Four in hospital isolation after contracting anthrax.

Four in hospital isolation after contracting anthrax. Four people have been put in an isolation ward at Mt Kenya Hospital Nyeri after been suspected to be infected with anthrax. Nyeri Central sub-county commissioner John Marete said the two brothers and their two neighbours from Thunguma village are reported to have eaten uninspected meat in Ruiru, Kiambu County before travelling to Nyeri on Friday. Mr Marete confirmed that the patients presented themselves at Nyeri Referral Hospital on Saturday morning and were immediately transferred to the health facility after screening. “They went to the county hospital in the morning and were immediately transferred to Mt Kenya hospital. They are receiving treatment at an isolation room since Anthrax is a contagious disease,” said Mr Marete.

Rare human disease found in dogs.

The study published in the journal Veterinary Pathology, shows that rare severe form of pulmonary hypertension, which up until now, has only been classified as a human lung disease, has also been discovered in dogs. This study according to a Michigan State University, the research is the first to document the existence of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease, or PVOD, in dogs," said Kurt Williams, the lead author of the study and an expert in respiratory pathology in MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine. "PVOD is considered one of the most severe forms of pulmonary hypertension." PVOD might be more common in dogs than in people, but this has yet to be determined and needs to be looked at closely. Pulmonary hypertension develops because of abnormal blood vessels in the lungs, which makes it harder for the heart to push blood through and provide oxygen to the rest of the body. In cases of PVOD, the small veins in the lungs become blocked, increasing pressure in these blood vessels, and ultimately causing heart failure. The same process happens in canines,.these dogs also come in with similar symptoms as humans, yet because subtle changes in health may not be recognized as quickly in dogs, death can occur quickly once the animal is seen by a veterinarian. Symptoms include cough, increased rate of breathing, respiratory distress, loss of appetite and chronic fatigue. Fatal progression of the disease in humans can last up to two years. Unfortunately, there are very few effective treatment options for PVOD and a lung transplant often becomes the best choice. PVOD is a poorly understood disease not just because it's so rare, but also because there has been no other animals known to have the disease, but this finding aids the diagnosis. The discovery could be important for human medicine because the canine disease may serve as a model for human PVOD. Cases like this help to show how important veterinary medicine is to medicine in general, medical professionals in the human medical community are becoming much more aware of the many diseases shared by our respective patients and how together we can learn from each other. The value of one world one health can not be underestimated.

Blood in a Mosquito’s Belly Could Reveal How Diseases Spread.

Keven is a doctoral student at Michigan State University, and leader of the mosquito-catching team. Over the last few summers, John Keven has spent many long nights under the stars in Papua New Guinea. For 12 hours at a time, he’ll scour a giant green net set up between thatched huts, looking for resting mosquitoes every 20 minutes. When he spots one with his headlamp, he quietly approaches, extending a long rubber tube to suck the bug off the net. Then he blows it from the tube into a container for analysis—in a lab halfway around the world. The undigested blood inside the Anopheles punctulatus mosquitoes Keven collects is going to the research team at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, which uses DNA markers to identify what the insects feed on through the night—information that could help predict how they spread disease. The team’s recent testing, published last month in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, revealed that this type of mosquito feeds on a wider range of species than expected, potentially influencing the way it transmits malaria. The bugs feast on the humans in the villages, but also the pigs, dogs, mice and even marsupial species in the area. But this study is only one of a growing number of attempts to characterize mosquito behavior by analyzing the blood they suck. The recent emergence of Zika virus, entomologists say that matching the DNA fingerprint of human blood inside mosquitoes with individuals could help shed light on how these insects spread disease—and who is most vulnerable. “The extent to which mosquitoes don’t bite on everyone the same might actually be important when you think about who’s most important to vaccinate,” says Steve Stoddard, an entomologist at San Diego State University who has studied mosquito feeding behaviors. Data from this type of work could influence how researchers mathematically model the possible future spread of diseases carried by mosquitoes. In 2014, Stoddard and his colleagues analyzed the feeding behaviors of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that is a prime suspect in the current spread of Zika virus. This species can carry dengue, too, and it likes to hang around inside human dwellings, making it even riskier. The scientists collected mosquitoes from inside 19 households in Iquitos, a Peruvian port city on the Amazon, along with cheek swabs to capture DNA from 275 residents. read more here http://www.wired.com/2016/04/blood-mosquitos-belly-reveal-diseases-spread/

Sharks could help prevent human tooth loss.

