End rabies now, join the team.

 

Rabies awareness campaign and free vaccination for dogs,cats and monkeys in Lagos is kicking off on the 15/3/2022. Join the campaign, end rabies now!!!. This happened last year The 2022 edition will be extraordinary.

     

Mosquitoes Can Learn To Avoid Pesticide After A Single Exposure.

 

Mosquitoes Can Learn To Avoid Pesticide After A Single Exposure.Mosquitoes can learn to avoid pesticide after a single non-lethal pesticide exposure, according to a study published Thursday in Nature, highlighting an overlooked challenge in fighting the spread of diseases and parasites like malaria, which has grown more widespread and severe due to Covid-19 healthcare disruptions.

 Researchers studied two mosquito species that are common in tropical and subtropical areas around the world: Culex quinquefasciastus—which spreads avian malaria, Zika virus and West Nile virus—and Aedes aegypti—which spreads dengue fever and yellow fever. 

 Mosquitoes learned to associate the smell of pesticide with the negative effects of pesticide contact, and were willing to forgo blood-feeding to avoid landing in an area that smelled of pesticide, researchers said. 

 Mosquitoes have grown more resistant to pesticide in recent years, and researchers identified mosquito cognition as an overlooked factor in this change. However, new pesticide solutions could be developed with a delayed reaction, so that a mosquito that survives exposure will not learn to associate the smell of the pesticide with the negative experience, Frederic Tripet, director of the Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology at Keele University in the U.K., told ABC

How sneezing hamsters sparked a COVID outbreak in Hong Kong.

How Sneezing Hamsters Sparked a COVID Outbreak in Hong Kong Hamsters are only the second species known to have spread SARS-CoV-2 to humans

 

Pet hamsters probably carried the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 into Hong Kong and sparked a human COVID-19 outbreak, according to a genomic analysis of viral samples from the rodents. 

The research confirms earlier fears that a pet shop was the source of the outbreak, which has so far infected about 50 people and led to the culling of some 2,000 hamsters across the city. 

Hamsters are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and so are a popular model for studying the virus. But the Hong Kong study — posted online as a preprint1 and yet to be peer reviewed — is the first to show that hamsters can become infected outside the laboratory, and that they can pass the virus on to both other hamsters and humans. 

 Hamsters are only the second animal known to be able to infect people, after mink. In late 2020, small outbreaks of COVID-19 in people in Denmark and the Netherlands were linked to farmed mink, sparking panic and mass culls. 

 The latest study points to the pet trade as a route for viral spread, says co-author Leo Poon, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong. But “to be fair to the hamsters”, people are still much more likely to be infected by each other than by pets, he says. 

             NEW ROUTE FOR VIRAL SPREAD .

Nevertheless, it is important to monitor the pet trade closely, says Marion Koopmans, a virologist at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. SARS-CoV-2 could continue to circulate in animals, evolving in unexpected ways, and then spill back into people, she warns, adding that “we don’t need more surprises with this virus”. 

 Hong Kong has maintained a strict zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19, so when a 23-year-old pet-shop worker tested positive for Delta on 15 January, Poon says it was “a bit bizarre”. The last time the city had seen Delta in the community was in October. 

 Within days, public-health officials had swabbed more than 100 animals at the pet shop and another 500 at the warehouse supplying it. They detected SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA or antibodies against the virus in 15 of 28 Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), but in none of the dwarf hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas or mice. 

 The researchers then analysed genomic sequences of samples collected from 12 hamsters and the first 3 infected people, including the pet-shop worker and a visitor to the shop. 

All of the samples contained a variant of Delta that had not previously been detected in Hong Kong and probably originated from the same source. 

 The team also noticed some diversity in the sequences, and concluded that the hamsters were probably first infected in November, before their arrival in Hong Kong, and that the virus had been spreading undetected among the animals, accumulating a few single-nucleotide mutations along the way. 

  JUMPING BETWEEN SPECIES The pet-shop worker and visitor were probably infected on separate occasions, and Poon says there could have been more jumps. 

Most surprising, he says, was that even after replicating in hamsters, the virus could still “transmit between humans quite effectively”.

US to fund research on Garri production.

 US to fund research on Garri production. Garri in the news, this is an indication there is a lot of money to be made from garri production and export.

The United States of America is set to fund breakthrough research on garri production to support nutritional improvement in West Africa.“This innovative research is leading to scientific breakthroughs with huge potential to reduce iron deficiency anaemia and protein-energy malnutrition.” 

 This use of garri to reduce hidden hunger, protein-energy malnutrition is already ongoing in Nigeria, as EchbeeFoods is already churning out such wholesome products. 

 Why use wheat? when garri can be fortified to make for bread, cake cookies and so much more SEE GARRI BREAD: soft garri , nutritious, bro mate and saccharine free.

Enjoy with your cup of tea or milk, school feeding programme idea.

AGRO-PROCESSING HUB :Agro Processing for Export.

 Did you know that there is an increase in demand for agro-processed foods by Africans in diaspora?

Did you know that there are over 20 million Africans in diaspora?

Did you know that the commonly requested foods can be easily accessed in Nigeria?

Did you know agro-processing is one key to increase food security?

Do you know that you can own an agro-processing business without huge monetary implications?

Welcome to the agro-processing hub, where you learn all you need to start, scale and promote your business.

Echbee Foods: Peppered Garri with Plantain.

 

Peppered garri.

Cabbage sauce.

Diced eggs.

                      peppered garri with plantain.

ECHBEE FOODS: TURNING YELLOW GARRI TO NUTRITIOUS MEALS.

 

Garri is a common staple in the country and many sub Saharan African countries, garri has also found a place in the international market. 

Garri is a considered a healthy food because its a fermented product and also because its insoluble fiber. Garri though rich in carbohydrate can be fortified with other nutrients to cater for various needs. Garri usually consumed as EBA with various soups OR soaked in water. Garri can be prepared in a variety of ways to produce wholesome nutritious meals .