British Vets Resist “Political Measures” to Restrict Veterinary Use of Antibiotics
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM The British Veterinary Association (BVA) marked the 5th European Antibiotic Awareness Day (18 November 2012) by releasing a statement in which it reaffirms its commitment to promoting responsible use of antibiotics, but also warns that political measures to reduce antimicrobial resistance in Europe and the UK are not based on sound…
Food Waste in the Supply Chain
A one-day conference held at the Dutch Embassy in London last week focussed on a topic which is emerging in response to the need to increase food production by at least 50% to feed a population of 9 billion in 2050. The topic is food waste reduction and encompasses food waste across the whole of…
European Antibiotic Awareness Day Highlights Threat of Antibiotic Resistance
By Miroslav Djuric European Antibiotic Awareness Day is an annual initiative that aims to raise awareness of the threat of antibiotic resistance to public health and animal health as well as the importance of prudent use of antibiotics. On the occasion of the 5th European Antibiotic Awareness Day, which was marked on 18 November 2012, the…
Climate change – will it affect spread of vector borne diseases?
Climate change is going to mean mosquito-borne diseases spread north out of the tropics right? That seems to be the story the news media are giving us. But it is really the case? Do we really need to start thinking about buying bednets to protect against mozzy bites? As editor of Global Health database I…
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Will the Sweet Potato be giving Usain Bolt a run for his money at the next Olympics?
First blog from our guest blogger, Hollie Gibson, who is studying Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK. As the London Olympics came to an end on the 12th of August 2012, plans for the next Olympics which will be held in Rio, 2016 are already in full swing. This time however it…
Mythbusting sports and exercise products
The Olympics are now only a week away, and watching the world's top athletes in action may inspire less elite sports participants to look for ways in which they can boost their own performance. There is a large industry offering all kinds of products claiming to do just that: sports drinks and supplements, shoes and…
Neglected tropical diseases: the future is multidisciplinary and ‘one health’
A new society has been born – the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases. The society’s reason for existence is to provide a space where people from different disciplines can meet and develop new ways to control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). I went to their inaugural conference. The talks were many and varied as was…
Mystery disease in Ethiopia solved: linked to weed toxin
Imagine this… A mysterious disease terrorising your community, not infectious but spreading nonetheless, and killing your relatives and neighbours. All you want to do is pack your bags and flee. Worse, when your plight comes to the attention of the health authorities, they are stumped and its not going to be easy or quick to…
Jumping the red light – Do consumers pay attention to nutritional labels?
There have been many labelling schemes to make clearer to consumers the healthiness of foods, such as traffic light codes with green for healthy and red for less healthy. But do consumers actually make use of the labels and choose healthier foods?In a paper in CAB Reviews, Sophie Hieke and Jo Wills of the European…