Scientists have identified a network of genes that enables sharks to develop and regenerate teeth throughout their lifetime, a finding that may pave the way for new therapies to help humans with tooth loss. The genes also allow sharks to replace rows of their teeth using a conveyor belt-like system. Scientists have known that some fish, such as sharks and rays, develop rows of highly specialized teeth with the capacity for lifelong regeneration. However the genetic mechanisms which enable this to happen were poorly understood.Now a research team, led by Dr Gareth Fraser from the University of Sheffield in UK has identified how a special set of epithelial cells form, called the dental lamina, which are responsible for the lifelong continuation of tooth development and regeneration in sharks. Humans also possess this set of cells, which facilitate the production of replacement teeth, but only two sets are formed - baby and adult teeth - before this set of specialized cells is lost. The team shows that these tooth-making genes found in sharks are conserved through 450 million years of evolution, and probably made the first vertebrate teeth. These 'tooth' genes, therefore make all vertebrate teeth from sharks to mammals, however in mammals like humans, the tooth regeneration ability, that utilizes these genes, has been highly reduced over time. "We know that sharks are fearsome predators and one of the main reasons they are so successful at hunting prey is because of their rows of backward pointing, razor-sharp teeth that regenerate rapidly throughout their lifetime, and so are replaced before decay," said Fraser. "The Jaws films taught us that it is not always safe to go into the water, but this study shows that perhaps we need to in order to develop therapies that might help humans with tooth loss," Fraser said. Through analyzing the teeth of cat -shark embryos, the researchers characterized the expression of genes during stages of early shark tooth formation. They found that these genes participate in the initial emergence of shark's teeth and are re-deployed for further tooth regeneration. The study suggests that at the beginning of the sharks' evolutionary history, their teeth were most likely continuously regenerated and used a core set of genes from members of key developmental signalling pathways, which were instrumental in sharks evolving to maintain the ability to re-deploy the genes to replace teeth when needed. Story culled from business standard.

FIBER RICH DIET REDUCES RISK OF LUNG DISEASE.

A diet rich in fiber may not only protect against diabetes and heart disease, it may reduce the risk of developing lung disease, according to new research. "Lung disease is an important public health problem, so it's important to identify modifiable risk factors for prevention," said lead author Corrine Hanson PhD, RD, an associate professor of medical nutrition at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. "However, beyond smoking very few preventative strategies have been identified. Increasing fiber intake may be a practical and effective way for people to have an impact on their risk of lung disease." Analyzing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, researchers report in "The Relationship between Dietary Fiber Intake and Lung Function in NHANES," that among adults in the top quartile of fiber intake: • 68.3 percent had normal lung function, compared to 50.1 percent in the bottom quartile. • 14. 8 percent had airway restriction, compared to 29.8 percent in the bottom quartile. In two important breathing tests, those with the highest fiber intake also performed significantly better than those with the lowest intake. Those in the top quartile had a greater lung capacity (FVC) and could exhale more air in one second (FEV1) than those in the lowest quartile. Researchers reviewed records of 1,921 adults, ages 40 to 79, who participated in NHANES during 2009-2010. Administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NHANES is unique in that it combines interviews with physical examinations. Fiber consumption was calculated based on the amount of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains participants recalled eating. Those whose diets included more than 17.5 grams of fiber a day were in the top quartile and represented the largest number of participants, 571. Those getting less than 10.75 grams of fiber a day were in the lower group and represented the smallest number of participants, 360. Fiber-rich diet has been linked to healthy life style free of risk of heart disease,diabetes,colon cancer and bowel diseases emanating from constipation.This new research (according to American Thoracic Society) sheds light on how fiber reduces risk of lung diseases,further reinforcing the need to include more vegetables,fruits,nuts,oatmeal and other fiber rich sources to our menu. The benefits of fiber-rich meals also has the same results in animals, incorporating vegetables,oatmeal and fruits into their meal has been known to reduce risk of cancer, constipation and as a treatment protocol for diabetic patients and also prevention of diabetes in animals.

RATS: THE UNCONVENTIONAL DISEASE CAUSING AGENT IN MAN AND ANIMALS.

more. see

SIGNS OF BIRD FLU IN MAN.

The bird flu virus has been know to affect man and causing death in some of those affected.The major means of infection is close contact with affected poultry such as handling and processing .The issue of bio security on farms can not be over emphasized, the use of foot dips,tyre dips and hand washing with stipulated disinfectants are essential for safety.The procurement of healthy birds from reliable sources is also vital in the biosecurity protocol. The incubation period is usually 3-7 days after contact with infected poultry. Signs include;A sudden high temperature of 38C or above,a dry, chesty cough, headache, tiredness,inappetence, sore throat, runny nose, muscle and joint pain, stomach upset, diarrhoea and sore throat. The other signs include pneumonia, respiratory distress which is followed by multiple organ failure resulting in death. Prevention; 1) wash hands after handling poultry. 2) avoid contact with wild birds. read more

MEGA-ESOPHAGUS.

This refers to a condition where peristalsis is altered because of an enlarged esophagus.The esophagus is the passage of food from mouth to stomach,thus when its enlarged the food passage is stalled leaving food in the throat for a prolonged time,the food is usually regurgitated or inhaled in lungs resulting in aspiration pneumonia The food often times decays in the throat resulting in foci of infection. The condition is common in horses,cats,dogs and humans,and it could be inherited as in the Friesian horse. The common signs associated with mega-esophagus are 1) inappetence 2) frequent episodes of regurgitation 3) severe weight loss. There are certain breeds predisposed to mega-esophagus, these include 1) great Dane,2) German shepherd 3)golden retriever 4)corgis,5) Siamese cat 6)Persian cat 7)Boston terrier 8)rottweiler 9)french bulldog e.t.c. The prognosis of the condition is guarded and the remedy is feeding the subject in a raised position; where the neck is stretched vertically to receive food and create an easy passage to the stomach. Dogs are usually fed in special chairs,to ensure they have required calories and prevent food stasis. photo credit; The telegraph.

Researchers Evaluate Horses as Model of Human Depression

Researchers Evaluate Horses as Model of Human Depression

THE ROLE OF THE VETERINARIAN IN CURBING TUBERCULOSIS.