One Health
The mission of the OneHealth Working Group is to integrate all health domains into one discipline worldwide.
Chinese Researchers Pinpoint Origins Of H7N9 Avian Flu
Chinese researchers have identified the origins of the novel H7N9 influenza virus
asianscientist.com - April 29, 2013
In March 2013, a novel H7N9 influenza virus was identified in China as the source of a flu-like disease in humans. A group of scientists, led by Professor Chen Hualan of the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory at the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, investigated the origins of this novel H7N9 influenza virus.
“We suggest that strong measures, such as continued surveillance of avian and human hosts, control of animal movement, shutdown of live poultry markets, and culling of poultry in affected areas, should be taken during this initial stage of virus prevalence to prevent a possible pandemic. Additionally, it is also imperative to evaluate the pathogenicity and transmissibility of these H7N9 viruses, and to develop effective vaccines and antiviral drugs against so as to reduce their adverse effects upon human health,” say the authors.
H7N9 Map
View H7N9 map in a larger map
Click on each balloon for more information on individual patients infected with the avian flu virus: blue, patients infected with the H7N9 virus under treatment; red, those infected with H7N9 who have died; and pink, those infect with the H1N1 avian flu virus.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1208847/hong-kong-standby-new-bird-flu-cases-revealed-shanghaiH7N9 Bird Flu
CLICK HERE - WHO - Global Alert and Response - Disease Outbreak News
CLICK HERE - ProMED-mail updates on H7N9 Bird Flu (Avian Influenza) - www.promedmail.org
ALSO SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN LINKS BELOW:
China reports nine bird flu cases amid allegations of cover up on social media
xinhuanet.com - China reports 2 more H7N9 bird flu cases
National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China
China's deadly new H7N9 bird flu virus may be harder to track than predecessors, scientists say
Is This a Pandemic Being Born?
foreignpolicy.com - by Laurie Garrett - April 1, 2013
China's mysterious pig, duck, and people deaths could be connected. And that should worry us.
Here's how it would happen. Children playing along an urban river bank would spot hundreds of grotesque, bloated pig carcasses bobbing downstream. Hundreds of miles away, angry citizens would protest the rising stench from piles of dead ducks and swans, their rotting bodies collecting by the thousands along river banks. And three unrelated individuals would stagger into three different hospitals, gasping for air. . .
. . . the facts delineated are all true, and have transpired over the last six weeks in China.
ProMED - African Swine Fever - Ukraine (03): Europe, Threat
thepigsite.com - August 8, 2012
ANALYSIS - The spread of African Swine Fever from the Caucasus to the east coast of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine presents an alarming and concerning situation, writes Chris Harris.
The latest outbreak, discovered at the end of July and confirmed through PCR tests on samples taken from back yard pigs in the Zaporozhye region, is worrying because it represents not so much a gradual spread of the disease, but a dramatic jump.
The outbreak has occurred 170 kilometres from the Russian border.
African Swine Fever in Ukraine
[DEFRA's International Disease Monitoring Preliminary Outbreak
Assessment "ASF in Ukraine" (Reference: VITT/1200 ASF) of 2 Aug 3012 ,
including a map and references, is available at
<http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/files/poa-asf-ukraine-20120802.pdf>. - (3 page .PDF file)
Avian Flu Makes Jump to Seals, May Pose Threat to Humans
submitted by Susan Steinhauser
AMA - BulletinHEALTHCARE.com
mBio - Emergence of Fatal Avian Influenza in New England Harbor Seals
Many outlets reported on new research, published online July 31 in the journal mBio, which documents a mutated form of avian flu in seals. The sources all discussed the significance of the development, focusing on the risk the transmission of bird flu to mammals poses to humans.
mBio - Emergence of Fatal Avian Influenza in New England Harbor Seals
Abstract
Controversial Bird Flu Study Finally Published
A controversial bird flu study has been published. The Canadian Press/Hanout/CDC
(LINKS TO THE THREE STUDIES REFERENCED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST - CLICK ON "READ MORE" BELOW)
metronews.ca - by Helen Branswell - June 21, 2012
A controversial bird flu study, blocked from full publication for months because of biosecurity concerns, found that as few as five mutations might be enough to give H5N1 viruses the power to infect people and spread among them.
And new research, which played a role in reversing the initial ban on full publication of the study, says viruses with two of those changes are already cropping up regularly in nature. That means that if bird flu viruses were able to pick up three specific additional mutations, they might be able to infect human respiratory tracts and trigger a pandemic.
