ILRI scientist calls for better irrigation techniques to reduce risk of vector-borne diseases

The hidden dangers of irrigation in Kenya

By Imogen Mathers

If you are unable to listen to this audio, please update your browser or go here to download.

For farmers in Kenya, creative ways to irrigate crops can be the difference between a harvest failing or thriving. In this drought-prone country, access to reliable water sources is a daily challenge.

Few would argue with the need for better irrigation. Yet certain techniques introduced by the government to spur food production have dangerous side effects, warns Bernard Bett, a veterinary epidemiologist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya.

The pools and canals that underpin flood irrigation create ideal conditions for mosquitoes to thrive, and are a draw for wildlife to gather and drink. This confluence of elements forms a perfect petri dish for zoonotic diseases such as malaria and dengue to circulate between wildlife, livestock, humans and insects.

Instead, Bett suggests exploring alternative techniques such as drip irrigation, a small change that can play a big part in keeping people safe from vector-borne diseases.

The interview was recorded on 18 March 2016 at One Health for the Real World, a symposium in the United Kingdom organised by the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa consortium and the Zoological Society of London.

This article was originally published on SciDev.Net. Read the original article.

 

MERS-CoV antibodies found in two people in eastern Kenya

ILRI news

Transmission electron micrograph of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, MERS-CoV (image credit: NIAID). MERS-CoV belongs to the coronavirus family. Human coronaviruses were first identified in the mid-1960s; MERS-CoV was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Coronaviruses can also infect animals. Named for the crown-like spikes on their surface, coronaviruses are common in people, usually causing mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses. Two exceptions are the MERS-CoV and the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)-CoV.

A new study published in the science journal Emerging Infectious Diseases reports that two individuals in Kenya have tested positive for the presence of antibodies to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Neither person is ill or recalls having any symptoms associated with MERS.

There is no evidence of a public health threat and scientists concluded that the infections caused little or no clinical signs of illness. But they plan follow-up studies, as this is the…

View original post 1,251 more words

 

One Health to feature at international conference on tropical veterinary medicine

The holistic concept of ‘One World-One Health’ in disease prevention and control will be among the topics of discussion at the first joint international conference of the Association of Institutions for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (AITVM) and the Society of Tropical Veterinary Medicine (STVM) which is scheduled to place on 4-8 September 2016 in Berlin, Germany.

AITVM is a foundation of 24 veterinary faculties and livestock institutes based in Africa, Asia and Europe with the mandate to improve human health and quality of life by means of increased and safe food production in tropical regions through enhancement of research, training and education in veterinary medicine and livestock production within the framework of sustainable development.

STVM is made up of scientists, veterinarians and students from more than 40 countries with common interests in tropical veterinary medicine. It is a non-profit organization whose purpose is the advancement of tropical veterinary medicine, hygiene and related disciplines.

The joint conference will bring together animal health and production experts, senior and junior career researchers and students from all over the world to discuss research and development topics including animal and zoonotic disease control, food safety, genetic resources and biodiversity, rural development and animal production, training and capacity building and animal welfare.

The conference is organized by the Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Reference Centre for Veterinary Public Health of the Freie Universität Berlin.

The co-organizing institutions are:

• the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute – Federal Research Institute for Animal Health
• the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
• the German Veterinary Medical Society
• Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Germany
• the Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

The conference organizers are now accepting abstracts. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 March 2016.

Visit the conference website for more information.

 

New research paper reviews the emerging threat of microsporidia, a group of foodborne parasites

Catch of the day, Khulna, Bangladesh. Fish are among the aquatic hosts of microsporidia, a group of emerging foodborne parasites. (photo credit: WorldFish/Yousuf Tushar).

In December 2015, the World Health Organization published a report of the first ever global and regional estimates of the burden of foodborne diseases.

The report estimates the burden of foodborne diseases caused by 31 agents – bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins and chemicals – and shows that almost 1 in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food and 420,000 die as a result.

Children under five years of age are at particularly high risk, with 125,000 children dying from foodborne diseases every year. Africa and Southeast Asia have the highest burden of foodborne diseases.

Microsporidia are among the many contributors to the global burden of foodborne disease, although they are not currently considered to be priority foodborne parasites.

Microsporidia are a group of spore-forming parasites that infect a wide range of host organisms, including humans. People can get infected with microsporidia through ingesting contaminated food and water. People with weakened immune systems are at particularly high risk of infection.

To address the growing threat of this emerging group of pathogens, a group of experts met at a symposium entitled “Microsporidia in the animal to human food chain: An international symposium to address chronic epizootic disease”. The meeting was sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and held in Vancouver, Canada in August 2015.

Kristina Roesel, a scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), presented a paper entitled “Parasites in food chains”. Her presentation contributed to a collaborative review article, “Microsporidia – Emergent pathogens in the global food chain”, published in the journal Trends in Parasitology (18 Jan 2016).

