EXERCISE SLOWS CANCER GROWTH.

There is a new benefit of exercise: mice who spent their free time on a running wheel were better able to shrink tumors (a 50% reduction in tumor size) compared to their less active counterparts. Researchers found that the surge of adrenaline that comes with a high-intensity workout helped to move cancer-killing immune (NK) cells toward lung, liver, or skin tumors implanted into the mice. "It is known that infiltration of natural killer (NK) immune cells can control and regulate the size of tumors, but nobody had looked at how exercise regulates the system," says senior study author Pernille Hojman, at the University of Copenhagen. "In our experiments, we tried to inject our mice with adrenaline to mimic this increase you see during exercise, and when we do that we see that the NK cells are mobilized to the bloodstream, and if there's a tumor present then the NK cells will find the tumor and home to it." "It is known that infiltration of natural killer (NK) immune cells can control and regulate the size of tumors, but nobody had looked at how exercise regulates the system," says senior study author Pernille Hojman, at the . "In our experiments, we tried to inject our mice with adrenaline to mimic this increase you see during exercise, and when we do that we see that the NK cells are mobilized to the bloodstream, and if there's a tumor present then the NK cells will find the tumor and home to it." The research group also discovered that an immune signaling molecule called IL-6 was the link between adrenaline-dependent mobilization of NK cells and tumor infiltration. It's known that IL-6 is released from muscle tissue during exercise, but Hojman presents evidence that adrenaline specifically aids IL-6 sensitive NK cells and that the IL-6 molecules helped guide the immune cells to the tumors. "That was actually a big surprise to us," she says, adding that IL-6 and its role in tumor biology can be a controversial topic. "In this study we show that the exercise-induced IL-6 seems to play a role in homing of NK cells to the tumor and also in the activation of those NK cells." This study appears Feb. 16, 2016 in Cell Metabolism, excerpts culled from science daily.

Dog Bite Prevention

Dog Bite Prevention

Public Private Partnerships to limit disease spread due to global travelling.

A new study from a team at the University of Arizona in the US has found that international travel – along with trade – can be listed as being among the most efficient methods of spreading infectious diseases.

   This is due to the fact that people sick with communicable infections may unknowingly board planes and spread their illnesses to both fellow passengers and the residents of their destination country. Led by Charles Perrings, a professor of environmental economics at the university, the team behind the research cited the recent Ebola outbreak as an example – while a global pandemic did not occur, and the majority of the 8,000 people who died from the disease were from the outbreak’s source countries in West Africa, a man from Liberia did become patient zero in the US and later died from Ebola. 

 Two of his attending nurses also contracted the disease, although they later recovered. While this was a thankfully small-scale example, it can be considered a microcosm of what a larger epidemic or pandemic might look like. 

 The research paper also pointed towards international trade, mentioning the hoof and mouth outbreak that cost the government of the UK billions, and other diseases such as swine and avian flu.

 In terms of solutions, Perrings suggested addressing these issues ‘at the source’, and confronting those behind the import and export of potentially dangerous materials with the risks. 

 “The recent Ebola outbreak made us realize that we are all just a plane ride away from exposure to emerging infectious diseases,” said Perrings. 

“The more trade grows as a proportion of global production, the more likely it is that diseases will be spread through trade, and the higher the economic cost of resulting trade bans. What is at risk is the food we eat, the fibres we wear and build with, and the fuels we burn. In addition, many infectious diseases that affect animals also affect people. 

Zoonoses like SARS, MERS, HIV, AIDS [and] highly pathogenic avian influenza all originated in wild animals and were then spread person-to-person through trade and travel.” He went on to say: “There are two problems to address. One is that disease spread is an unintended (external) effect of trade. 

To solve this problem exporters and importers need to be confronted with the risks they impose on consumers. The other is that the control of infectious disease is a public good – the benefits it offers are freely available to all, and so will be under supplied if left to the market. 

To solve this problem, we need to undertake co-operative, collective control of infectious diseases at the source.” He suggested financial incentives for risk reduction in developing countries and establishing a global fund to combat and control infectious diseases. 

Currently, countries have the right to act defensively in their own interests once a disease is introduced, controlling the outbreak and working to reduce the possibility of reinfection by banning trade with countries that pose a risk. This, however, will not stop new diseases emerging, said Perrings: 

“The One Health Initiative suggests that what is needed is co-operative collective action to reduce risk at the source. This requires a partnership between the rich countries that have the resources to fund global prevention, and the poor countries where disease is most likely to emerge. 

The management of infectious diseases of animals and plants, like the management of infectious diseases of people, is now a global problem that requires global solutions. 

This in turn requires a more strongly co-ordinated and co-operative approach than is currently allowed under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.” culled from international travel and health insurance journal.

Agribusiness : how to handle rabbits.

Rabbits are tender and should be handled with care.They should never be pulled by ears or scruff,without support to feet and abdominal region.When rabbits are carried by ears,leaving feet dangling, they will struggle and likely snap their spine.The picture below shows how to carry rabbits with proper support.

Guidance relaxes requirements for pets with lapsed rabies vaccine.

Cats and dogs with out-of-date vaccinations when exposed to rabies can receive a booster and be subject to an observation period, rather than quarantine or euthanasia, according to the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians in the 2016 edition of the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control. The change follows a paper in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association that found that dogs whose vaccination status had lapsed demonstrated an adequate antibody response to support the change. Veterinarian Catherine Brown said the guidance does not mitigate the need to keep current on vaccination. Full Story: JAVMA News

3D-MAPPING CORRECTS FACIAL TRAUMA IN ROTTWEILER.

Three-dimensional mapping technology helped University of California at Davis veterinarians correct major facial trauma in a Rottweiler puppy. Ziba's face was nearly crushed by a car, leaving her with damage that 10 years ago likely would have meant euthanasia. But the technology helped veterinarians identify problems and devise and carry out their surgical plan, marking the 10th such procedure at UC Davis, one of a small number of facilities with the technology. Today, Ziba's face shows no signs of her injury. Full Story: KTXL-TV (Sacramento, Calif.)

Suspected Ebola case reported in Vietnam.

A 27-year-old man was quarantined at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after coming back from Africa with Ebola symptoms, local media reported on Sunday. The man from central Binh Thuan province arrived at Tan Son Nhat international airport in the city on February 11 with Ebola symptoms, including high fever and dry cough, online newspaper VnExpress reported.He was transferred to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases for quarantine and observation.The man worked as a photographer in Sierra Leone.He was being treated as a tuberculosis patient. Earlier, doctors in Sierra Leone had diagnosed him with pneumonia.A death from Ebola was confirmed in Sierra Leone on Jan. 15, hours after the World Health Organisation declared an end to the deadly virus in West Africa. Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since December 2013. Story culled from;South China morning post.