Africa: What Zoologists Should Learn From a Zoonotic Pandemic
[The Conversation Africa] Zoology has an illustrious history; it has triggered paradigm shifts in thinking. One of the best known was Darwin's theory of evolution, based on his observations of the natural world. It became the cornerstone of current zoological research. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - June 5, 2020 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Now?
WHO delivered medical supplies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Congo in April 2020. Credit: World Health Organization (WHO)By Lawrence SurendraBANGKOK, Thailand, Jun 4 2020 (IPS) In the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, the much-anticipated 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) of the WHO concluded without any major controversies or disagreements.
The landmark WHA resolution to bring the world together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, co-sponsored by more than 130 countries, and adopted by consensus, called for the intensification of efforts to control the pandemic, and for equitable access to and fair distribut...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - June 4, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Lawrence Surendra Tags: Aid Climate Change Development & Aid Environment Featured Global Headlines Health Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
Flying foxes in SA exposed to zoonotic viruses
(University of Adelaide) University of Adelaide researchers have found that South Australia's population of Grey-headed flying foxes, which took up residence in 2010, has been exposed to a number of viruses, including Hendra virus that can be transmitted to humans via horses. But they have not found evidence of exposure to Australian bat lyssavirus. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - May 11, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news
COVID-19 & Human Health Risks Linked to Wildlife Trade Practices
An animal market in Indonesia. Credit: TRAFFICBy Steven BroadCAMBRIDGE, UK, May 7 2020 (IPS) At the time of writing, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging worldwide, causing human mortality and socio-economic disruption on a massive scale and it appears highly likely that profound impacts will continue for many years to come.
Although the precise origins of the disease remain unproven, there are strong indications of a wild animal source and a direct link to wildlife trade in China.
Even if evidence points elsewhere in future, the magnitude of the current outbreak places under an intense spotlight concerns raised by zoonotic d...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - May 7, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Steven Broad Tags: Civil Society Economy & Trade Featured Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
Detection of Zoonotic Bartonella Pathogens in Rabbit Fleas Detection of Zoonotic Bartonella Pathogens in Rabbit Fleas
What can the identification of bartonella pathogens in wild rabbit fleas tell us about the transmission of fleaborne zoonoses?Emerging Infectious Diseases (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - April 24, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Infectious Diseases Journal Article Source Type: news
What Does Covid-19 Crisis Mean for Rural Development?
David Lewis is professor of social policy and development at the London School of Economics & Political Science By David LewisLONDON, Apr 22 2020 (IPS) The implications and consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are playing out before us. Much of the news coverage of the to date in both the Global North and the Global South has understandably focused on the horrifying impact of the disease on urban communities, where it is clearly hitting people, and economies, hardest.
David LewisBut what are the implications for people in rural areas, where just under a half of the world’s population live, and where the largest concent...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - April 22, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: David Lewis Tags: Aid Food & Agriculture Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news
We Need to Rethink Our Food System to Prevent the Next Pandemic
Once a dangerous new pathogen is out, as we are seeing, it can be difficult if not impossible to prevent it going global. One as contagious as SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to infect the whole of humanity. Eighty per cent of cases may be benign, but with such a large pool of susceptible hosts, the numbers who experience severe illness and die can still be shockingly high. So the only sensible answer to the question, how do we stop this from happening again, is: by doing all we can to prevent such pathogens infecting humans in the first place. And that means taking a long, hard look at our relationship with the natural world...
Source: TIME: Health - April 13, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Laura Spinney Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news
Africa: Six Nature Facts Related to Coronaviruses
[UNEP] Did you know that 60 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, in other words they come to us via animals? (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - April 9, 2020 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Want to Stop the Next Pandemic? Start Protecting Wildlife Habitats
(Bloomberg) — There are four critical facets of pandemic prevention, according to Lee Hannah, senior scientist at Conservation International. Three of them make immediate sense against the backdrop of our current emergency: stockpile masks and respirators; have testing infrastructure ready; and ban the global wildlife trade, including the open animal markets where COVID-19 may have first infected people.
His fourth recommendation is more grandiose: “Take care of nature.”
The assault on ecosystems that allowed COVID-19 to jump from animals to humans went far beyond merchants hunting and selling rare wildli...
Source: TIME: Science - April 8, 2020 Category: Science Authors: Eric Roston / Bloomberg Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 News Desk wire Source Type: news
Ban wildlife markets to avert pandemics, says UN biodiversity chief
Warning comes as destruction of nature increasingly seen as key driver of zoonotic diseasesSee all our coronavirus coverageCoronavirus latest: at a glanceThe United Nations ’ biodiversity chief has called for a global ban on wildlife markets – such as the one in Wuhan, China, believed to be the starting point of the coronavirus outbreak – to prevent future pandemics.Elizabeth Maruma Mrema,the acting executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said countries should move to prevent future pandemics by banning “wet markets” that sell live and dead animals for human consumption, but cautioned ag...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 6, 2020 Category: Science Authors: Patrick Greenfield Tags: Coronavirus outbreak Environment Infectious diseases Medical research Microbiology Science World news Animals Food China Wildlife United Nations Source Type: news
AIBS Testimony: Support Increased Funding for Science
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has provided testimony to House and Senate Appropriations Committees regarding fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding for the National Science Foundation and biological research programs within the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
AIBS urged Congress to reject the deep cuts proposed in the President’s budget request and to continue its bipartisan tradition of investing in our nation’s scientific capacity.
In testimony to the House and Senate Appropri...
Source: Public Policy Reports - March 17, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Don ’t Blame China. The Next Pandemic Could Come from Anywhere
The northern side of Chatuchak Weekend Market feels a bit like Noah has hit hard times and decided to offload the entire contents of his Ark. In wooden cages, bright-plumed fighting cocks squawk and peck. Around the corner are snakes in plastic takeout containers, prices scrawled on them in sharpie. Hairless squirrel kits snooze in a pile as a meerkat and giant iguana gaze on. A pygmy monkey leaps about with a furious scowl, perhaps indignant at the 30,000 baht ($950) price tag fixed to his enclosure. Across the narrow alleyway, a lynx prowls restlessly within its cage. “He’s 250,000 baht [$7,900],” says ...
Source: TIME: Health - March 11, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Charlie Campbell / Bangkok Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 News Desk overnight Source Type: news
USDA Research, Forest Service Facing Cuts Under President's Budget
Under the President’s Budget Request, which was released on February 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would operate at $23.4 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2021, $3.8 billion below the level enacted by Congress for FY 2020.
The proposed budget for research, education, and economics at USDA is $3.2 billion, 4.4 percent below the FY 2020 level.
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conducts intramural research in the areas of natural and biological science. It would receive $1.4 billion in FY 2021, $189 million below FY 2020. Funding for seven out of eight research areas within ARS would decrease, r...
Source: Public Policy Reports - March 2, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Key terms of the coronavirus outbreak, explained: From asymptomatic to zoonotic
To understand covid-19, it helps to know what these words and phrases mean. (Source: Washington Post: To Your Health)
Source: Washington Post: To Your Health - February 27, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: William Wan Source Type: news
Global Surveillance for COVID-19 Disease Caused by Human Infection with Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Interim Guidance
The objectives of this global surveillance are to monitor trends of the disease where human-to-human and/or zoonotic transmission occurs; rapidly detect new cases in countries where the virus is not circulating; provide epidemiological information to conduct risk assessment at the national, regional, and global level; and provide epidemiological information to guide response measures.
(PDF) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)
Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - February 27, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
