N-Power- Empowering Nigerian Youths.

The N-Power Programme; N-Power- Empowering Nigerian Youths.Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development. Despite the current high level of unemployment, harnessing Nigeria’s young demography through appropriate skill development efforts provides an opportunity to achieve inclusion and productivity within the country. Large-scale skill development is the main policy thrust of the N-Power Programme. N-Power- Empowering Nigerian Youths. N-Power is also linked to the Federal Government’s policies in the economic, employment and social development arenas. N-Power addresses the challenge of youth unemployment by providing a structure for large scale and relevant work skills acquisition and development while linking its core and outcomes to fixing inadequate public services and stimulating the larger economy. The modular programmes under N-Power will ensure that each participant will learn and practice most of what is necessary to find or create work. The N-Power Volunteer Corp involves a massive deployment of 500,000 trained graduates who will assist to improve the inadequacies in our public services in education, health and civic education. Some of these graduates will also help in actualizing Nigeria’s economic and strategic aspirations of achieving food security and self-sufficiency. N-Power- Empowering Nigerian Youths, how to apply.

New model could help improve prediction of outbreaks of Ebola and Lassa fever.

New model could help improve prediction of outbreaks of Ebola and Lassa fever.Potential outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola and Lassa fever may be more accurately predicted thanks to a new mathematical model developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge. This could in turn help inform public health messages to prevent outbreaks spreading more widely. Many of the major new outbreaks of disease, particularly in Africa, are so-called zoonotic infections, diseases that are transmitted to humans from animals. The Ebola virus, for example, which recently killed over 11,000 people across Africa, was most likely transmitted to humans from fruit bats. The beauty of the model, say the researchers, is that it is simple to implement, so public health officials and non-mathematicians could easily use it. It also allows for the incorporation of data from different disciplines, factoring in socioeconomic, ecological and environmental factors, for example

SMUGGLED BUSHMEAT IS EBOLA'S BACK DOOR TO AMERICA.

SMUGGLED BUSHMEAT IS EBOLA'S BACK DOOR TO AMERICA.Less than three miles from Yankee Stadium, the colorful storefronts of African markets lining the Grand Concourse are some of the first signs of a bustling Bronx community that includes immigrants from those West African nations hit hardest by the recent and unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola virus. We are here today looking for bushmeat, the butchered harvest of African wildlife, and an ethnic delicacy in West African expatriate communities all over the world. A turbaned woman smiles vividly when we enter one small market with canned goods displayed in its window, but the light in her eyes immediately dims when we ask about bushmeat. Shrugging, looking away, she says she knows nothing about it and then, after a moment’s calculation, asks us to repeat the word, as if she didn’t understand what we had said. #bushmeat Paa George Appiah is from Ghana, but has been living in New York for 10 years. A former GNC employee, he sidesteps questions about his current work status, but is cheery and candid when it comes to bushmeat. “Akarnte is the best, my favorite,” he tells us. Akarnte, he explains, is a type of “grass-cutter.” His brief curbside mimicry of buckteeth suggests a large rabbit, but the grass-cutter is in fact a large rodent, more commonly called a “cane rat” in the U.S. Cane rats are similar in appearance to a guinea pig, prized as a source of protein throughout Ghana and other parts of West Africa, and officially unavailable anywhere in the United States. #bushmeat Bushmeat, which can range from bat to monkey to lion, including a number of endangered species, is beloved by many African-born Americans, despite the fact that it is illegal in the U.S. In the Bronx, the high price (up to $100 for six or seven pounds, Appiah tells us) attached to bushmeat (or viande de brousse, as it is known in the French-speaking world) indicates a luxury indulgence in the same way illegally imported caviar might for Russian émigrés in Brooklyn.

