Proliferation of bird flu outbreaks raises risk of human pandemic.

The global spread of bird flu and the number of viral strains currently circulating and causing infections have reached unprecedented levels, raising the risk of a potential human outbreak, according to disease experts. Multiple outbreaks have been reported in poultry farms and wild flocks across Europe, Africa and Asia in the past three months. While most involve strains that are currently low risk for human health, the sheer number of different types, and their presence in so many parts of the world at the same time, increases the risk of viruses mixing and mutating - and possibly jumping to people. "This is a fundamental change in the natural history of influenza viruses," Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease specialist at University of Minnesota, said of the proliferation of bird flu in terms of geography and strains - a situation he described as "unprecedented". Global health officials are worried another strain could make a jump into humans, like H5N1 did in the late 1990s. It has since caused hundreds of human infections and deaths, but has not acquired the ability to transmit easily from person to person. The greatest fear is that a deadly strain of avian flu could then mutate into a pandemic form that can be passed easily between people - something that has not yet been seen. While avian flu has been a prominent public health issue since the 1990s, ongoing outbreaks have never been so widely spread around the world - something infectious disease experts put down to greater resilience of strains currently circulating, rather than improved detection or reporting. While there would normally be around two or three bird flu strains recorded in birds at any one time, now there are at least half a dozen, including H5N1, H5N2, H5N8 and H7N8. The Organization for Animal Health (OIE) says the concurrent outbreaks in birds in recent months are "a global public health concern", and the World Health Organization's director-general warned this week the world "cannot afford to miss the early signals" of a possible human flu pandemic. continue

Chronic wasting disease found for first time in wild Texas white-tail deer.

State wildlife officials are restricting the transport of live and dead white-tailed deer and requiring sampling of carcasses after the discovery of a fatal disease in a free-ranging deer this week. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department(TPWD) on Tuesday identified chronic wasting disease in a 1 1/2-year-old buck harvested in Medina County west of San Antonio, the first wild individual of its species to be found with the disease in Texas. The hunter brought the carcass into a voluntary state checkpoint for sampling. Chronic wasting disease affects the nervous system of deer and their relatives, including elk and moose. Mule deer were the first to be infected in Texas, with the first case found in West Texas in 2012. In 2015, a captive-bred white-tailed deer at Texas Mountain Ranch in Medina County was the first of that species to test positive for the disease in the state. The disease has been found in 25 states and two Canadian provinces, according to federal scientists. Wild deer can spread the disease among themselves through nose-to-nose contact and shed it in urine, feces or other tissue, said David Hewitt, a wildlife biologist with Texas A&M University’s Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. Though a buck may travel as far as 10 miles from its birthplace between its first and second year, the risk of spreading the disease far and wide comes from humans moving animals and carcasses around the state. To stop the spread of chronic wasting disease in wild deer, TPWD put new restrictions on moving captive deer or carcasses from a designated containment zone in parts of Bandera, Uvalde and Medina counties. Hunters must also now submit all deer harvested in that zone for testing, though general deer hunting season ended last week. Source

Poultry nutritional strategies to reduce woody breast.

At IPPE 2017, WATTAgNet discussed strategies to reduce woody breast with Rob Shirley, poultry technical services at Adisseo and Christine Alvarado, associate professor of poultry processing and products at Texas A&M. Woody breast is defined as breast muscle that is hard to the touch and usually cause texture quality issues for consumers and losses for the producers. The texture quality issues include fibrous nature and crunchiness, as well as overall unappealing attributes for consumers. This particular issue has become more common with the selection of high-yielding broilers, the trait is categorized on a scale of zero to three, with three being the most severe instances of woody breast. Nutrition is very dynamic, and so is the management of the birds, Until the genetics companies have bred this trait out of high-yielding broilers, companies can employ various nutrition and Some management strategies to reduce woody breast in these birds,discussed according to studies are 1)Feeding the bird up to 45 days of age. 2)Supplementing with nutrients that affect vasculature and antioxidant properties of the meat such as vitamin C or an increased vitamin premix. 3)Slowing down the birds by reducing the amino acid density in the grower phase by about 15 percent, e.g if you’re feeding a 1.09 digestible lysine diet, you’re going to reduce it to approximately .93 percent. These strategies have reduced the number of two and three scores to zero and one, moving toward more favorable breast meat for the consumer. Although more research needs to be done to determine what the mechanism is behind how each of the nutrients affects the overall growth, development and protein turnover of the breast meat from day of hatch to market age.

