One Health

Microplastic found in ice core samples taken from the Northwest Passage is shown on a screen as part of an 18-day icebreaker expedition taking place in July and August 2019 in the Northwest Passage, in a still image taken from a handout video obtained by REUTERS on August 14, 2019. Northwest Passage Project/Camera: Duncan Clark via REUTERS

reuters.com - by Matthew Green - August 14, 2019

Tiny pieces of plastic have been found in ice cores drilled in the Arctic by a U.S.-led team of scientists, underscoring the threat the growing form of pollution poses to marine life in even the remotest waters on the planet . . . 

 . . . The team plans to subject the samples to further analysis to support a broader research effort to understand the damage plastic is doing to fish, seabirds and large ocean mammals such as whales . . .

 . . . much of the large amounts of microplastic found in the Arctic in previous studies had probably been carried there through the atmosphere.

“Once we’ve determined that large quantities of microplastic can also be transported by the air, it naturally raises the question as to whether and how much plastic we’re inhaling,” Bergmann said in a statement.

A three-year UN-backed study from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has grim implications for the future of humanity.

CLICK HERE - IPBES - IPBES Global Assessment Preview

huffpost.com - by John Vidal - March 15, 2019

Nature is in freefall and the planet’s support systems are so stretched that we face widespread species extinctions and mass human migration unless urgent action is taken. That’s the warning hundreds of scientists are preparing to give, and it’s stark . . .

. . . The study from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), expected to run to over 8,000 pages, is being compiled by more than 500 experts in 50 countries. It is the greatest attempt yet to assess the state of life on Earth and will show how tens of thousands of species are at high risk of extinction, how countries are using nature at a rate that far exceeds its ability to renew itself, and how nature’s ability to contribute food and fresh water to a growing human population is being compromised in every region on earth.

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Transmissibility of emerging viral zoonoses

outbreaknewstoday.com - November 21, 2018

Researchers have developed a model that predicts which of the viruses that can jump from animals to people can also be transmitted from person to person–and are therefore possible sources of human diseases.

The study, published recently in PLOS One, identified several viruses that are not yet known to spread among humans but may have that potential, suggesting possible targets for future disease surveillance and research efforts.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - Pub Med - Transmissibility of emerging viral zoonoses

There is no effective vaccine to protect swine from the disease.

FAO urges regional collaboration including stronger monitoring and preparedness measures

fao.org - August 28, 2018

The rapid onset of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China, and its detection in areas more than one thousand kilometres apart within the country, could mean the deadly pig virus may spread to other Asian countries anytime, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today. 

There is no effective vaccine to protect swine from the disease. And, while the disease poses no direct threat to human health, outbreaks can be devastating with the most virulent forms lethal in 100 percent of infected animals.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - 'It’s not if, it’s when': the deadly pig disease spreading around the world