Telecommunication: Northern Ireland launches avian flu text alert service.

Northern Ireland launches avian flu text alert service.New service designed to inform poultry keepers of disease outbreaks.

Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a new text alert service to inform poultry producers of any disease outbreaks. 

 The new system ‘goes live’ as Northern Ireland Chief Veterinary Officer for Robert Huey urges farmers and other bird keepers to remain vigilant to the threat of avian influenza as the migratory cycle begins.

Be vigilant about avian flu as bird migrations begin.

Be vigilant about avian flu as bird migrations begin.USDA chief veterinary officer advises closely monitoring flocks and using good biosecurity measures.Poultry producers in the United States are being advised to be on the lookout for signs of avian influenza as wild birds are beginning their fall migrations. Dr. Jack Shere, USDA chief veterinary officer and deputy administrator for Veterinary Services, said poultry farmers are at risk as wild ducks and geese that could be carrying the avian influenza virus are flying south for the winter. “Look to see if there’s any reduction in feed consumption, any decrease in egg production, any birds that just don’t act right that seem weak or separate themselves or just don’t act like they normally do,” Shere said. “Those are signs that things are different in the flock and they should do what they can to get that flock tested.” Avian

Africa attracts poultry investors’ interest.

Africa attracts poultry investors’ interest. Rabobank identifies African poultry sector as a market with potential for good returns on investment. While much of the investment in the growing global poultry sector has gone to Europe, the Americas and Asia, it may soon be Africa’s turn to attract investors, according to a new report from RaboResearch, the research arm of Rabobank. Annual growth in the global demand for poultry is well known to be growing rapidly – at a rate of more than 60 percent over the coming two decades. And the report, titled ‘Time for Africa: Capturing the African Poultry Investment Opportunity,’ indicates that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for poultry meat and eggs will be 5.5 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, in African countries. These rates exceed those for the animal protein sector generally, and for other meats. African poultry sector offers potential for good returns on investment Rabobank Senior Animal Protein Analyst, Nan-Dirk Mulder, says the demand for poultry products is driven in Africa, as elsewhere, by the shift of the rural population to cities, and a growing middle class. Poultry and eggs are relatively affordable and available as people shift away for vegetable-only diets, and consumers in Africa prefer poultry to other meats. From the farmer’s point of view, poultry enterprises are comparatively easy to start and to expand, thanks to the short payback times. And for feed producers that supply the poultry farmers, Mulder says that several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have the potential to increase the cultivation of crops for animal feeds – an important consideration as 70 percent of total production costs for broilers and eggs are attributable to nutrition. Poultry.

Infection prevention in hospitals: The importance of hand hygiene.

Infection prevention in hospitals: The importance of hand hygiene. Hand hygiene is described by many health care workers as the single most important tool in preventing the spread of health care-associated infections between patients. According to WHO, there are few definitive data on the patient-care activities that are most likely to transmit bacteria to health care worker (HCW) hands, but there have been several studies that identified many possibilities. Although bacteria have been found on HCW hands after activities such as wound care, intravascular catheter care, respiratory tract care and handling patient secretions as expected, bacteria also have been found on HCW hands after so-called “clean” contact, such as taking a patient’s pulse, temperature or blood pressure. Organisms found on HCW hands after such patient contact range from Klebsiella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, MRSA and gram-negative bacteria. However, direct patient contact is not the only way HCW hands can be contaminated. HCWs can acquire bacteria on their hands by touching contaminated surfaces in the patient environment and simply by touching a contaminated chart at the nurses’ station, according to the literature. Washing hands before and after patient contact seems like a simple solution to prevent the spread of bacteria between patients. Most hospitals have hand hygiene policies in place that guide their employees to do just that. But it is not as simple as it seems. Hospital

Preventing foodborne disease a ‘farm to fork issue’.

Preventing foodborne disease a ‘farm to fork issue’. Some restaurants in the United States have begun serving raw chicken. Chicken sashimi, chicken tartare — dishes that might make an infectious disease physician queasy with thoughts of Salmonella poisoning — are being eaten by customers in the U.S. “That’s Russian roulette,” Timothy F. Jones, MD,Infectious Disease News Editorial Board member and state epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health, said in an interview. Likewise, Kirk Smith, DVM, MS, PhD, manager of the foodborne, waterborne, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases section at the Minnesota Department of Health, said raw chicken, no matter how it is sourced or prepared, is too dangerous to consume. “Pathogens are common on raw chicken,” Smith said. “If that becomes more of a widespread practice, I guarantee you we will see outbreaks.” Chicken

WhatsApp empowers women, kids with ‘Live Location’ feature.

WhatsApp empowers women, kids with ‘Live Location’ feature. In a move that will help women and kids connect with their families and friends as they travel, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has introduced the ‘Live Location’ feature. The feature allows people to share location in real-time with family or friends. The end-to-end encrypted feature lets people control who they share with and for how long. You can choose to stop sharing at any time or let the Live Location timer simply expire. Whatsapp

Agritech startup offers bio-based alternatives to better yield and improve crop quality.

Agritech startup offers bio-based alternatives to better yield and improve crop quality. India is primarily an agrarian economy where the agriculture is highly dependent on rains. That’s why the choice of agric inputs plays an important role in the final produce of any farmer. Unfortunately, in most cases farmers don’t consider bio-based agri inputs and end up using harmful chemicals, which do not help the overall health and life of the soil and the quality of the crop. 48-year-old Santosh Nair, who has earlier worked with various banks and was the chief executive of Camson Bio, a listed biotech company, decided to start Miklens Bio. This agritech startup offers bio-based agri inputs that aid alternative, chemical-free farming. Explaining why he decided to start up in the agricultural space, Santosh says, “I have been a banker all my life, yet I always had a soft corner for agriculture. One important thing which compelled me to set up Miklens Bio was the power of microbes. I decided to harness this power to introduce revolutionary, clean technology-based products. This technology is the core of our product development known as Agri-Microbial Technology (AMT).” Agritech