Chinese medicine fueling rise in donkey slaughter for global skin trade.

Chinese medicine fueling rise in donkey slaughter for global skin trade.Demand for hide, used to make traditional ejiao, has raised the price and rate of slaughter of donkeys, endangering the livelihoods of those who rely on them .This trade is threatening livelihoods and communities as thousands of donkeys in developing countries are being killed and their skins sold to China for use in traditional medicine, reveals a report published by the Donkey Sanctuary. The demand for donkey hide, which is boiled to produce gelatine – the key ingredient in a medicine called ejiao – has raised the price and the rate of slaughter of the animals, threatening the livelihoods of poor communities who rely on the them. The emergence of the global trade in donkey hide is attributed to the rise of China’s middle class and increased perception of the medicine’s efficacy. Ejiao can sell for up to £300 per kilo. The Chinese herbal communities believe its a blood builder,effective for blood disorders such as heavy periods ,anaemia and cure of dry cough. According to the report the demand for donkey hide is outstripping supply. Around 1.8m donkey hides are traded per year, while global demand is estimated between 4 to 10m skins. This has raised the price of donkeys in some countries, making them unaffordable for many people who use them to take goods to market, cultivate land, and fetch water.

Peroxide ingestion is dangerous to deadly.

High-concentration peroxide, sometimes promoted in alternative medicine circles for cleanses or as a so-called "natural cure," can lead to numerous life-threatening ailments and death itself, according to a paper published online in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("Outcomes Following High Concentration Peroxide Ingestions"). "Ingesting high-concentration peroxide can cause embolisms affecting the cardiac, respiratory and neurological systems, leading to permanent disability or death," said lead study author Benjamin Hatten, MD, MPH, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, Colo. "Though touted by the alternative and complementary medicine communities as 'super water,' peroxide should not be ingested for any reason. Because there are also industrial uses, some ingestions have been accidental because of its resemblance to water." Dr. Hatten examined 10 years of poison control records for high-concentration peroxide ingestion (concentration strength of 10 percent or greater). Almost 14 percent (13.9 percent) of reported cases had embolic events and 6.8 percent of cases either died or exhibited continued disability. Life-threatening ailments associated with high-concentration peroxide ingestion include seizure, altered mental status, respiratory distress, stroke, pulmonary embolism and heart attack. Patients treated early with hyperbaric oxygen had improved outcomes. Caustic injuries were rare and routine endoscopy was not beneficial.

Canada.

Opportunities for work for professionals,agribusiness and further studies. The country is expanding its knowledge base through research, scholarships, partnerships and citizenship ,see if you qualify for this opportunity see

Food revolution, lets eat like nomads..

Change is the only constant thing and as the nomads continually change,moving from place to place to feed their animals; an entrepreneur has decided to build on this experience to change our eating habits. Welcome to food revolution,eating like nomads. According to CNN, Selassie Atadika wants to change the way you eat. The UN worker-turned-chef is on course to revolutionize African cuisine through her new movement: the nomadic dining experience, which sees her encourages diners to ditch restaurants and move meals outside. "It's about creating experiences in different locations in a way similar to my lifestyle working with the UN, but also in the context of Africa ... the Nomadic people," Midunu ("Come Let's Eat"), Atadika's company, hosts Nomadic dinners every other month where diners can enjoy a four course meal in various locations across Accra.continue