Dog to human transmission of plague.

Plague is a serious and fatal bacterial infection caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Humans can contract the disease from the bite of an infected flea. Rodents, including rats, often carry both the plague and the fleas that spread it. The most common type of plague seen throughout history is the bubonic plague, which is an infection of the lymph nodes, others are pneumonic plague, an infection of the lungs, and septicemic, which affects the blood. The incubation period is typically 2 to 8 days but the pneumonic plague symptoms can appear as soon as 1 day following infection.The symptoms of bubonic plague are 1)chills. 2)fever 3)seizures 4)muscular pain 5)enlarged lymph nodes especially in armpit,neck and groin area. The swelling of the site is called bubo and its found at site of flea bite. All forms of the plague require immediate treatment, as death can occur as soon as 24 hours after the first symptoms appear.Antibiotics such as streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline or ciprofloxacin are effective in treating the plague. The Symptoms of pneumonic plague are 1) severe cough. 2)fever. 3)difficulty in breathing 4)froth and bloody sputum 5)chest pain. All cases of pneumonic plague are fatal if left untreated and unlike other types of plague, individuals with pneumonic plague can spread the infection person-to-person through coughing, which sends tiny droplets carrying the bacteria airborne. A case of transmission of pneumonic plague from dog to owner and other 3 people was reported in morbidity and mortality weekly report (MMWR).Yersinia pestis was identified in a blood sample collected from a previously healthy, middle-aged man who was hospitalized with pneumonia, the patient was later diagnosed with pneumonic plague. The dog was tested posthumously by both PRC assay and culture with results positive for Y. pestis, two veterinary clinic employees who had contact with the sick dog, along with a woman who had contact with both the dog and its owner while they were ill, all subsequently developed illness and tested positive for Y. pestis or Y. pestis antibodies.Before developing symptoms,the woman had contact with the dog for 9 to 10 days and with its owner for 5 to 6 days. Two of the infected humans had been taking antibiotics for their symptoms before their illness was diagnosed and subsequently avoided hospitalization, all four of the infected humans recovered from the disease. Prompt diagnosis and onset of treatment gives a good prognosis.

Kenyan farmers develop taste for insects as drought hurts crops.

The knee-high dome on Ikung'u Kathimbu's farm in Weru village, eastern Kenya, shelters an unusual crop: a termite swarm. Kathimbu walks around the structure covered with banana leaves, drumming on a tin-like vessel and stamping his feet on the ground. Farmers' traditional crops have suffered here in recent years due to long periods of drought. Some are taking up construction work to supplement their income, while others like Kathimbu are harvesting insects whenever the rainy season is delayed. At this time of year, Kathimbu's farm should be sprouting with a waist-high maize crop. But only wilting cassava stems populate the parched terrain. "Five years ago I could store enough maize and beans in my granary to feed my family for seven months," said the father of six. "But now all my grain is depleted three months after the harvest, and only cassava is left." continue

The 80-15-5 Rule for equine health.

The 80-15-5 rule suggests that everything in life can be divided into groups of 80%, 15%, and 5%. It’s got a lot of applications and it works with horses and in equine medicine.This is what it means about 80% of all of the time, horses get along just great. If it’s a medical problem that’s afflicting the horse, he is going to get better 80% of the time, no matter what is done to him (as long as it’s not something that causes overt harm). Or, if you go out for a ride, about 80% of the time it’s going to be a lot of fun, and you’ll want to come back again soon. 15% of the time, a horse is going to need some help, if he’s got a medical problem, he might need some sort of medical treatment to help him recover. If he’s got a training issue, some new piece of equipment or some new exercise might just do the trick. The 5% of the time, you’re pretty much sunk. That’s the awful, insoluble, incurable 5%. The 5% where no matter what you do, your horse is in trouble. The training problem that no one seems to be able to fix. The health issue that can’t go away because there’s no cure. Your pretty young black foal turned grey. In 5% of the cases, the horse isn’t going to get better, no matter what is done. Think of what that means for any sort of intervention! You can give medicine or massage, antibiotics or aromatherapy, acupuncture or anti-inflammatories, and the condition is going to get better 80% of the time, which, of course, is just about one reason why you can find a proponent for just about any therapy. Because 80% of the time, your horse is going to improve following treatment, whether the treatment did anything or not. For 5% of anything, you’re just wasting time and money trying to fix the problem. But here, too, just about any therapy can be tried, because, after all, to quote, oh, pretty much everyone who tries to get you to use a therapy with a guilt trip, “Don’t you want to do everything you can to help your horse?” Of course that’s what you want. But in such cases, you’re really better off to just figure out how to deal with it, or move on. It’s for the rest of the cases—that 15% in which you can make a difference—that you’re going to need to do the right thing. And that’s where science comes in to help figure out what the right thing , because you don’t want to go about giving an ineffective therapy when your horse really needs one that works. The 80:15:5 rule, it sort of sets things in perspective.When it comes to horse care—heck, in many parts of life—I think that a lot of people are inclined to think about things being the worst that they can be.Even though most horses are pretty maintenance free, and most conditions get better, people tend to focus on the bad possibilities. source

Cutting TB drug dosage in half reduces hearing loss, maintains efficacy.