WHAT IS MARBURG? THIS VIRUS CAUSES VICTIMS TO BLEED FROM EVERY ORIFICE AND DIE

WHAT IS MARBURG? THIS VIRUS CAUSES VICTIMS TO BLEED FROM EVERY ORIFICE AND DIE. The virus is usually spread to humans from animals, most often bats and monkeys. Once in the human population, it can continue to spread by contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals. In Uganda, there’s currently an outbreak of Marburg virus, an extremely infectious virus that causes victims to bleed from every orifice before finally succumbing to severe dehydration and blood loss. With a current fatality rate of 100 percent, the African nation has also reported a national outbreak of the horrific virus, also known as Ebola’s cousin. Here’s what you need to know. First recognized in 1967, Marburg virus, formerly known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever, is a rare but extremely fatal hemorrhagic disease. The World Health Organization report that the fatality rate is about 50/50 for this virus, but in past outbreaks fatality rates have been as high as 88 percent. In the current outbreak all three of the three victims have died from the disease and Uganda did not wait for further deaths before declaring a national outbreak on October 19, CNN reported. The CDC report initial symptoms of the virus include fever chills, headache and generally not feeling very well. Later on, however, the symptoms can become more serious, such as nausea, vomiting, chest pain, sore throat, abdominal pain, and severe diarrhea. The symptoms of the Marburg virus include high fevers, head and body aches, and gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

Why is the skin of your pig yellow.?

Why is the skin of your pig yellow.? Jaundice, or icterus is yellow coloration of white connective tissue in the body, skin or eye sclera, the latter being the only sign in pigs. The yellowing/jaundice results when there is an increase of biliary salts in the blood and it takes one of three forms. Pre-hepatic jaundice, or hemolytic icterus, occurs due to massive blood destruction that overwhelms the detoxifying capacity of the liver. Hepatocellular icterus comes from direct liver injury, and post-hepatic icterus is caused by obstruction of biliary drainage. Several infections can affect directly the blood or the liver causing yellowing these are: Leptospira (mainly fetuses), mycoplasma, E. coli and Salmonella. In all cases other signs can help to address infective causes. Ascaris suum can also cause icterus through direct parasitosis of the liver with later migration to the lungs. At the abattoir white spots are evident in the liver.

The causes of tail necrosis in pigs.

What is tail necrosis. Tail necrosis is a common affliction in pigs that occurs unpredictably and jeopardizes performance. Tail necrosis can happen in very young piglets during the first days of life up to finishing pigs, often leading to culling and condemnation of carcasses at the abattoir. The primary damage may result from abrasion, fight wounds or tail docking. #tail The causes of tail necrosis can be attributed to many environmental, nutritional and infectious agents that often coincide. A number of environmental factors can lead to tail necrosis including air humidity, small injuries from slatted or abrasive flooring, or a failure to rinse off strong (alkaline) disinfectants after use. Pen mates may step on or bite the tail – a behavior more commonly observed with a lack of foraging activity or manipulating materials. High stocking density and competition for space also plays a role, potentially in response to discomfort caused by ambient temperature (too hot/cold), a lack of draught free areas, or in an effort to secure feeding space.#tail Cross-fostering, tail clipping and other environmental stressors may incite frustration from which vices such as tail biting develop. In terms of nutrition, an imbalanced diet, certain deficiencies, for example biotin or tryptophan, or a craving for salt, protein or some specific amino acids can influence tail necrosis. Excess energy and intestinal discomfort may also be contributing factors. #pigs In some cases, naturally occurring toxins may be the cause, including endotoxins, mycotoxins (aflatoxin, trichothecenes, ergot alkaloids) and biogenic amines. Bugs can also be the culprit. #pigs Skin parasites (mites), streptococcosis (beta-haemolytic), staphylococcosis or erysipelas can be at fault. Bacteria penetrate into the skin causing inflammation and then block the blood supply, leading to necrosis. Prevention can be carried out by thoroughly revising management and feeding practices in order to avoid the identified environmental, nutritional and disease factors, and by maintaining good hygiene when tail clipping. The only treatments that are available involve isolating the affected pigs and then providing local disinfection and parenteral antibiotics.

How to maintain hooves and limb health in pigs.

How to maintain hooves and limb health in pigs. 

1) Maintain and control floor quality in pens. Remove sharp edges (or file sharp edges when necessary).Ensure the correct slat width in slatted floors Keep the floors non-slippery by providing dry and clean resting areas.

 2) Minimize social and hierarchy clashes.Introduce husbandry solutions that will prevent hierarchy clashes.Provide sufficient pen space and free space per number of animals.