US restaurant chains urged to stop antibiotics support

US restaurant chains urged to stop antibiotics support: A $1 trillion coalition, made up from 54 institutional investors, has called for 10 of the largest restaurant chains in the US, as well as the UK, to stop sourcing meat from suppliers that use antibiotics.

EQUITWISTER AND CASTRATION IN HORSES.

(Equitwister) Castration is common in working horses, both in developed and under developed countries. The procedure is easily handled in the developed countries,with all the tools necessary. The possible post operative complications such as hemorrhaging,swelling , evisceration and infection are taken into considerations and steps are outlined to prevent these or deal with any complication if they arise. The common field practice is the emasculator method, where the spermatic cords are clamped and crushed,the most common complication is hemorrhage. This down side of the procedure has been a major cause of concern,and other methods have evolved over the years. The close castration technique was not so practicable in horses because of the size and contents of the vaginal tunics,as the emasculator could not achieve sufficient crush on the vessels to prevent hemorrhage,thus the Henderson tool was introduced . The Henderson tool uses the clamp technique; this clamp can accommodate the entire cord its then attached to a battery powered drill and the testicles are twisted off.This twisting controls hemorrhage and prevents evisceration. This method is simple, fast with little or no complication,but use is limited because of cost and electricity supply. This led to the innovation of the equitwister by Turner Wilson Equine Consulting, in Elk River, Minnesota. The tool as shown in picture is simple,cheap and easy to use. The equitwister is made of stainless steel rod, PVC pipe, and a crank. It uses a similar approach to the Henderson tool as it twists the spermatic cord, but it’s manual and requires little effort. This is very valuable as it can be used in places where low income earners are a larger percentage of the community.

Chikungunya spreads to Turkish mosquitoes.

Chikungunya has been detected for the first time among Turkish mosquitoes, while West Nile virus and other mosquito-specific flaviviruses and alphaviruses also continue to proliferate in the region, according to data presented at European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2016. Previously reported data has described the prevalence of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus (WNV) and other viruses to be increasing throughout various regions of Turkey, the researchers wrote, and often are concurrent with the emergence of case clusters. In addition, data presented at the same conference in 2015 also detailed the spread of WNV in neighboring Greece from 2011-2014. To investigate WNV and other mosquito-borne flaviviruses and alphaviruses in Turkish regions with increased residencies and refugee travel, the researchers sampled mosquitoes between June 2015 and August 2015 in the Aegean, Mediterranean and eastern Thrace regions. Captured using CDC light traps, the specimens were pooled and subjected to nucleic acid purification and cDNA synthesis after homogenization. Alphaviruses and flaviviruses were detected using generic nested and real-time PCR, with mosquito pools determined to be positive characterized by amplicon sequencing.The researchers collected and analyzed 4,105 specimens, the majority of which were obtained in eastern Thrace. The most prevalent species detected among these were Aedes caspius (61.2%), Anopheles maculipennis sensu lato (19.1%), Culex pipiens sensu lato (13.7%) and C. theileri (3.3%). All specimens were consolidated into 188 pools for the analysis. Alphavirus PCRs revealed positive results within two of the analysis pools, while flavivirus PCRs detected eight positive pools. Specimens in the alphavirus-positive pools were found to be carrying chikungunya virus — the first detection of the disease in Turkey. Diseases identified in the flavivirus-positive pools included WNV lineage 1 clade 1a, Mediterranean Culex Flavivirus and Mediterranean Ochleratatus Flavivirus. “Despite detection in mosquito species with limited vector potential, appropriate surveillance and diagnostic measures should be undertaken to monitor virus epidemiology and potential emergence of human cases,” the researchers wrote. Read more at European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2016.

PIG PANCREAS TRANSPLANT EFFECTIVE FOR TREATMENT OF TYPE 1 DIABETES.

Chinese researchers have successfully used pigs' pancreas in transplant operations on three type-1 diabetes patients, a significant achievement in the treatment of the disease. The three operations occurred between July 2013 and February 2016 at the Third Xiangya Hospital affiliated to Central South University in Hunan Province. One patient's use of insulin has been reduced by 80.5 percent, while for the other two it was reduced by 57 percent and 56 percent, according to Wang Wei, a professor with the hospital. The transplant program was conducted in partnership with researchers from University of Sydney, Australia. The medium-term results were reliable, according to a review of the program, organized by the Hunan provincial health authorities. The research is expected to help solve the shortage of organs for transplants Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/article/2000198467/pig-pancreas-transplant-proved-effective-treatment-for-type-1-diabetes

SEX REVERSAL IN FISH TO BOOST PRODUCTIVITY.