Researchers in the Netherlands have discovered that carefully reducing the recommended dose of amikacin and kanamycin by half could spare patients this side effect without sacrificing the regimen’s efficacy. Jan-Willem C. Alffenaar, PhD, PharmD, associate professor in the department of clinical pharmacy and pharmacology at the University of Groningen, and colleagues wrote in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. The aminoglycosides amikacin and kanamycin — two second-line injectable drugs for the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB — have both been associated with “profound and permanent” toxicity, with 8% to 37% of patients experiencing hearing loss and nephrotoxicity after taking them for any period of time, according to researchers. Prolonged treatment with the drugs and at higher doses may compound these problems. continue

Katmint for the good-life of cats.

A high School graduate Tyler Thompson wanted to give his cats a taste of the good life, so he developed Koop Brand. Though several other products will debut in 2017, the current products concentrate on natural, organic catnip — called Katmint — and goods and apparel for the cat owners. It's designed more for the relationship between cat and owner, and that's something unique in the market," he said. "They're all-natural products to give cats and humans a better life."The Koop Brand website features hoodies, T-shirts and posters with phrases like "cat vibes," "cats are dope," and "cats and also coffee." Comfortable clothes, coffee mugs and travel thermoses make up the bulk of the human products, because Thompson said he figures "with people who own cats, I'd say at least half are avid coffee or tea drinkers." "I'd stress the cohesiveness between the animal and the pet parent," he said. "We want to blur the line." continue

Cats influencing architecture in Taiwan.

Cats are gaining popularity in Taiwan and other parts of Asia, with Taiwanese cat owners spending $598.4 million on pet products and services yearly since 2011, a portion of which has gone toward cat-friendly apartment design. Companies provide design and architecture services that make homes a haven for cats, including special doors, shelves, walkways and passages just for cats. The cat business is booming. I don't remember it being like this three years ago," says Szuti Tsai, founder of Taipei-based ST Studio Design and the interior designer behind Mei Mei's flat. Since 2011 pet cat popularity has increased by 91% in Taiwan, with owners shelling out $598.4 million on pet-related products and services a year, according to the Council of Agriculture. "People who love their cats really do go a bit crazy for them," admits Tsai. Tsai, who had just adopted a cat, met her client in an online pet forum, where owners post questions and share advice. One user left an unusual message: he was looking for someone to design a minimalist apartment tailored to the needs of his two cats. Tsai made contact to offer her services."(The client) said his cats hated it when he closed the DOORS. They went crazy," says Tsai. "Cats actually need a lot more attention than people think. They want to know what you're doing at every moment." In order to solve that issue, Tsai knocked down the internal walls, and turned the apartment into an open-plan space, bar the bathroom. Furthermore, she opened up the WINDOWS to let in more natural light, offering the cats several spots for sunbathing,and on various walls Tsai built an elaborate system of ledges to serve as a cat playground, the layout of which can be adjusted to keep the pets interested. continue

Crickets as dog treat.

Cricket flour from Entomo Farms in Norwood now being used by Montreal company to make premium dog treats. Montreal startup Hexa Foods is banking on the belief that their pooches have no such qualms. The company makes premium dog treats with cricket flour from Peterborough County as their primary ingredient.An agronomist who specializes in animal nutrition helped the company develop the recipe for the treats. The crickets hail from Entomo Farms near Norwood, which raises crickets for human and animal consumption. Production is outsourced to St-Hyacinthe-based dog biscuit manufacturer Bio Biscuit.Available in banana-peanut and apple-cranberry flavours, the oven-baked treats have a suggested retail price of $9.99 for 80 grams and $16.99 for 160 grams.Cricket protein is also highly digestible, and the dogs -- that's the true test -- mostly love them. Crickets and mealworms are also being raised for human consumption as a healthy, nutritious alternative to chicken, pork, beef and fish.They emit fewer greenhouse gases and less ammonia than cattle or pigs and need significantly less land and water than cattle rearing. The bugs are roasted and can be consumed whole or ground into a very fine powder for energy bars, chips, cookies, pasta, bread and protein shakes. continue