Three killed in new Chinese milk scare

http://www.dairyreporter.com/

By Guy Montague-Jones, 08 April 2011

Nitrate-tainted milk has killed three people and made 35 others ill in the latest food safety scandal to hit the Chinese dairy industry, according to state media.

Early reports indicate that the victims were poisoned by nitrate, a chemical used in the curing of meat, after drinking bulk milk from two farms in Gansu province, in north-west China. The sick, most of whom are children under 14, are being treated in hospitals in Pingliang city. Officials said that one of them is in a critical condition and the others are stable. The two farms at the centre of the scare have been sealed off and senior managers are being interrogated, according to media reports.

Section 144 on dogs in Mizo town

Diseases transmissible from monkeys

Forest is a natural habitat of wildlife along with a variety of plants and insects that harbour countless microorganisms. A large majority of emerging and reemerging zoonotic infections may find their origin in wildlife. The distance between humans and wildlife has greatly diminished due to the anthropogenic activities such as:

·      Encroachment on wildlife habitat resulting in migration of wild animals

·      Forest clearing and forest fires

·      Changes in agricultural and animal husbandry practices

·      Wildlife trade

·      Translocation of wild animals

·      Ecotourism

·      Exotic pets and petting zoo animals

Zoonotic infections in primates (including monkeys) have great implications. Major non-human primate zoonotic infections are listed below.

·   Parasitic infections- Entamoeba histolytica, E. polecki, Giardia, Cryptosporidia, Plasmodium spp., Oesophagostomum bifurcum, Schistosoma mansoni, S. Mekongi, Bartiella studen, B. mucronata

·    Bacterial infections- Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Leptospira, Francisella tularensis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. avium, M. paratuberculosis, M. scrofulaceum, M. intercellulae, M. kansasii, M. gordnae, M. africanum, M. leprae

·     Viral infections- Hepatitis A, Monkey pox, Tana pox, Yaba pox, Measles, Marburg, Ebola, Simian Immunodeficiency, Herpes Simian B virus     

Care to be taken in case of monkey bite or scratch wounds

As a first aid, all bite or scratch wounds should be immediately and thoroughly scrubbed and cleansed with soap and water. A 0.25% hypochlorite solution wash followed by washing with detergent containing chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine for 15 minutes is recommended. Immediately thereafter, medical advice should be sought for further line of action.


Inputs

Dr. K. G. Narayan
Retired Dean
Veterinary College, Ranchi

Antimicrobial Resistance

Key facts 

          

•  Infections caused by resistant microorganisms often fail to respond to conventional treatment, resulting in prolonged illness and greater risk of death.
• About 440 000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) emerge annually, causing at least 150 000 deaths.
•  Resistance to earlier generation antimalarial medicines such as chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine is widespread in most malaria-endemic countries.
• A high percentage of hospital-acquired infections are caused by highly resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
• Inappropriate and irrational use of antimicrobial medicines provides favourable conditions for resistant microorganisms to emerge, spread and persist.

What drives antimicrobial resistance (AMR)?

Inappropriate and irrational use of medicines provides favourable conditions for resistant microorganisms to emerge and spread. For example, when patients do not take the full course of a prescribed antimicrobial or when poor quality antimicrobials are used, resistant microorganisms can emerge and spread.

Underlying factors that drive AMR include:

• inadequate national commitment to a comprehensive and coordinated response, ill-defined accountability and insufficient engagement of communities;
• weak or absent surveillance and monitoring systems;
• inadequate systems to ensure quality and uninterrupted supply of medicines
• inappropriate and irrational use of medicines, including in animal husbandry:
• poor infection prevention and control practices;
• depleted arsenals of diagnostics, medicines and vaccines as well as insufficient research and development on new products.

Combat drug resistance - No action today, no cure tomorrow

The emergence of AMR is a complex problem driven by many interconnected factors; single, isolated interventions have little impact. A global and national multi-sectoral response is urgently needed to combat the growing threat of AMR.

WHO has selected combating antimicrobial resistance as the theme for World Health Day 2011. On this day, WHO issues an international call for concerted action to halt the spread of antimicrobial resistance and recommends a six-point policy package for governments.

WHO calls on all key stakeholders, including policy-makers and planners, the public and patients, practitioners and prescribers, pharmacists and dispensers, and the pharmaceutical industry, to act and take responsibility for combating antimicrobial resistance.

Source: WHO Fact sheet N°194, February 2011, WHO Media center

Inputs: Prof. Sudhi Ranjan Garg

A glaring example of working without borders on health issues

Asian Biomedicine Vol. 4 No.4 August 2010; 671

World Rabies Day (September 28, 2010): the continuing effort to 'make rabies history'

Peter Costa, Deborah J Briggs, Robert Dedmon

Alliance for Rabies Control, Edinburgh, UK and Global Alliance for Rabies Control Manhattan, Kansas 66506; Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, USA

In spite of a number of advances in rabies research and education, rabies remains a serious global threat and causes 55,000 deaths annually. About half of these deaths occur in children under 15 years of age, and in areas where awareness, public and private support, and rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin (RJG) are unavailable or too expensive. Until rabies biologics become more readily available, public and professional education remain of critical importance toward efforts to eliminate this dreadful scourge. In North America, bats remain the principal cause of rabies deaths although the epizootic in wildlife remains a serious challenge. In much of the developing world, dogs are the principal transmitter of rabies to humans. More than half the rabies deaths globally occur in Asia, where adequate preventive care is often unavailable. In addition, the ongoing rabies outbreak in Bali reminds us of the dire consequences of ill-informed and ineffective animal culling without adequate vaccination of at least 70% of all dogs to control spread of rabies.

This year marks the fourth World Rabies Day (WRD) effort under the sponsorship of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC)/Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC), WHO, The U.S. CDC, FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization), OlE (World Organization for Animal Health), a number of veterinary organizations and schools, and several national ministries of agriculture, animal health, and public health. The number of countries participating in WRD efforts has grown from 75 in 2007 to 105 in 2009, and in Asia from 13 in 2007 to 24 in 2009. Currently, the Alliance (GARC/ARC) is communicating prevention messages to 200 countries and territories through partnerships with a variety of private and public organizations.

In its first three years, WRD efforts have resulted in educating nearly 100 million people, providing almost three million animal vaccinations, and in 2009, receiving over 205,000 visitors to its web site (www.worldrabiesday.org). Much of this work has been done by dedicated volunteers, as well as through donations from individuals and various foundations. However, much more work remains. WRD4 is another opportunity to 'Make Rabies History' and 'Save the Children'. The authors encourage all health and government leaders to observe and support this effort, remembering that rabies is 100% preventable.

Inputs

Peter J Costa

MPH CHES (Health Educator)

Director, Global Communications

Global Alliance for Rabies Control

World Rabies Day Campaign