Now wash your hands
Handwashing. So simple, so easy, and so effective at preventing the spread of diseases. Use soap and water, rub all surfaces of the hand while singing Happy Birthday twice! The result? Up to 50% reduced diarrhoea and respiratory infections. Handwashing is the most cost effective health activity there is, says the World Health Organization. Read…
Could new rubber plantations cause malaria re-emergence in northeastern Thailand?
If you’ve been to Thailand recently you probably enjoyed a week or two in a stunningly beautiful country with great tropical weather and lots of interesting culture. What’s more you were probably relieved to be able to enjoy all this without the inconvenience of taking anti-malarial drugs every day unlike many other tropical destinations. However,…
Can Haiti’s struggling agro-economy recover?
The earthquake that hit Haiti may have killed as many as 200,000, and delivering food to survivors is proving very difficult. However, Haiti was already suffering from major problems in trying to feed itself well before the earthquake struck, as detailed in many papers on CAB Abstracts. Haiti has a notable problem of food security, write…
Motiviation to give up meat? (and save the planet, maybe)
My colleagues and I have blogged about how eating less meat could reduce one's carbon footprint. But how to motivate people to do this is a problem – people like meat. Here is a reason for men to consider giving up meat – I stumbled over it while searching on Nutrition and Food Sciences Database.…
Dark chocolate this Christmas?
With a complete lack of imagination, at least one person in my family normally receives a chocolate gift from me each Christmas. Should I find myself uninspired again this year, maybe I can convince a recipient of some good quality dark chocolate, that I am also thinking of their heart, improving their brain performance, reducing…
Flu – can we say goodbye to yearly vaccines soon?
I was at the CDC's session on H1N1 influenza at the American Public Health Association annual meeting in Philadelphia recently and the problems of getting a flu vaccine out to the population fast was brought home to me. It takes about 5-6 months at present to grow and manufacture new flu vaccines and in a…
Repelling boarders…
Given a choice, faced with a malaria-carrying mosquito heading in your direction, would you opt for an insecticide that killed it before it reached you, or one that merely repelled it? Most of us would plump for the first option I am sure, and this is how insecticide treated bednets (ITNs) work and why they…
Legs-up-the-wall pose – Yoga’s cure for almost all complaints
I am a keen yoga follower, who practices yoga regularly, including Tuesday’s lunchtime class here at CABI. I also receive daily yoga insights from the Yoga Journal giving tips on poses to try at home. I thought I’d share today’s tip on Viparita Karani or ‘legs-up-the-wall pose’ with the 'handpicked' readers, as it is a…
Rapid Diagnostic Tools – the End of Traditional Microscopic Diagnosis of Malaria?
Fig. 258. Plasmodium ovale. Three typical trophozoites that make species diagnosis very easyImage courtesy of the authors of Atlas of Human Malaria. From Zeno Bisoffi and Giovanni Swierczynski, of the Centre for Tropical Diseases, S. Cuore Hospital, in Negrar (Verona), Italy. At the recent ECTMIH 2009 in Verona, Italy, a very well attended parallel session…