S-STEM/TRAIN Scholar Kimberly Merrill's Blog

 There has been another outbreak of Plague in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Those familiar with my research last semester may remember it is one of the primary locations for Plague incidence in the World. The most recent outbreak included 520 cases and 31 deaths. This outbreak occurred late-November of 2020. The low temperatures of the month averaged to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, while the highs averaged 80 degrees. Below is an AccuWeather temperature chart for November 2020 in the Ituri province for reference: AccuWeather.com I want to incorporate the new cases into my results. It really helps that they are so recent, which makes it a lot easier to find accurate temperature and weather data. Also, this is the same timeframe of one of the previous outbreaks in my data.  This week there isn't much more to report. I haven't had much luck with the echometer considering the weather here. It has been really windy, still. and this evening we had rain. I was really interested to see t

 Hello Again! Last week, I picked up my echolocator and have been anxious to go out and see it in action. However, I'm staying in southern Arizona at my parent's farm and it has been WINDY! A lot of the tiles have come off the roof and even a tree blew over. Least to say, I haven't been game to take it outside with the wind and dirt. Today, it has been very still and I even saw a bat out when I was feeding the chickens so after this post, I'm heading out! As for my research proposal, I am only submitting one for the new project about bats and zoonotic diseases. However, since I am continuing the Plague project, I assumed I don't need to submit another one this semester. Does anyone have experience or knowledge on this? I felt it would be unnecessary to propose the same research twice.  This week I also learned bats are the primary reservoirs and causes of: Henipaviruses Coronaviruses Filoviruses Lyssaviruses (rabies)    Below is a picture derived from: Wynne, J. W.,