Rabies: The devastating effect of rabies.

 

Rabies though fatal is 100% preventable. Vaccinate your dogs, cats and monkeys.

 Learn what to do when bitten by a dog.

BLOCK CHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN AGRIBUSINESS.

  

BLOCKCHAIN IN AGRICULTURE – IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL TECHNIQUES.“Ensuring Efficiency, Trust and Transparency from Farms to Groceries”.

Exploring new techniques to ensure food safety, traceability and transparency in the agribusiness space to promote profitability.

 Even though blockchain technology gained traction because of its role in the financial sector, it has a vast range of applications beyond cryptocurrencies. 

The technology is set to drastically transform many industries, including healthcare, law, real estate, banking, etc. 

 However, one little-explored industry that blockchain has the potential to revolutionize completely is agriculture. More importantly, it has a growing number of issues that we urgently need to solve. Blockchain technology can help the agriculture sector in numerous ways. 

 The Use Cases of Blockchain technology in Agriculture and Benefits of Blockchain in Agriculture.

 Uses Cases of Blockchain technology in Agriculture. 1)Crop and Food Production. 2)Food Supply Chain. 3)Controlling Weather Crisis. 4) Managing Agricultural Finance. 

       

How the agricultural industry can harvest benefits of blockchain technology.

              Blockchain Technology in Agriculture.

 Blockchain, coupled with IoT, is remodeling the food production industry. It is set to make farming a sustainable practice by using a simplified approach to optimize farming resources like: 1)water. 2)labor. 3)fertilizers. continue.

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Most rabies infections in the United States come from bats, CDC says.

 

Most rabies infections in the United States come from bats, CDC says.In the United States, the culprit behind most rabies cases has shifted from dogs to bats. The flying mammals now cause 7 out of 10 US rabies cases, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

 Researchers looked at rabies trends in the United States over the span of 80 years, from 1938 to 2018. They found that most infections came from dog bites until 1960, when wildlife species -- specifically bats -- became the primary source for human infection. 

This followed nationwide efforts in the 1950s to mandate pet vaccines and implement leash control laws, the report stated. "Reducing rabies in dogs is a remarkable achievement of the U.S. public health system, but with this deadly disease still present in thousands of wild animals, it's important that Americans are aware of the risk," CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said in a news release. 

From 1960 to 2018, 125 human rabies were cases reported . From 1960 to 2018, 125 human rabies were cases reported in the United States. Of these, 28% came from contact with dogs outside the United States, where rabies vaccines may not be required or readily available. 

The cases acquired in the United States came from wildlife species, with 70% resulting from bat bites or scratches and the rest due to human contact with raccoons, skunks or foxes. In the United States, most human deaths from rabies occur because people don't seek medical treatment, probably because they are unaware of the animal contact. 

For example, bat bites can be smaller than the top of a pencil eraser, the CDC said. "We've been seeing cases in people in the United States who seem to not really be aware that rabies can be transmitted by wildlife, especially bats," Pieracci said. "A lot of times, bat bites and scratches are very tiny. So a lot of people will try to hold a bat and they don't realize that bat has bitten."

 If you happen to wake up with a bat in your immediate surroundings, you should assume rabies exposure and seek medical care right away, the CDC recommends.

US had 5 rabies deaths last year, highest total in a decade.

 

Five Americans died of rabies last year — the largest number in a decade — and health officials said Thursday that some of the people didn't realize they had been infected or refused life-saving shots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report on three of the deaths, all stemming from contact with bats. 

CDC officials said the deaths were tragic and could have been prevented. One, an 80-year-old Illinois man, refused to take life-saving shots because of a longstanding fear of vaccines. An Idaho man and a Texas boy did not get shots because of a belief that no bat bite or scratch broke their skin. In all three cases, people “either trivialized the exposure (to bats) or they didn't recognize the severity of rabies,” said Ryan Wallace, a CDC rabies expert who co-authored the report. 

 Two other deaths occurred earlier in 2021. One was a Minnesota man bitten by a bat. He got the shots, but an undiagnosed immune system problem hampered their effectiveness, CDC officials said. The other victim was bitten by a rabid dog while traveling in the Philippines and died in New York after returning to the U.S.

 Rabies is caused by a virus that invades the central nervous system and is usually fatal in animals and humans. It’s most commonly spread through a bite from an infected animal, with most U.S. infections in recent years traced to bat encounters.

