Ask our invasive expert a question today
Arne Witt is the coordinator for Invasive Species at CABI Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya. Arne is responsible for coordinating all CABI activities associated with Invasive Alien Species (IAS) on the African continent. He is also the current International Project Coordinator for the UNEP-GEF project, “Removing Barriers to Invasive Plant Management in Africa”. You can…
New ideas in global health biotechnology: the outpouring of creativity!
Can tomatoes be taught to make antiviral drugs for people who eat them? Would zapping your skin with a laser make your vaccination work better? Could malaria-carrying mosquitoes be given a teensy head cold that would prevent them from sniffing out a human snack bar?
H1N1 Flu Panic Hits Pigs and Producers Hard
More than a month since the first reports of influenza in humans in Mexico, the first case of the H1N1 influenza in pigs has been reported. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced on 2 May that a H1N1 influenza virus was found in a pig herd in Alberta. Since then, the CFIA has assured…
The curious research of Mark Button
I thought the hand picked readers might want a little distraction from A/H1N1 virus flu (the flu previously known as swine flu), so I thought how about a blog on toenails for a change? Well, it’s about a research paper I came across recently, which used toenail clippings to detect human exposure to arsenic (As).…
‘Swine flu’ travel response: pandering to stupidity?
We have been featuring H1N1 influenza heavily here on 'Hand picked' lately, in line with the worldwide headlines the virus has been making since the emergence of an outbreak in Mexico. From the daily travel news alerts which hit my inbox, the virus has not only hit tourism in Mexico severely, but has also raised…
I have a flu – how do I know it isn’t swine flu (H1N1 virus flu)?
Well, I don’t! And I probably will never know. Read on to find out why…
Pigs Escape Influenza, but They Get Slaughtered Anyway
Since the first reports of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus causing human casualties in Mexico, and then in other countries there has been a deluge of news, special reports, opinions and interviews on the topic. Most of them erroneously refer to the disease as “Swine Flu”. However, according to the Centers for Disease…
Masks or Handwashing?
In Mexico and South East Asia, face mask wearing to prevent spread of respiratory diseases SARS and swine flu is popular with the public and encouraged but the World Health Organisation and national health agencies seem to be recommending masks for healthcare settings only. Whats the evidence that they work?
Health systems: fuzzy or not?
Despite swine influenza calling world experts home to advise their governments, it was business as usual here on Tuesday April 28 at the World Congress for Public Health in Istanbul. Tuesday was the first full day with 9 concurrent sessions. I sought out those which addressed health systems, as this is an area finally recognised as…
Swine flu or North-American influenza?
A better name for the influenza virus causing alarm around the world may be 'North-American influenza' rather than 'swine influenza' the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has suggested. The reason for this proposal is that the virus has not actually been isolated from pigs to date. OIE points out that in the past, many…