Is the cow hide (Ponmo) safe to eat?

Ponmo – cow hide meat – is a popular food in parts of Nigeria and across West Africa. But nutritionists and scientists in the region warn about the safety and nutritional value of this local delicacy. 

 In this episode of Africa Science Focus, our reporter Royal Uche speaks with Abiodun Wahab, program operations officer at the One Health and Development Initiative, about the toxic bacteria found in the meat even after cooking. Sherifah Wakil, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Ibadan, shares findings from her latest research on the contamination of the meat. 

 Obaisi Alaanuloluwa, environmental and social development consultant for the World Bank, explains how ponmo affects the environment. 

Source....SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk

 The Ponmo story. read

 

 more ponmo news: Ponmo and leather industry.

 All you need to know about Ponmo.

Sewage poses potential COVID-19 transmission risk.

Sewage poses potential COVID-19 transmission risk.Environmental biologists have warned that the potential spread of COVID-19 via sewage 'must not be neglected' in the battle to protect human health. Environmental biologists at the University of Stirling have warned that the potential spread of COVID-19 via sewage "must not be neglected" in the battle to protect human health.The response to the global pandemic has focused upon preventing person-to-person transmission, however, experts now believe the virus could also be spread in wastewater.

How to detect foot and mouth disease with simple environmental sampling.

How to detect foot and mouth disease with simple environmental sampling. Simple sampling method eases identification of foot and mouth disease outbreaks.

Sampling the environment is an effective way to detect foot and mouth disease, according to a paper published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. 

 The sampling method, swabbing environmental surfaces where livestock are kept, can be easily performed and can detect viral genetic material that can persist in the environment well beyond the time when livestock cease manifesting clinical signs of disease.

 Unlike taking clinical samples, those taking samples need not be able to recognize clinical signs of foot and mouth disease. Thus, smallholder farmers in developing countries could take the samples in lieu of veterinarians. 

 Foot and mouth disease is caused by a member of the genus, Aphthovirus. It causes blisters in the mouths and on the feet of cattle, goats, pigs, and other cloven-hoofed mammals. The virus contains a single strand of RNA that encodes its genome.

 Humans are not susceptible to foot and mouth, and the disease generally doesn't kill animals. However, it can greatly reduce milk and meat production, creating a hardship for smallholder farmers. 

 Foot and mouth disease can also have a major impact on a national economy. 

In foot and mouth disease-free countries, an incursion of foot and mouth disease can cause significant losses due to imposed grade restrictions and subsequent control measures required to eradicate the disease.

How to stop environmental pollution using automated floating rubbish bins .

via GIPHY

The Seabin is a dock-based automated rubbish bin that catches floating plastic, oil and fuels. Australian surfers Andrew Turton, 40, and Peter Ceglinski, 37, developed the bin after witnessing growing pollution in marinas. Oceans need trash cans . 

 Ceglinski's invention offers a 24/7 alternative to the expensive "trash boats" traditionally used by harbors and marinas, which clean by scooping up rubbish in nets.

 The Seabin is most efficient in the marina's problem spots, where predominant currents amass heavy pollution. It's estimated to catch up to 1.5kg of rubbish per day - removing around half a tonne per year from the 250,000 tonnes the oceans are believed to hold. The Seabin is fixed to a floating dock, above the water surface. 

A pump creates a flow that sucks rubbish inside a recycled polyethylene bin and into a natural-fibre bag. The water is then pumped back into the marina. And don't worry about fish getting trapped: in four years, the Seabins haven't caught a single one. 

"Fish simply stay away from the surface and the current that the Seabin produces," says Ceglinski. If any did get caught, they would be freed by marina staff while emptying the bin. 

 French manufacturer Poralu Marine is making and distributing the first Seabins, which are scheduled to be ready to ship in late 2016. 

 Read more @ wired.co.uk

HANTA VIRUS KILLS AGAIN!!

The Hanta virus is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings or saliva. People can contract the disease when they breathe in the aerosolized virus resulting in Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome(HPS) The New Mexico Department of Health says a 54 year old man from Cibola County has died of hantavirus. An environmental investigation is been conducted at the patient's home to help reduce the risk to others. Since 1993, New Mexico has reported 103 lab-confirmed HPS cases with 43 deaths, the highest number of cases of any state.The New Mexico Department of Health reports that this is the second case of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in the state this year.

DIET-INDUCED OBESITY AND DIABETES CAN BE INHERITED.

