Bush-meat Trade puts Britain at Risk of Ebola
The Independent
23 June 2006
Cahal Milmo
Britain is at risk of an outbreak of the lethal Ebola and Marburg viruses because of the burgeoning trade in illegal bush meat from Africa, a leading public health expert has warned.
Imports of wild meat, including body parts of primates such as gorillas and chimpanzees, have increased dramatically as a result of the commercial hunting of up to 71 species. Last year, there were 25,000 seizures at UK airports, a 62 per cent increase on 2004.
Conservationists argue that the scale of the industry, in the rainforests of west and central Africa, is driving endangered species, including the gorilla and several breeds of antelope, towards extinction.
Professor Robert Swanepoel, a leading authority on haemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola, told an international conference yesterday that the boom in supply - thought to be five million tons a year - means that bush meat containing the viruses could now reach London and other cities, sparking a health crisis.
Badger TB Vaccine Trial Launched
BBC News
22 June 2006
Photo courtesy of BBC
A £1m field trial of a vaccine to combat tuberculosis in badgers has been launched by the government.
Badgers can carry bovine tuberculosis which they catch from cattle and other badgers before spreading it to herds.Last year 24,000 cows infected with TB were put down and the cost of compensating farmers and testing for the disease was £92m.
The trials in Gloucestershire could lead to more than 100,000 badgers being vaccinated nationwide.
The Central Science Laboratory trials involve catching about 250 badgers in baited traps in the county where the disease is a major problem.The animals will be taken back to the laboratory where they will be injected with the vaccine before being returned to their home set.
The initial stages of the trial aim to find out if the vaccine is safe for badgers and humans and whether it is effective against the disease. It will take at least five years before the vaccine could be administered to the general badger population outside the lab through microcapsules mixed with peanuts.
Dr Chris Cheeseman, who is leading the project, said: "If vaccination of badgers worked you would save the lives of badgers, you would save the disruptive effect of culling, and it would save cattle and taxpayers' money, which is the fundamental problem."
Zambia Looks into Bird Death for Fear of Avian Flu
Xinhua (Posted by People's Daily Online)
21 June 2006
The Zambian government is looking into cases of bird death in the southern tourist capital Livingstone for fear of an outbreak of avian flu, which has already hit eight African countries, said a senior health official Tuesday.
"We are investigating the matter but so far there has been no confirmation of an outbreak," Health Ministry permanent secretary Simon Miti said.
Livingstone's chief veterinary officer Jack Shoko said in a statement that experts are carrying out tests on the dead birds discovered over the past two days.
"Samples were sent to Lusaka for testing. We are still awaiting results of the laboratory test on the dead birds," Shoko said.
More than 40 wild birds were found dead in Livingstone near the famous Victoria Falls shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Health authorities in the region have appealed to local people who ate the dead wild birds to report to health center for medical examinations.
The eight African countries where bird flu was found are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Djibouti, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan. Human cases have been reported in Djibouti and Egypt.
Zambia, though spared of the disease so far, banned poultry imports in March this year.
B.C. Teenager Dies of Rare Hantavirus Spread by Mouse Droppings
Canadian Press (Posted by canada.com)
20 June 2006
A 14-year-old boy has died of the rare Hantavirus in B.C.'s Okanagan.
Medical Health Officer Dr. Rob Parker says the boy was most likely infected in his home, which was in a semi-rural area and had an infestation of mice. Hantavirus is a respiratory ailment caused by breathing air contaminated with a virus from deer mouse droppings.
Parker says he won't release the boy's name or his community in order to protect the family's privacy. He says there is no increased risk to the general public because of the case, pointing out Hantavirus is not transmitted from person to person.
The boy died last Friday in B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.
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