Avian Influenza: Effective Biosecurity is Critical to Prevention.

 

Avian Influenza: Effective Biosecurity is Critical to Prevention.Avian influenza (AI) is a very important infectious disease of both poultry and other birds caused by influenza type A viruses. Although multiple viral strains exist, the disease appears in two forms, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). 

 The distinction between pathogenicity of a particular avian influenza virus is based upon its potential to result in severe disease in poultry and the presence of specific genetic attributes that contribute to this virulence. 

 In both poultry and wild birds, LPAI may present either sub clinically or as mild respiratory disease. This form of the disease in poultry might be observed as sneezing, coughing, and nasal or ocular discharge with a negative impact on productivity despite mortality remaining low. 

 As a natural reservoir for avian influenza, wild birds in many cases may not exhibit any clinical signs, even in the event of HPAI infection. Poultry may experience mortality rates approaching 100% during a HPAI outbreak and exhibit clinical signs such as lethargy, severe respiratory distress leading to cyanosis, edema and hemorrhage in tissues of the head, legs, internal organs, muscles, neurologic deficits, and diarrhea.

 Avian influenza viruses have a predilection for the intestinal and respiratory tracts of the bird, therefore oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs are common diagnostic samples submitted to detect this pathogen.Get the guide.

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER..

 How to protect your farm from African Swine Fever. How to protect a pig farm from African Swine Fever.(ASF). ASF is all about contact ASF is spread by contact. Far less by the pig breathing the virus in as in Classical Swine Fever, so it should be easier to prevent and control.

Think ‘contact’ in everything you plan to do and subsequently carry out on the premises. The contact is not just pig to pig, but what we humans do by allowing the ASF virus in through contact on the clothing equipment, vehicles, food deliveries, breeding stock and every other visit by an ‘outsider’ to or into your vulnerable farm premises.

 1) Keep everybody off your farm You will need discipline and tact to do this effectively. Quite brutally, you do not know where they have been! So do not risk it.

COVID-19: HOW TO USE A FACE MASK.

TIPS ON HOW TO USE YOUR FACE MASK How to wear your face mask. Before putting on a mask: 1)clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. 2)Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask. 3)Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. 4)Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks.

HOW TO DISPOSE YOUR FACE MASK PROPERLY. HOW TO REMOVE THE FACE MASK. 1)Wash your hands before removing the mask. 2)Do not touch the inside of the mask especially the portion over nose and mouth as it may be contaminated from your breathing, coughing or sneezing. 3) Loose or untie the ear loops and remove the mask by the straps. 4)Throw the mask in the trash. 5)wash your hands. #facemasks #maskupLagos

How bacteria develop antibiotic resistance.

A study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shown how bacteria evolve and resist antibiotics. The scientists Using quantitative approaches from physics, biophysicists discovered a surprising way that bacteria can evolve resistance to antibiotics. 

 The new research published in the journal Science, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem report a startling alternative path to the evolution of resistance in bacteria.The bacteria evolve a sleeping mechanism after which the bacteria can then wake up and evolve resistance 20 times faster than normal -- at which point continuing to administer antibiotics won't kill the bacteria. 

 The results indicate that tolerance may play a crucial role in the evolution of resistance in bacterial populations under cyclic exposures to high antibiotic concentrations. To investigate this evolutionary process a group of biophysicists,exposed bacterial populations to a daily dose of antibiotics in controlled laboratory conditions, until resistance was established. 

By tracking the bacteria along the evolutionary process, they found that the lethal antibiotic dosage gave rise to bacteria that were transiently dormant, and were therefore protected from several types of antibiotics that target actively growing bacteria. 

 Once bacteria acquired the ability to go dormant, which is termed tolerance, they rapidly acquired mutations to resistance and were able to overcome the antibiotic treatment. First the bacteria evolved to sleep for most of the antibiotic treatment, and then this "sleeping mode" not only transiently protected them from the lethal action of the drug, but also actually worked as a stepping stone for the later acquisition of resistance factors.

AGRIBUSINESS : EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND FOOD SECURITY.

Emotional intelligence refers to a person's ability to recognize his or her own and other people's emotions, understand the effect of these emotions, and to use that information to provide better working conditions to promote success in any enterprise.

  Agriculture is broad and plagued by numerous problems that are hindering production and promoting food insecurity.The administrator should go pass normal work rules,they should inject emotional intelligence to their routine .

The best workers are the highly motivated, you can only get the best out of workers if your rules,laws have a human face. The agri business that will be productive must ensure good working conditions for staff to prevent sabotage of venture. 

Food security. The farm hands that are poorly paid,neglected or relegated and unappreciated carry out their duties shabbily.The routine vaccinations,medications and other biosecurity protocols are neglected resulting in losses of animals. 

When workers are not properly compensated ,this will result in a lot of theft/compromise on their part and financial losses on the part of investors. 

Emotional intelligence. We have all heard the devastating news of the cyanide poisoning that has claimed the lives of 71 elephants at Hwange national park in recent weeks,” “We need to motivate our rangers so that they do not engage in poaching activities,” “It was noted that a number of issues such as low staff morale, lack of community benefits and hunting quota anomalies are fuelling poaching in Zimbabwe,” Oppah Muchinguri told a meeting of conservationists, government and security officials on Thursday while calling for improvements in their working conditions.

 This is a classical case of lack of emotional intelligence and the cascading effect on economic growth.( culled from the guardian). Food security. Working conditions are very important to the growth of any economy.