Yes!! a new research has shown that you are what your parents ate.Scientists have shown that diet-induced obesity and diabetes can be epigenetically inherited by the offspring through both the eggs and the sperm. The studies by the team of the Institute of Experimental Genetics (IEG) used mice that had become obese and had developed type 2 diabetes due to a high-fat diet. Their offspring were obtained solely through in vitro fertilization (IVF) from isolated oocytes and sperm, so that changes in the offspring could only be passed on through these cells. The offspring were carried and born by healthy surrogate mothers. This enabled the researchers to rule out additional factors such as the behavior of the parents and influences of the mother during pregnancy and lactation. The results showed that both eggs and sperm passed on epigenetic information, which particularly in the female offspring led to severe obesity. In the male offspring, by contrast, the blood glucose level was more affected than in the female siblings. The data also show that,like in humans the maternal contribution to the change in metabolism in the offspring is greater than the paternal contribution. This kind of epigenetic inheritance of a metabolic disorder due to an unhealthy diet could be another major cause for the dramatic global increase in the prevalence of diabetes .The increase in diabetic patients observed throughout the world can hardly be explained by mutations in the genes themselves (DNA) because the increase has been rapid. Epigenetic inheritance as opposed to genetic inheritance is in principle reversible, new possibilities to influence the development of obesity and diabetes arise from these observations, according to the scientists. Charles Darwin stated that characteristics and traits that parents acquire during their lifetime through interaction with the environment could be passed on to their offspring referred to as epigenetics. Epigenetics refers to the inheritance of traits that are not determined in the primary sequence of the DNA (the genes) and RNA transcripts and chemical modifications of the chromatin (e.g. on the DNA or the histones) have been considered as carriers of this epigenetic information. This study shows is important because it proves for the first time that an acquired metabolic disorder can be passed on epigenetically to the offspring through eggs and sperm as Darwin stated.

Agro-Veterinary Business: role of environment in antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a global issue with developing countries being mostly affected .The research as to ways to combat the super bug effect has looked into techniques of animal production with the view that if antibiotic use is reduced in farm animals then there will not be any residues in the products thus eliciting development of antibiotic strains in man resulting in difficulty in treatment of simple conditions such as diarrhoea. 

 The reduction and absolute banning of antibiotics in farmed animals has shown dramatic changes in the antibiotic residues,but the identification of some antibiotic resistance strains that was not used even during production,has beam the search on another possible route of transmission. 

 The environment is the mixing media where various pathogens interact, pathogens from man,animals are exchanged freely .Antibiotics released into the environment may be spread through plants which later are consumed by humans, or by livestock. 

 The consequence is that relatively harmless conditions such as diarrhea caused by resistant coli bacteria or salmonella bacteria become dangerous or even lethal. 

 Drugs discharged into the environment are a problem in many parts of the world and antibiotics are spread in nature through urine from animals and humans, and many unfortunately have a very long life span.

 The problem is very pronounced in many African countries because of poor sanitation conditions . The quality of drugs available to man and animals also play a role in development of resistance,many countries with poor drug regulations where concentrations of active ingredients are not accurate,or the active ingredient is not even in the preparation( fake drugs). 

This results in repeated treatment where the bacteria is not destroyed but becomes resistant to the drug.The environment is the mixing vat,and unless proper disposal of drugs,feces are incorporated into sanitation laws the problem will persist.

HOUSING PIGS IN STYLE!!!

Pigs housed in beautiful and conducive environment,grow faster, better and are less prone to diseases. The role of housing in production can not be over emphasized,look at how pigs are housed for better productivity; look at the Cavite pig city; Read more here;http://www.pigprogress.net/Growing-Finishing/General/2015/9/Cavite-Pig-City-A-city-within-a-city-2673896W/

THE FORCE OF THE COCKROACH'S BITE.

A cockroach's bite packs a lot of force,at least 5 times stronger than a human's teeth.The cockroach bite can exert a force 50 times the body weight.The cockroach has the ability to activate muscle fibers in their jaws to boost their bite. The cockroach's bite ranges from quick and feeble bites to powerful, long-lasting ones. “The weaker and shorter bites are generated by relatively fast muscle fibres, while the longer and stronger bites were possible by activating muscle fibres that take time to reach their maximum force to cope with heavy duty tasks. This just further emphasizes the need to keep our environment pest free, the economic loss due to these pests are enormous.The use of insecticides should be encouraged to reduce loses , proper storage of feed and food materials are important. Read more of this study;http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/11/cockroaches-grind-jaws-five-times-stronger-than-humans-says-research.