US hazardous particles in air
Meanwhile globally, the number of dengue cases reported to the World Health Organisation has increased eight-fold in the last two decades, from 500,000 in 2000 to over five million in 2019.
Mosquitoes that carry dengue have invaded 13 European countries since 2000, with local spread of the disease in France, Italy, and Spain in 2023.
Dengue was largely confined to tropical and subtropical regions because freezing temperatures kill mosquito eggs.
Prof Rachel Lowe, of the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies in Spain, said:
“The most effective way to reduce the risk of these diseases spreading to new areas will be to dramatically curb emissions.”
THE US is facing the most severe spikes in deadly particle pollution in 25 years, a recent report has shown, partly due to a spate of deadly wildfires.
Findings of the American Lung Association’s latest report indicate that people across the country have endured the highest number of days with “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” air quality due to particle pollution since the association started monitoring it.
A CORK family was in “disbelief” when all their prayers were answered last year, as a mother, her son, and her nephew all received lifesaving kidney transplants.
In the space of six months, Margaret Fitzgerald (70), her son Michael Fitzgerald (49) and her nephew Joe Cott all underwent a kidney transplant.
The family all suffer from a hereditary condition called polycystic kidney disease.
Marget’s mother Elizabeth died at just 46 years old from the condition, while Joe’s father and Marget’s brother Joseph (77) died in March 2023.
While last year began with a sad note as the family grieved their brother, father and uncle, little did they know they would all be celebrating the prospect of a longer and healthier life as they would all soon receive kidney transplants.
They were also thankful to Joseph’s kidney donor, which allowed him to live a fuller life for the three decades before his death.
Before he passed away, Joseph also found out the good news that his son Joe, from Ballyclough, Cork, would be receiving a kidney transplant from his younger son, Michael.
Just a month after their father’s death, the brothers both underwent the living donor operation transplant in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, and it was a success. Joe was only on dialysis for a few weeks before he found out that his brother was a match for organ donation.
The Cork farmer said: “I was very lucky that I didn’t have to go on the transplant waiting list and that my younger brother Michael stepped up and it turned out he was the perfect match.” Just five months after the brother’s successful operation, the family received more lifechanging news, as Michael, from Carrigaline, Cork, received the call that he was matched with a diseased organ donor. He underwent the successful operation in Beaumont Hospital and, remarkably, his mother received the same call just seven weeks later.
Margaret’s transplant was also a