Several states legally require hand sanitation stations at animal contact exhibits.

Several states legally require hand sanitation stations at animal contact exhibits.Seven states have implemented statutes or regulations that require animal contact exhibits such as petting zoos and agricultural fairs to provide hand sanitation stations as a preventive measure against zoonotic infections, according to CDC researchers. “Proper handwashing is an effective way to prevent transmission of disease to persons at animal exhibits; however, outbreaks at animal contact exhibits continue to occur, in part because of a lack of handwashing stations,” Aila Hoss, JD, of CDC’s Public Health Law Program, and colleagues wrote in a recent MMWR. continue

Large assessment of Ebola survivors in Guinea paints post-disease picture.

Ebola survivors deal with a litany of post-disease symptoms that include pain, depression and ocular disorders, according to a multidisciplinary analysis of initial data from a large group of survivors in Guinea, the epicenter of the recent West African outbreak. The ongoing Postebogui cohort study, conducted by an international group of researchers, includes more than 800 survivors of the largest Ebola outbreak in history, including 100 children. According to the researchers, survivors who experienced a symptom during the acute phase of Ebola virus disease (EVD) were at an increased risk for presenting with the same symptom when they were enrolled in the study, suggesting the symptoms were either persistent or recurring.continue

U.S helps build Ugandan capacity to combat wildlife crime.

U.S helps build Ugandan capacity to combat wildlife crime.The U.S. Government is helping to build the capacity of Ugandan authorities to protect the country’s natural heritage and to combat illicit trafficking that threatens both Uganda’s abundant wildlife and security. The donation of 10 wildlife crime scene investigation (WCSI) kits by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will assist several Ugandan agencies in their mission to combat wildlife-related crimes throughout the country. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the Uganda Police Force (UPF), and the Natural Resource Conservation Network (NRCN) were among the beneficiaries on this donation, and also received training in forensic investigation techniques. Law enforcement and forensic science experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior (the lead U.S. agency for public land management) – trained 17 investigators from UWA, UPF and NRCN during a recent week-long workshop near Murchison Falls National Park. With support from the Uganda Conservation Foundation, these experts helped participants develop the skills to conduct wildlife crime scene investigations, including collecting evidence and preserving the chain of custody. The workshop also fostered cooperation and information exchanges among the participants from UWA, UPF, and NRCN, which will help to advance future investigations. read

Cats with 9lives.

Cats with 9lives, thinking of getting a cat? cat lover or curious about cats? watch this clip,learn,laugh and launch out.

FDA Bans Powdered Medical Gloves.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is completely banning the use of all powdered gloves in exam and operating rooms, banned are powdered surgeon’s gloves, powdered patient exam gloves, and absorbable powder for lubricating surgical gloves. Powdered gloves are medical gloves that contain cornstarch to lubricate the gloves and make them easier to put on your hands. The FDA says the cornstarch can be extremely dangerous for the well-being not only of patients but also the wearer and other bystanders. Possible dangers include:1) Severe airway inflammation from inhaling the powder. 2) Wound inflammation from contact with the powder. 3)Post-surgical adhesion's from contact with the powder. 4)respiratory allergic reactions from breathing powder that carries proteins from natural latex gloves. Cornstarch powder was introduced to medical gloves in 1947 after the previously used talcum powder was recognized to cause postoperative adhesions and granuloma formation, according to the FDA. The modified cornstarch powder still came with its own share of problems.

Red alert!!! Vampire Bats Found Feeding on Human Blood.

Vampire Bats Found Feeding on Human Blood,and its not a movie clip.DNA samples from the dung of hairy-legged vampire bats, which survive by drinking bird blood, were recently discovered to have traces of human blood. The urban legend of the vampire that haunts our nightmares might not be just a legend after all. Vampire bats have evolved to subsist entirely on blood, and now for the first known time one type of vampire bat has started feeding on humans. The hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata) has always been known to survive on the blood of various birds. A new study published in the journal Acta Chiropterologica found that this species of vampire bat is now feeding on human blood as well. Two other species of vampire bat—the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi)—are known to jump from one source of blood to another, but never human blood. All three species of vampire bats can be found across the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. They feed by puncturing the skin of their prey with sharp incisors and drinking the blood that flows from the wound. Deforestation has been wreaking havoc on the Caatinga dry forests of northeastern Brazil, displacing the vampire bat population. Brazilians have also been hunting the tinamou and guan birds, which are the prey of vampire bats. With food sources running dry, investigators from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil decided to find out what these vampire bats were surviving on instead. Predictably, DNA analysis of fecal samples from 15 bats showed that most of the samples contained chicken blood. But 3 the 15 samples contained traces of human blood. Enrico Bernard, the lead researcher on the study, was surprised at this discovery, saying, “This species isn’t adapted to feed on the blood of mammals.” Vampire bats are adapted to process fat, which is a primary component of bird blood, compared with the thicker, high-protein blood of mammals. This new-found evidence is a cause of concern to investigators, worried about the spread of viruses from the bats to their human prey. A similar phenomenon occurred in northeast Brazil in 2015,when deforestation led another type of vampire bat to bite and infect more than 1,000 people with rabies, causing at least 23 deaths. Investigators are worried about what this discovery might mean for Brazilians and their well-being because the hairy-legged vampire bat has been known to carry the deadly hantavirus. The hantavirus can cause a respiratory disease in humans that can be fatal. The investigators believe these vampire bats are entering people’s bedrooms through holes in roofs or windows while they’re sleeping. To learn more, the research team is following up by visiting homes of local residents to find out how often they are being bitten, when they are being bitten, and how they are being bitten. source

Animals with Superpowers.

Animals are the bomb, while some are friendly others are no go-no see or touch creatures but the beauty of it all is that they are important in the circle of life. A lot of innovative products have stemmed from animals that are beneficial to man such as the geko bra,the genius of the wall geko. see Animals have certain adaptive properties that make them unique and stand out in their environment,making magic out of their survival. 1) Photophores ; are light-producing organs that create bioluminescence in various invertebrates and fish living in the deep sea, such as the smalltooth dragonfish and splitfin flashlight fish. In the smalltooth dragonfish (shown below), three photophores are located underneath its eyes and they produce red light, orange light, and blue light. The red light is used both to see prey that can’t see them and to carry out conversations with other fish they’re attempting to court. The blue light is used as a sort of flashlight that helps the fish see in the deep dark. 2) Heat Sensors; Pit vipers and other snakes have heat-sensing protein channels located in tiny holes on their faces that help them “see” in the dark. These “pit organs” contain a membrane that can detect infrared radiation from warm bodies, making it much easier to detect and sense prey in the pitch dark. Scientists say they can detect prey up to 3 feet away. 3) Ampullae of Lorenzini This mouthful is the reason why sharks are such great predators. Ampullae of Lorenzini are electroreceptors that are found in sharks, rays, and chimaeras. They are visible as dark spots in the skin. These organs form a network of jelly-filled pores that provide fish with the ability to detect electric and magnetic fields as well as temperature gradients. This helps sharks and other fish that have these organs find their prey more easily in dark, murky waters. continue