U.S. to Ban Dogs From Over 100 Countries Amid Concern Over Spread of Rabies.

 

U.S. to Ban Dogs From Over 100 Countries Amid Concern Over Spread of Rabies. Dogs from more than 100 countries will be banned from being brought into the United States for one year because of heightened concerns over the spread of rabies, federal health officials announced on Monday. 

 The countries targeted by the ban, which will take effect on July 14, are considered to be at high risk for spreading the deadly virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. 

They include the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, China, Russia, Ukraine, India and the Philippines. Officials at the C.D.C. said that the temporary measure was necessary to prevent the reintroduction of a canine rabies virus variant in United States, where the variant has been eliminated since 2007. 

 As many as 100,000 of the one million dogs that are brought into the United States each year could be denied entry, according to the C.D.C., which said that it would make exceptions on a limited basis for owners of service dogs and foreigners moving stateside with their pets.

Nearly Eradicated in Humans, the Guinea Worm Finds New Victims: Dogs.

 

For 30 years, scientists have fought to eliminate a horrifying parasite. Suddenly, it has begun infecting dogs in Chad, threatening to undo decades of progress. Martoussia, the celebrity of the moment in this remote fishing village, pants heavily under the awning where he lies chained. Still, he remains calm and sweet-tempered as the crowd presses in. 

 Children gawk as volunteers in white surgical gloves ease a foot-long Guinea worm from the dog’s leg and American scientists quiz his owner, a fisherman, about how many worms Martoussia has had. The village chief, Moussa Kaye, 87, is asked the last time one of his people had a worm. 

A Guinea worm, which must be pulled an inch or so a day, being extracted from Djalibe, a village dog. Photo credit. Jane Hahn of The New York Times.

“Not since 40 years ago,” he says. In this arid central African country, the long global struggle to eliminate a horrifying human parasite has encountered a serious setback: dogs. They are being infected with Guinea worms, and no one knows how. Scientists are desperate to solve the puzzle. If the answer isn’t found soon, or if the worms begin to spread widely into other species — a handful already have been found in cats and even baboons — then 32 years of work to end the scourge may crumble, said Mark L. Eberhard, a parasitologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

 Once a pathogen runs wild in an animal population, there is little chance it can be wiped out. “An animal reservoir is the kiss of death for eradication,” Dr. Eberhard said. It has happened before. In the 1930s, the drive to eradicate yellow fever died when scientists realized monkeys carried the virus. 

 This setback has come just as the decades-long campaign edges tantalizingly close to victory. In 1986, when the Carter Center — the global health philanthropy in Atlanta founded by President Jimmy Carter — launched the eradication drive, an estimated 3.5 million people in 21 countries had worms.

RABIES : WHAT CAN TRAVELERS DO TO PREVENT RABIES.

 

RABIES : WHAT CAN TRAVELERS DO TO PREVENT RABIES. 

 For some travelers, it may make sense to get the rabies vaccine before your trip.The rabies vaccine is three doses. The second dose is given seven days after the first dose. The third shot is given 21 to 28 days after the first dose. 

Even if you are vaccinated against rabies, if you are bitten or scratched by an animal while traveling, you need to seek medical care immediately and get two booster doses of the vaccine. 

 Travelers can protect themselves from rabies by taking the following steps:

 1)Don’t touch dogs, puppies, or other animals. This goes for strays as well as pets. Not all countries

 require pets to be vaccinated against rabies. Even animals that appear healthy can spread rabies.

 2)Supervise children closely, especially around dogs and puppies, cats and kittens, and wildlife.

 3)If you travel with your pet, watch it closely. Do not allow it around other local pets or wild animals.

 4)Avoid bringing new animals home. Dogs and cats may be infected with rabies but not show signs

 until several days or months later. If you do decide to bring an animal with you be aware animal importation regulations. 

 5)If you are traveling to work with animals, bring and wear appropriate protective gear.

 Act quickly if you are bitten or scratched by a dog or other animal :

1)Immediately wash all bites and scratches well. Use plenty of soap and running water. 

 2)Seek medical care immediately, even if you don’t feel sick or the wound does not look serious.

 3)To prevent rabies, start treatment immediately. 

 4)Treatment for rabies includes getting a vaccine after you have been bitten. 

Even if you were vaccinated before your trip, you still need to seek care if you get bitten or scratched by an animal.