Leptospirosis in cattle.

Leptospirosis is one of the most common causes of abortion in cows and also causes infertility and milk drop in cows.The economic value of a farm where leptospirosis infection is present is reduced due to death of calves, and drop in milk . Leptospirosis is a zoonosis causing disease in humans, farmers / farm-workers, abattoir workers and vets are the main risk groups. The disease in man is usually acquired from contact with the urine, afterbirth or aborted fetus of an infected animal or with contaminated water. The signs of the disease in humans are flu-like, with headaches and fever which progresses to meningitis. The cattle shed leptospires in high levels in urine, milk and fetal fluids and this shedding persists for a number of weeks. Recovered animals may intermittently shed leptospires in urine as many animals become renal carriers of the bacteria after infection. At the onset of leptospiral infection,the bacteria localizes in the kidney and urinary tract,this is followed by sudden drop in milk yield which is usually followed by abortions 6-12 weeks after infection. The abortion rate in a herd is about 30% while a herd with previous history of infection is about 5%, this actually shows the importance of the infection as calving expectation is reduced not only that, where leptospires are shed in milk this becomes a waste as it cannot be sold because of public health concerns. The overall picture is that the cost of rearing the animals during that season brings no profit,hence a calving cycle/cow in the herd is lost. Infertility is another sign of leptospirosis,where conception rates are extremely low in the herd necessitating culling of unproductive cows,while cows that are infected during pregnancy have weak calves that die shortly after birth. Bio security measures must instituted on farms and followed strictly as the bacteria can survive in stagnant water,wet soil and streams for 6 weeks.Keep shed dry and clean and use of foot dips and car dips are also important. Handle any aborted calf carefully,wash hands and disinfect after coming in contact with abortion fluid or tissue.

Processed meat may ‘worsen’ asthma symptoms

Processed meat may ‘worsen’ asthma symptoms: Asthma sufferers could be at risk of making their symptoms worse, if they consume a high level of processed meat, according to French researchers.

Japanese drones lift off to track livestock

Japanese drones lift off to track livestock: A drone designed to make life easier for livestock farmers has been launched in Japan, with developers eyeing global sales in the future.

Traditional rainmaking ceremonies resurge in parched Zimbabwe.

Rainmaking makes a comeback in parts of parched Zimbabwe, scientists warn that such traditions may prove a distraction from more effective ways to deal with drought. Those include switching from the country's thirsty staple, maize, to more drought-hardy crops like millet and sorghum, capturing and storing more rainwater, and changing farming practices to preserve moisture in the soil. "We need to educate and train these village elders on the importance of... climate change adaptation measures like conservation agriculture and water harvesting," said Lawrence Nyagwande, who heads Environment Africa, a non-governmental organisation in Manicaland Province. Renewed attention on rainmaking ceremonies as the way to solve the growing problem is deterring some farmers from making those changes they have learnt to work. Even the backers of the rainmaking revival say the weather is nothing like they have seen before, with punishingly hot temperatures over much of the last decade and far more erratic rainfall.continue

NSAIDs prevent colon cancer.

Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) protect against colorectal cancer by inducing cell suicide pathways in intestinal stem cells that carry a certain mutated and dysfunctional gene. A study at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the School of Medicine has shown the potency of NSAID to prevent colorectal cancer. Scientists from animal studies and clinical trials have established the use of NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, lowers the risk of developing intestinal polyps, which can transform into colon cancer. A new study compares the effectiveness of aspirin and ibuprofen to prevent cancer.Mayo Clinic researchers and a team of collaborating scientists have determined the comparative effectiveness of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aspirin and several supplements in preventing the recurrence of advanced neoplasia (polyps that are the precursor of colorectal cancer) after polyp removal. The study published in British medical journal the team showed that, for most patients, nonaspirin NSAIDs like ibuprofen work better than aspirin or a host of nutritional supplements to prevent the growth of advanced adenomas. Approximately 85 percent of all colorectal cancers are thought to result from untreated adenomatous polyps thus if the growth is stopped, prevention is possible in majority of these cases. Aspirin and other NSAIDs have a protective effect, and also other nutritional supplements have been studied for their effectiveness in preventing cancer. The team conducted a meta-analysis a statistical research method that involves combining data from multiple studies to obtain a single consolidated observation of clinical trial data from 15 randomized control trials, reviewing information from 12,234 patients. These studies included low- and high-dose aspirin therapy, calcium, vitamin D and folic acid, and compared them each alone or in various combinations. The study showed that nonaspirin NSAIDs are better than all the other compared therapies for preventing recurrence of adenomatous polyps within three to five years following initial polyp removal. However, because of some of the other health risks of nonaspirin NSAIDs, they may not be the best choice for everyone.

How fasting stops cancer progression in children.

Fasting is a spiritual and physical cleanser as toxins have been flushed from system in a bid to ensure healthy living. Fasting or food restrictions are off various types depending on the purpose or intent. Fasting is also a weight control mechanism where certain individuals are placed on specific food restrictions to optimize health.The types of fast include but are not limited to fruit-fast,where individual takes only fruits or vegetable-fast .where only vegetables are allowed and the water-fast ,where individuals live off water for specified period to rest the digestive tract completely. Scientists have explored the fasting angle to treat life-threatening conditions such as leukemia, according to a new study not eating every alternate day can actually halt the progression of the most common diseases in children as excess fat is known to promote the circulation of leptin, a hormone that aid tumor growth. Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells; while the acute leukaemia progresses rapidly and aggressively the Lymphoblastic leukaemia is cancer of the lymphocytes,the white blood cells that fight viral infections thus making people vulnerable to infections. Data shows that one in every 2,000 children will develop it and about 85 per cent of cases occur in children under the age of 15. The signs of lymphoblastic leukamia include Symptoms pale skin, tiredness, breathlessness and repeated infections and the treatment protocols involve a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and a sometimes a stem cell transplant is indicated. A study by Researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, United States, on mice using various dietary restriction plans and published by Nature Medicine used rodents with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia which is the most common type found in children. The researchers marked the cancer cells so they could trace them and determine if their levels rose or fell in response to the fasting treatment, at the end of seven weeks, the fasted mice had almost no detectable cancer cells. Fasting known to reduce the level of leptin, the researchers discovered decreased levels of leptin in the bloodstream as well as in the bone marrow of fasted mice. The effects became more pronounced with repeated cycles of fasting. They also observed that mice that ate normally died within 59 days, while 75 per cent of the fasted mice survived more than four months without signs of leukaemia.

Poisoning as people have died in Russia after drinking bath lotion.

People Have Died in Russia After Drinking Bath Lotion,because the label read ethyl alcohol instead of methanol that the drink contained. The BBC reports that Fifty-eight people in Russia have now died as a result of consuming a bath lotion containing toxic methanol. A further 37 people who became ill after drinking as little as one shot of the hawthorn-scented bath oil are still receiving treatment, with some in serious condition. There are fears the death toll could continue to rise. According to the Siberian Times, Irkutsk region health minister Oleg Yaroshenko said that almost half of the survivors were not expected to live.“They came to [the] doctors too late … Only a miracle can save them,” he told the newspaper, which referred to the mass poisoning as “the worst such case in modern Russian history.” It also said that many of the poisoning victims had died in their homes because the toxin had taken effect too rapidly for them to call emergency services. continue