Colonialism in Africa Helped Launch the HIV Epidemic a Century Ago
To export ivory and rubber from what is now Cameroon, traders created routes that enabled the first cases of HIV to reach large population centers. This photograph is from a collection by Alice Seeley Harris and her husband, John Harris, who were missionaries in the Belgian Congo at the turn of the century. They documented the horrific abuses of the indigenous people of the Congo by Belgian King Leopold II's regime. Anti-Slavery International/PANOS
Without “The Scramble for Africa,” it’s hard to see how HIV could have made it out of southeastern Cameroon to eventually kill tens of millions of people, according to a new book by Craig Timberg and Daniel Halperin.
By Craig Timberg and Daniel Halperin - The Washington Post - February 27, 2012
We are unlikely to ever know all the details of the birth of the AIDS epidemic. But a series of recent genetic discoveries have shed new light on it, starting with the moment when a connection from chimp to human changed the course of history.
Scottish Anthrax Outbreak 'Worst in UK in 50 Years'
The anthrax outbreak claimed 14 lives in Scotland
BBC News - January 5, 2012
An outbreak of anthrax among drug users in Scotland between 2009 and 2010 was the largest in the UK for 50 years, according to an official report.
Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said there were 119 cases of anthrax and a total of 14 deaths during the outbreak.
Its report also recorded it as "the first documented outbreak associated with heroin use anywhere in the world".
HPS warned that as long as there was an illegal drug trade there was a risk of a similar outbreak.
Press Statement: National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) Review of H5N1 Research
H5N1 Transmissable Research: Key Documents at 1 Jan 2012
[Editor’s Note: We present three key statements involving the continuing debate around publication of recent H5N1 research on transmissible strains and related biosecurity concerns: The NSABB statement, a WHO statement of concern, and a Washington Post editorial]
Press Statement: National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) Review of H5N1 Research
The U.S. government remains concerned about the threat of influenza, for the risks it poses seasonally, as well as its potential to cause a pandemic. Our domestic and global influenza surveillance efforts have become increasingly capable, along with expanded vaccine manufacturing capacity and assistance to other countries in their efforts to detect and respond to a pandemic. To enhance the detection of and response to influenza outbreaks, the U.S. government supports a broad range of domestic and global preparedness and response efforts that include research on better diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics.
Social Determinants Of Health Conference Releases Final Declaration
submitted by Mary Suzanne Kivlighan
Kaiser Family Foundation - October 24, 2011
The final document of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, which concluded last week in Rio de Janeiro, "calls for better governance for health and development, with transparent decision-making and social participation," and "[g]overnments are urged to develop policies and measure progress towards defined goals," Inter Press Service reports.
BBC: India "Close to Wiping Out Polio"
Although the polio vaccination program has suffered a serious setback in Pakistan and in other muslim countries following the CIA's fake vaccination program in Pakistan to confirm Osama Bin Laden's location, polio eradication efforts continue to progress in India with good results.
For more information, go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15425852
Green City that has a Brain
An eco-city in Portugal that its makers are aiming to build by 2015 takes its cues from the nervous system IF TODAY'S cities were living things, they would be monsters, guilty of guzzling 75 per cent of the world's natural resources consumed each year. Now a more benign urban creature is set to emerge. The planned city of PlanIT Valley, on the outskirts of Paredes in northern Portugal (see map), is aiming to be an environmentally sustainable city. And, just like an organism, it will have a brain: a central computer that regulates everything from its water use to energy consumption. The central computer of the city will act like a brain, regulating water use and energy consumption Various eco-cities are in the pipeline, but this could be the first to be fully built - by 2015 - and could open its doors as early as next year. While Masdar City in Abu Dhabi welcomed its first inhabitants this month, it will not be completed until at least 2020. And the development of Dongtan near Shanghai in China has not even got off the ground yet, following financial and political difficulties. Like other sustainable cities, PlanIT Valley will treat its own water and tap renewable energy. Buildings will also have plant-covered roofs, which will reduce local temperature through evapotranspiration, as well as absorbing rainwater and pollutants.