University pioneers sex reversal in fish to boost dwindling stocks in kenya. Fish is one of Kenya’s favorite delicacies and also a rich source of protein. However, most consumers of the popular tilapia fish are not aware that the meal on their plate is mostly from a male fish. According to fish scientists, male tilapia are fast maturing, rich in flesh and therefore ideal for market purposes once they attain a weight of between 250 to 400 grammes. For optimum exploitation of the sector, the experts say sex reversal can be done to ensure mass production of the popular white meat. The University of Eldoret (UOE) is currently conducting sex reversals on 20,000 fingerlings following the recent opening of a multipurpose hatchery. The hatchery has the potential to conduct sex reversal on 500,000 fingerlings. The university says, this will boost the production and supply of fingerlings across the North Rift region. With the advent of counties, which have been promoting diversification of agriculture over the last four years, residents of the North Rift are taking up fish farming. Besides, most households are shifting from red meat to fish, which they believe is rich in nutrients and also medicinal. According to Josiah Ani, the fish farm manager at the University of Eldoret, the institution has begun sex reversal on fingerlings using a hormone known as Methyl Testosterone which changes the female hormone to male. “Male fish are highly marketable due to their fast growth. The male fish can achieve the market size faster than the female, which consumes a lot of food to help it in reproduction and development of eggs,according to Ani. Before the transformation is done, brooders fed on protein have to be introduced into a fertilized pond. “The brood should be introduced into the pond in a specific ratio, generally two against one.A female tilapia is checked for fertilized eggs before it is transferred to another tank where it pours outs her eggs. The eggs are then taken to an incubator (container) full of water that circulates through pipes and has a temperature of approximately 24-28 degrees. Here, the eggs are hatched into fingerlings. “When they are hatched, the fingerlings have food attached to their body commonly referred to as yolk sacs. For three days to one week, the fingerlings will derive their food from these yolk sacs. When the yolk is fully absorbed, the fingerlings will become active as they seek food. This is the most ideal moment to conduct the sex reversal. The process, according to Ani, involves the use of methyl testosterone, a hormone, mixed with stock solution (dry matter which is food for the fish and contains high protein) and fed to the fish for 21 to 28 days. Feeding is done four to six times a day. It is mainly conducted during the day because tilapia, unlike catfish, is not photophobic and prefers light when feeding. “Fish is still the safest animal for protein and highly recommendable for both the young and the old. We must strive to increase its numbers as well as conduct sex reversals to ensure more males in the market,” he explained. Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000198393/university-pioneers-sex-reversal-in-fish-to-boost-dwindling-stocks?articleID=2000198393&story_title=university-pioneers-sex-reversal-in-fish-to-boost-dwindling-stocks&pageNo=2

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/

Yellow fever outbreak first reported in Angola kills 21 people in Congo.

Yellow fever outbreak that killed hundreds in Angola appears to be moving to neighboring Congo, where it has left at least 21 people dead. The Democratic Republic of Congo reported the deaths this week, the World Health Organization said in a statement that between January and March, at least 151 people were suspected of having the disease in the Congo. Some of the cases were detected in areas bordering Angola and "were imported" from there, according to the organization. At least 225 deaths have been reported in Angola as of this week, the nation's worst yellow fever outbreak in three decades. Most of the cases have been in the capital, Luanda. "The report of yellow fever infection in travelers returning from Angola ... highlights the risk of international spread," the WHO statement said. Yellow fever is transmitted by two types of mosquitoes, one of which is responsible for the Zika virus that has ravaged the Americas.The yellow fever virus is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected monkey and then bites a human. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite, and can be confused for malaria or other mosquito-borne illnesses. A small percentage of infected people experience a second phase within 24 hours of becoming ill. It comes with more advanced symptoms, including jaundice, hemorrhaging and bleeding from the eyes, nose and mouth. At least half of the patients who get the second phase of the disease die within 10 to 14 days. There is no treatment for yellow fever, but patients can get supportive care.