28 March, 2015

Antibiotics may soon lose its effectiveness

Antibiotic consumption in livestock worldwide could rise by 67 percent between 2010 and 2030, and possibly endanger their effectiveness in humans, say Princeton University researchers, including one who is of Indian-origin.

India, along with its four other BRICS partners -- Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa -- will experience a growth of 99 percent in antibiotic consumption in livestock over the same period, the researchers noted in the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The discovery and development of antibiotics was a major public health revolution of the 20th century," said author Ramanan Laxminarayan, senior research scholar in the Princeton Environmental Institute.

"Their effectiveness -- and the lives of millions of people around the world -- are now in danger due to the increasing global problem of antibiotic resistance, which is being driven by antibiotic consumption," Laxminarayan, an alumnus of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, pointed out.

Numerous studies have suggested links between the use of antimicrobials and antibiotic-resistant bacteria originating from livestock as well as their potential consequences for human health.

In the study, the researchers noted that two thirds, or 66 percent, of the projected global increase in antimicrobial consumption is due to the growing number of animals raised for food production. The remaining third is attributable to a shift in farming practices, with a larger proportion of animals projected to be raised in "intensive farming systems", or factory farms.

Global demand for animal protein is rising dramatically, and antimicrobials are used routinely in modern animal production for disease prevention and as growth promoters.

The study focused on cattle, chickens and pigs, and identified the latter two as the main contributors to antibiotic consumption.

The study is based on a limited data set of veterinary-antimicrobials sales from 32 countries.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

28.03.2015

Chikungunya virus may soon spread to US

The mosquito-borne chikungunya virus may soon spread to the US, predicts a new study. 

The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine emphasised on stepping up efforts to reduce mosquito population. 

"Chikungunya continues to be a major threat to public health around the world," said researcher Scott Weaver from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. 

Other than anti-inflammatory drugs to control symptoms and joint swelling, there are no specific therapies to treat infected persons and no licensed vaccines to prevent chikungunya fever, the researchers pointed out. 

"Until there is a treatment or vaccine, the control of chikungunya fever will rely on mosquito reduction and limiting the contact between humans and the two virus-carrying mosquitoes -- Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus," Weaver added. 

These efforts generally focus on reducing or treating standing water and water storage containers where eggs are laid and larvae develop as well as wearing protective clothing and/or insect repellent. 

Since chikungunya was first identified in 1952 in present-day Tanzania, the virus has been confirmed in other countries in Africa, Asia, The South Pacific and Europe. In December 2013, the first locally acquired case of chikungunya in the Americas was reported in the Caribbean. 

Since then, chikungunya has been identified in 44 countries or territories throughout the Americas, the study said. 

Symptoms appear about three days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. The most common symptoms and signs are fever and severe joint pain and may include headache, arthritis, muscle pain, weakness and rash. 

People at increased risk for severe disease include young children, older adults and people with medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, the researchers pointed out.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

28.03.2015

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion

Abraham Lincoln