AGRIBUSINESS: Climate change increasing the prevalence of harmful parasite.

AGRIBUSINESS: Climate change increasing the prevalence of harmful parasite.

A rise in a parasite called liver fluke, which can significantly impact livestock production in farms in the UK and across the world, could now be helped by a new predictive model of the disease aimed at farmers. 

 Cattle or sheep grazing on pastures where the parasite is present can become infected with liver fluke, which develops in the liver of infected animals, leading to a disease called fascioliasis. Current estimates suggest liver fluke contributes to around £300 million annually in lost productivity across UK farms and $3 billion globally.  

 Until now, risk predictions have been based on rainfall estimates and temperature, without considering the life-cycle of the parasite and how it is controlled by levels of soil moisture. 

This, combined with shifts in disease timing and distribution attributed to climate change, has made liver fluke control increasingly challenging. A new tool for farmers has now been developed by the Bristol team to help them mitigate the risk to their livestock. 

The model, which works by explicitly linking liver fluke prevalence with key environmental drivers, especially soil moisture, will help farmers decide whether they avoid grazing livestock on certain pastures where liver fluke is more prevalent, or treat animals based on when risk of infection will be at its peak. 

Importantly, the model can be used to assess the impact of potential future climate conditions on infection levels and guide interventions to reduce future disease risk. Professor Thorsten Wagener from Bristol's Cabot Institute added: "Water-related diseases can be difficult to eradicate using medicine alone, as resistance to available drugs is increasing. We need predictive models of disease risk that quantify how strongly infection risk is controlled by our rapidly changing environment to develop alternative intervention strategies."

Antibiotic-resistant genes are being spread all over the world in animal feed.

Antibiotic-resistant genes are being spread all over the world in animal feed, scientists discover.Ten million people could die every year by 2050 if the rise of superbugs is not checked, experts have warned. Antibiotic-resistant genes are being spread around the world in animal feed, according to new research that adds to fears humanity could lose one of our most important medicines.

Re-emerging zoonosis: Fascioliasis.

Re-emerging zoonosis are zoonotic infections that have been recognized before and has protocol measures of prevention and treatment in place,but now these infections have higher incidences and wider geographic scope.


Fascioliasis is one of such re-emerging zoonotic infections that was common in developing nations of Africa and sparse dispersion in America,Europe and Asia.

Today this infection is widespread and with higher prevalence. The food-borne trematodes causing infection in man are Fasciola hepatica and gigantica are the 2 most common in the tropics. Transmission is by ingestion of flukes in under-cooked or poorly processed liver.

 Drinking water contaminated with the flukes and eating water plants or vegetables washed with such water. Accidental ingestion of flukes from infected liver as shown below is very common in developing countries.

 Butchers usually cut up affected liver in strips to cut out the white tracts formed by the flukes. This is usually called Eedo oni ishan, they typically sell to food vendors and people who want meat that you chew for long before swallowing. The next time you visit your butcher and observe livers cut up with tracts,do not buy.

Acute phase. when the immature worms penetrate the intestinal wall and the peritoneum, the protective membrane surrounding the internal organs .
They puncture the liver's surface and eat their way through its tissues until they reach the bile ducts. This invasion kills the liver cells and causes intense internal bleeding.

Typical symptoms include fever, nausea, a swollen liver, skin rashes and extreme abdominal pain and inflammation. Chronic phase.
The chronic phase begins when the worms reach the bile ducts, where they mature and start producing eggs.
These eggs are released into the bile and reach the intestine, where they are evacuated in faeces, thereby completing the transmission cycle.

Symptoms include intermittent pain, jaundice and anaemia. Pancreatitis and gallstones. Patients with chronic infections experience hardening of the liver (fibrosis) as a result of the long-term.

 The fluke sometimes migrates from the liver to the eye and nervous tissue.

The migration causes neurological signs such as tremors/seizures .Ocular lesions arise from migration to the eyes, where there is occasional moving out of fluke from orbit.

6 Natural Remedies for Hemorrhoids.

6 Natural Remedies for Hemorrhoids.Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in your anus and rectum, which may be accompanied by unpleasant symptoms like itching, bleeding and pain. Hemorrhoids can have many causes, such as straining to pass bowel movements, obesity, extended periods of sitting on a toilet, pregnancy, anal intercourse and a low-fiber diet. They are rarely dangerous, but always visit your doctor to confirm if you have hemorrhoids and rule out anything more serious. The following natural remedies can help to quickly heal a flair-up and prevent a relapse. 1. EAT ENOUGH FIBER Research has shown that increasing your fiber intake will help lessen bleeding, pain and itching from hemorrhoids. Fiber helps to soften stool and increase its bulk, which makes it easier to pass and reduces straining. For adults younger than 50 years old, the Institute of Medicine recommends your daily intake of fiber should be 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. If you’re over 50, it drops to 30 grams for men and 21 grams for women.