiti welcomes UN admission, plans to assist cholera victimsÂ

DAVID McFADDEN cantly reduced from the in 2013. This week, deputy General Ban Ki-moon is de- claiming immunity under
Associated Press initial outbreak in 2010, the spokesman Farhan Haq veloping a package that a 1946 convention. Haq
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) fact that the preventable acknowledged the United would provide “material reiterated that the world
— A U.N. acknowledge- disease is still routinely sick- Nations’ “own involve- assistance” to cholera vic- body’s legal position on im-
ment that it played a role ening and killing Haitians is ment” in the introduction tims in Haiti, indicating for munity has not changed. In
in introducing cholera to galling to many. of cholera to impoverished the first time that people a decision issued late Thurs-
Haiti and vows to aid vic- “The U.N. brought this sick- Haiti and pledged that “a affected will get financial day, the U.S. 2nd Circuit
tims were welcomed Friday ness to Haiti so they need significantly new set of U.N. help from the U.N. Court of Appeals in New
in the Caribbean nation, to pay the country back. actions” will be presented For years the U.N. had de- York upheld the United Na-
which has experienced the A lot of people got sick, in the next two months. nied or been silent on long- tions’ immunity from a high-
worst outbreak of the dis- a lot have died,” said Mi- On Friday, Haq added that standing allegations that profile claim filed on behalf
ease in recent history. chelle Raymond, who said “the United Nations has a it was responsible for the of 5,000 cholera victims
While the number of chol- her young son nearly died moral responsibility to the outbreak, while answering who blame the U.N. for the
era cases has been signifi- of the waterborne disease victims.” He said Secretary- lawsuits in U.S. courts by epidemic. q

Puerto Rico reports 1st death from paralysis linked to ZikaÂ

Puerto Rico Gov, Alejandro Javier Garcia Padilla speaks in Washington. Puerto Rico on Friday month, was obese but did to 10,300 pregnant women
reported its first death from a paralysis condition that developed from a Zika infection as the U.S. not have any other health in Puerto Rico could be in-
territory fights an epidemic of the mosquito-borne virus. conditions, she said. No fur- fected with Zika and that
ther details about the vic- between 100 to 270 babies
(AP Photo/Pablo Monsivais) tim were provided. could be born with micro-
The U.S. territory has a to- cephaly through mid-2017.
DANICA COTO The victim was a man be- Rivera noted that it’s un- tal of 13,186 confirmed In addition, some babies in-
Associated Press tween 35 and 45 years old usual for the victim to be so Zika cases, with a total of fected with Zika may pres-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) from the San Juan metro young. 102 hospitalizations and 34 ent other type of problems
— Puerto Rico on Friday re- area who died from Guil- “What does this tell us? That cases of Guillain-Barre. The such as eye abnormalities,
ported its first death from lain-Barre, according to all of us are susceptible,” number of Zika cases is be- hearing loss and inflex-
a paralysis condition that state epidemiologist Bren- Rivera said as she urged lieved to be much higher ible joints, said Dr. Peggy
developed from a Zika in- da Rivera. The condition Puerto Ricans to protect because eight of 10 peo- Honein, chief of the birth
fection as the U.S. territory can cause temporary pa- themselves from the mos- ple have no symptoms and defects branch at the U.S.
fights an epidemic of the ralysis and in rare instances, quito-borne virus. many do not go to the doc- Centers for Disease Control
mosquito-borne virus. death. The man, who died last tor. Those infected include and Prevention.
1,106 pregnant women, “We are very concerned
which is a concern be- about these often devas-
cause Zika has been linked tating outcomes,” she said
to severe birth defects. in a phone interview.
“We are not going to see Honein, who was involved
the effects of Zika today,” in the study, said that one
Rivera said. “We are go- of the major challenges
ing to see them in the next of the Zika outbreak is the
couple of months, in the time delay in babies being
next several years.” born with severe defects.
Puerto Rico reported the “It doesn’t mean that it’s
first Zika-related micro- not happening because
cephaly case acquired on we don’t see the effects
U.S. soil in May, involving a yet,” she warned.
dead fetus that a woman The U.S. government last
turned over to health au- week declared a public
thorities. Since then no mi- health emergency in Puer-
crocephaly cases have to Rico because of Zika,
been reported, but federal and federal officials have
officials say it is only a mat- warned that up to 25 per-
ter of time. A study pub- cent of Puerto Rico’s nearly
lished Friday in JAMA Pe- 3.5 million people could
diatrics estimates that up become infected.q

2 Puerto Rico distributors settle in toxic pesticide probeÂ

DANICA COTO Superior-Angran LLC and the U.S. Virgin Islands with- laws to help protect people Angran is considering tak-
Associated Press Superior Angran Caribbe- out certifying they would from becoming seriously in- ing legal action against
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) an Inc., also were ordered be used only in quarantine jured,” said EPA Regional the EPA, which launched a
— The U.S. government an- to train pesticide applica- and pre-shipment applica- Administrator Judith Enck. widespread federal investi-
nounced this week that it tors as part of a deal that tions as required by law. Ada Torres, a Superior-An- gation into the use of meth-
imposed a $210,000 fine on settles alleged violations of The EPA said it found that gran spokeswoman, said yl bromide in the region
two pesticide distributors the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Puerto Rico-based appli- by phone that the clerical after a Delaware family va-
in Puerto Rico as part of a Environmental Protection cators then illegally used errors were an uninten- cationing on St. John was
widespread probe into a Agency said. the pesticide, adding they tional mistake and that the poisoned in March 2015.
toxic pesticide that nearly The EPA said Superior-An- would not have been able companies have been un- Authorities determined Ter-
killed an American family in gran bought two pesticides to buy it had Superior-An- fairly tied to the U.S. Virgin minix used methyl bromide
the neighboring U.S. Virgin containing methyl bromide gran required a certifica- Islands incident when they at a vacation unit below
Islands. and then sold them to ap- tion. “Companies selling played no role in it. the one the family had
The distributors, identified as plicators in Puerto Rico and pesticides must follow all Torres also said Superior- rented. q