Middle Eastern Respiratory Virus Syndrome strikes the UK
The UK has become the latest country to suffer suspected MERS cases: 2 cases in a Manchester hospital forced it to shut its emergency department [July 2015]. In May, similar events in South Korea [Republic of Korea], mishandled through ignorance and poor infection control within several hospitals, caused multiple outbreaks of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. This article discusses current research, the Korean outbreak, how it is spread via global travel and within hospitals, and asks where else could MERS strike? What would happen should MERS ever reach a country with a poor health system?
Antibiotic resistance: how ignorance, lack of coordination with animal health sector and payments for drugs contribute
Antibiotic resistance is growing steadily round the world and threatening our ability to treat many infectious diseases. The World Health Assembly approved a new action plan to counter antibiotic resistance recently, sparking off activities in countries round the world. Several reports on antibiotic use and resistance caught my eye this week, while I was scanning…
Plantwise Breakfast Meeting at PBCRC Science Exchange
Join Trevor Nicholls and Michael Thompson from CABI for a breakfast presentation on the Plantwise programme at this year’s SX. Plantwise aims to support Millennium Development Goals No.1 (Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger) and No.7 (Ensure environmental sustainability), and their successors in the post-2015 UN development agenda, which are anticipated to be even more…
Calling tomorrow’s leaders: Apply today to earn a sustainable agriculture degree from CABI
CABI is on the lookout for students to join a crop management degree programme aimed at tackling food insecurity around the world and helping to feed the growing global population. Scholarship opportunities are available to qualified individuals who work with the Plantwise programme activities in their countries. With the population estimated to reach…
Climate change: consider the worst case
With so many immediate crises to deal with, it would be easy for world leaders to put the issue of climate change on the back burner. As European leaders continue to battle with Greece’s financial crisis, terrorist attacks drive tourists from Tunisia, and conflicts continue to divide Syria and Iraq, then a climate summit to…
Sharing open data in agriculture and nutrition to help make decisions
GODAN, in collaboration with the Open Data Institute, yesterday launched a discussion paper: How can we improve agriculture, food and nutrition with open data? at the 3rd International Open Data Conference in Ottawa (IODC). The paper highlights how open data is already making a difference in the agriculture and nutrition sectors. CABI is a partner…
Invasive Mikania weed threatens people’s livelihoods and endangered iconic species
22 May 2015 is Biodiversity Day. Non-native invasive species like Mikania can detrimentally affect biodiversity – natural habitats and the people and animals that live in them. CABI’s Sean Murphy explains why. Mikania (Mikania micrantha) is a tropical vine which is native to the Americas. Often referred to as the ‘Mile-a-Minute Weed,’…
New report highlights link between forests, farms and food security
With the global population estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050, there has been much debate around the issues of nutrition and food security. Amid these concerns, a report published on May 6 by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), calls for greater consideration of the use of forests as a food source as…
Health & Wellness: making a drama out of public health
Helping writers provide accurate health information in TV medical dramas delivers entertainment and added benefits of increased health (medical) awareness & wellness to the population. Stephen McGann’s essay (Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine) describes the steps taken by the writers, production team and actors of TV medical drama, Call the Midwife, to ensure medical accuracy and authenticity. Though set in the 1950s, he demonstrates that the series has raised health awareness in populations (health promotion): in the UK (diphtheria) and in Bangladesh, by providing advice on how to depict authentic birth scenes and show safe maternal health practices.
World Malaria Day 2015: play a game and save a life
For world malaria day april 25th 2015, expand rapid diagnosis of malaria by playing the MalariaSpot online game, an innovative and successful exercise in crowdsourcing. All it takes is just one minute of your time!