U.S. lifts moratorium on deep-water drilling in Gulf of Mexico
Reporting from Washington — The Obama administration on Tuesday lifted its moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, potentially blunting a serious political issue in the weeks before the midterm congressional election and signaling its confidence in newly tightened regulation. "There has been significant progress over the last few months in enhancing the safety of future drilling operations, and in addressing some of the weaknesses in spill containment and oil spill response," Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said in announcing the moratorium's end. "More needs to be done," he said, "but we believe the risks of deepwater drilling have been reduced sufficiently to allow drilling under existing and new regulations." But the moratorium's end satisfied few players involved in offshore oil drilling issues. Some environmentalists criticized ending the drilling suspension while investigations and cleanup continued into the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 people and unleashed the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Get breaking news alerts delivered to your mobile phone. Text BREAKING to 52669.
Oil Spill Panel: White House Blocked Federal Scientists From Releasing Worst-Case Scenario For Gulf Disaster
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration blocked efforts by government scientists to tell the public just how bad the Gulf oil spill could become and committed other missteps that raised questions about its competence and candor during the crisis, according to a commission appointed by the president to investigate the disaster. In documents released Wednesday, the national oil spill commission's staff describes "not an incidental public relations problem" by the White House in the wake of the April 20 accident. Among other things, the report says, the administration made erroneous early estimates of the spill's size, and President Barack Obama's senior energy adviser went on national TV and mischaracterized a government analysis by saying it showed most of the oil was "gone." The analysis actually said it could still be there. "By initially underestimating the amount of oil flow and then, at the end of the summer, appearing to underestimate the amount of oil remaining in the Gulf, the federal government created the impression that it was either not fully competent to handle the spill or not fully candid with the American people about the scope of the problem," the report says.
Where is the Evidence-base for Health Policy and Health System Management?
There is a need for a One Health Knowledge Management System that addresses the need for evidence in health policy and health system management in the U.S. as well as overseas. The article below rightly claims that evidence-based medicine is growing and is positively impacting clinical practice. That said, there needs to be a One Health Knowledge Management System that can inform policy makers, planners, and health systems managers about the cascading health issues and impacts within their domains and jurisdictions. See below. The engagement of the Human Security Index within the One Health Knowledge Management System may be a good start. xxxxxxxxxxx Policy-Making as a Struggle for Meaning: Disentangling Knowledge Translation across International Health Contexts Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Eivor Oborn, Michael Barrett and Yolande Chan School of Management, Royal Holloway University of London Working Paper Series SoMWP–1005 -June 2010 Available online PDF [27p.] at: http://bit.ly/9h0jpG “……While evidence-based medicine has increasingly sought to transform decision making in clinical practice, this trend has not been followed by a similar logic in health management and policy-making. This has ultimately led to significant discrepancies between policy and practice (Walshe and Rundall 2001, van der Schee et al 2007).
Social inequalities in mortality: a problem of cognitive function?
Michael Marmot* and Mika Kivimäki
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK
European Heart Journal Advance Access published online on July 14, 2009
European Heart Journal, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehp264
Available online at : http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/ehp264v1
Public Health and Economic Crises
The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe:
an empirical analysis
David Stuckler PhD a b, Sanjay Basu PhD c d, Marc Suhrcke PhD e f, Adam Coutts PhD g, Martin McKee MD b h
a Department of Sociology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
b Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
c Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, CA, USA
d Division of General Internal Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, CA, USA
WHO Phase 6 Pandemic Alert Announced
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-swine-flu-pandemic12-2009jun1...
From the Los Angeles Times
Swine flu pandemic declared by World Health Organization
Associated Press
7:13 AM PDT, June 11, 2009
GENEVA — The World Health Organization has told its member nations it is declaring a swine flu pandemic -- the first global flu epidemic in 41 years.
The move came today as infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere.
Flu researchers call for enhanced swine surveillance
Lisa Schnirring Staff Writer
Jun 8, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Government officials and researchers may have underestimated the potential role of pigs as "mixing vessels" for influenza viruses and the importance of swine surveillance for identifying new pandemic threats, veterinary experts from Mexico asserted recently.
The group based their conclusions on two genetic analyses tracing the evolution of the novel H1N1 virus that lend support to the mixing vessel theory. Their findings appeared in the Jun 4 issue of Eurosurveillance.
Following virus protein clues
Psychologists for Social Responsibility: an aligned group
Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Psychologists for Social Responsibility is an
independent non-profit that promotes the ethical
application of psychological research and best
practices for peace and social justice. To join,
contribute, or learn more about psychological
resources for social change, visit www.psysr.org.
Their mission and areas of focus are well summarized in the PDF at
http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/PsySR-Psychology_for_Social_Ch...