The poaching in the various parks also stem from poor working conditions; salaries, health insurance,conducive environment will motivate workers on all spheres resulting in desired economic growth. Emotional intelligence. #emotional intelligence #foodsecurity

BIOTECHNOLOGY : A PARADIGM SHIFT.

Biotechnology making better crops and livestock by careful selection of traits to increase yield,produce disease and pest resistance and drought resistance products. This entails a collection of specific technique to improve plant and animals. Every living form; plants,animals and even micro organisms have codes called genes, which are information about what that living form.These genes represent traits about that living form that cannot be easily recognized by looking at the organism.Welcome to genetic engineering!!!. 

 The work on genes dates back to sir Mendel; who explained how traits can be transferred and also what traits to expect in selective breeding both in plants and animals.This method was adopted to produce desired progeny. 

 The work has progressed over the years with enormous technological development....resulting in biotechnology in agriculture. Agriculture has evolved over the years with many innovations to solve pressing issues such as food scarcity, diseases, environmental factors (such as flood,drought and arid region ),food preservation and lower yields. 

These issues have been identified as major causes of lack of food security thus various solutions have been proffered typically biotechnology; which is the use of genetically engineered strains of plants and animals to produce better strains with higher yield and enhanced flavors. Farmers have been improving plants and animals through selection and breeding desirable traits.

Bio technology enhances breeders ability to make improvement in crops and livestock,this is achieved through various techniques used to improve plants and animals. Bio technology use gene modification,genetic improvement and genetic engineering.

Crops improved with transferred DNA referred to as genetic improvement have been developed to aid farmers to increase productivity . Biotechnology holds the key to food security with higher yield and better products Genetic modification/genetic improvement/genetic engineering; refers to the process where there is transfer of useful characteristics into plants and animals. 

This process allows transfer of specific traits to plants or animals to produce improved and better versions.Crops improved with genetic modification aid farmers to increase productivity by reducing crop damage from weeds,diseases and insects. 

 Molecular markers; the use in agriculture involves the use of DNA of a plant/animal that posses desirable trait,even when not visible.This has resulted in breeding that are more specific and ensure better products. This process has been used by the international institute of tropical agriculture to produce cow pea resistant to bruchid, disease resistant white yam and cassava resistant to cassava mosaic disease. 

Molecular markers is useful to identify undesirable genes that can be eliminated in future generation. Molecular diagnosis are methods to detect genes/gene products that are very precise and specific.Molecular diagnosis are used in agriculture to accurately diagnose crops and livestock diseases

.The application in agriculture is vaccine production,these vaccines are cheaper,better and safer.They are stable at room temperature,hence refrigeration is not necessary making it very acceptable in remote villages. In the Philippines, biotechnology has been used to develop an improved vaccine to protect cattle and water buffalo against hemorrhagic septicemia. Tissue culture; this is the regeneration of plants in laboratory from disease-free plant part.

This technique allows for the reproduction of disease free planting material for crops.This method has been used to produce improved crops such as pineapples,bananas,pawpaws and avocados. This tissue culture has also been used in food production especially cheese making,,also in animal husbandry where a sheep(dolly) was produced from mammary cells. 

 The potential of biotechnology is explosive and can solve food scarcity issues and environmental pollution and food poisoning from use of pesticides.The process of biotechnology have produced crops that have been engineered to produce their own Bt protein(bacillus thuringiensis) a soil bacterium that contains a protein

FOOD PANTRIES AND FOOD SAFETY.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/11/study-food-pantries-have-room-for-improvement-in-food-safety/#.VjkNOrerSM8

BIO TECH AND FOOD SECURITY.

Lessons from Brazil; http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Farming/Lessons-from-Brazil-on-biotech-for-Africa/-/689860/2678492/-/11v8u0az/-/index.html

LIVESTOCK INSURANCE AND COMPENSATION IN BEEF PROCESSING PLANT.

The business of slaughtering animals and processing in the abattoir is capital intensive and a very complicated venture because of the myriad of problems associated with it.

 The business ideally is a money spinner but there are so many choke points in this venture especially in developing countries.

The system in developed countries have been fine-tuned that its a win-win situation: the butchers are happy and the citizen have access to wholesome beef.

 The issue with the beef processing plant is basically compensation: either in form of insurance or payment when carcass is condemned by meat inspectors/vets and animal health officers.

The livestock insurance policy is a major key to revamping the beef processing industry.

 A butcher buys cattle, transports them to site of sale/ slaughter; some died in-transit, some in the market before sale and others after sale.

The cattle that makes it to the slaughter line upon examination has some diseased organs that need to be condemned,or has generalized TUBERCULOSIS; who bears these losses??? How will the butcher be sincere or follow the proper procedure?? your guess is as good as mine.

 The benefit of insurance in the agric sector is germane to economic growth and food safety. when the butchers are duly compensated for loss of animals and also for carcass in the abattoir from compensation schemes then food safety is ensured.

 The formulation of policies,laws, edits means nothing, when nobody bears the brunt.

BLACK RICE TO ENHANCE GROWTH OF DOGS.

 BLACK RICE. This is a nutrient packed meal that your dog will love.
The black rice main ingredients are rice,liver and oil

. PREPARATION.
 1) wash rice and cook.
 2) cut liver into chunks and boil.
 3) fry the liver chunks using coconut oil/olive oil.
 4)cut fried liver into cubes.
 5) pour the rice in a bowl, add the fried liver and mix thoroughly.
 6) the mixture has a streak of black hence the term black rice.

 BLACK RICE.

FOOD HYGIENE.

Washing goes along way to prevent food borne illness,wash hands,utensils and produce you want to cook.