The article examines the threat of microsporidia in food, water and major food production chains. The authors note that climate change may result in a greater disease burden in hosts from all environments and thus increase the contact rate between infected animals and humans. A One Health approach will, therefore, be useful to manage the risks of microsporidian infections in wildlife, food animals and humans.

 

Symposium to discuss results on estimates of global burden of foodborne diseases

Testing milk in Kenya’s informal market (photo credit: ILRI/Dave Elsworth).

Illness and death from diseases caused by contaminated food are a constant threat to public health and a significant impediment to socioeconomic development worldwide.

To help address the lack of data on the global extent of this problem, the World Health Organization established the Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) to generate the first ever estimates of the global burden of foodborne disease.

The group published its results in December 2015 in a series of scientific articles in PLOS Collections and a report titled WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases.

They include estimates of the burden of foodborne diseases caused by 31 bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins and chemicals.

The results will be presented and discussed at a FERG symposium in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 15-16 December 2015.

Countries will be able to use these estimates to inform national policy development aimed at improving food safety and public health throughout the food chain.

 

The Lancet marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week with series on access and effectiveness of antimicrobials

Infographic on antibiotic resistance and what steps the agriculture sector can take to tackle this global challenge (credit: World Health Organization).

The Lancet yesterday (18 Nov 2015) published a new series titled Antimicrobials: sustainable access and effectiveness in recognition of the World Health Organization’s inaugural World Antibiotic Awareness Week, 16 to 22 November 2015.

The theme of the global campaign, Antibiotics: Handle with Care, reflects the overarching message that antibiotics are a precious resource and should be preserved. They should be used to treat bacterial infections, only when prescribed by a certified health professional. Antibiotics should never be shared and the full course of treatment should be completed – not saved for the future.

The five papers in the Lancet Series cover access to effective antimicrobials as a global challenge, understanding the mechanisms and the drivers of antimicrobial resistance, maximizing access to achieve appropriate human antimicrobial use in low- and middle-income countries, exploring the evidence base for national and regional policy interventions to combat resistance, and international cooperation to improve access to and sustain effectiveness of antimicrobials.

Accompanying the papers are three comments that discuss achieving the balance between sustainable access and sustainable effectiveness of antibiotics, animal production and antimicrobial resistance in the clinic and national action for global gains in tackling the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

Timothy Robinson, a scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), is the lead author of the comment titled Animal production and antimicrobial resistance in the clinic. His co-authors are Heiman F.L. Wertheim, Manish Kakkar, Samuel Kariuki, Dengpan Bu and Lance B. Price.

Follow the Twitter conversations at #AntibioticResistance

 

Study calls for One Health approach in continued research on potential role of pigs in Ebola transmission in Uganda

Local breed sow and piglets on a farm in Masaka district, Uganda (photo credit: ILRI/Eliza Smith).

Zoonotic diseases are most dangerous when they take animal and human health workers by surprise, giving the public and disease control officials no advance warning or time to put prevention measures in place. The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa illustrates the adverse consequences of trying to tackle a disease outbreak too late and with little information.

Ebola is a serious but mysterious disease; in Uganda, there is little solid information on the reservoir and transmission of Ebola. However, research findings in the last few decades have given rise to speculation that there could be associations between pigs and Ebola.

Currently, there is no evidence that pigs have had any role in past outbreaks of Ebola virus disease. But given the huge importance of pigs to the Ugandan economy, diet and livelihoods, it is important to investigate any potential links sooner rather than later.

A recent study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) argues there are several factors that support the potential role of pigs in the transmission of Ebola to humans in Uganda. It is critical that this hypothesis be investigated in order to understand the risks to the country’s burgeoning pig production industry.

A spatial representation of potential risk factors for zoonotic transmission involving pigs in Uganda could be used to initiate further investigations into Ebola and other zoonotic diseases known to affect pigs in Uganda.

The researchers call for a One Health approach to the continued research. The benefit of this multidisciplinary approach is that limited resources can be utilized efficiently to improve the health and livelihoods of Ugandans through enhanced food safety and security, and the preservation of important ecosystem services, such as those provided by bats and other wildlife.

Clear and consistent risk communication from all research partners will be of utmost importance in preventing hysteria and delivering good outcomes for wildlife conservation and livelihoods.

Download the policy brief, One Health approach recommended in investigating and communicating the potential role of pigs in transmitting Ebola in Uganda written by Eliza Smith of KYEEMA Foundation and Christine Atherstone and Delia Grace of ILRI.

 

New learning resource provides key evidence on food safety in developing countries

A woman milks one of her goats in Ségou District, Mali (photo credit: ILRI/Valentin Bognan Koné).

Livelihoods advisers and other interested development professionals can now benefit from a new learning resource on food safety in developing countries. It was written by Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and published by Evidence on Demand, an international development information hub supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The learning resource, Food safety in developing countries: An overview, aims to provide ‘non-food safety experts’ with a good understanding of foodborne disease within the broader context of ‘development’ discussions. It assumes that readers already have a solid grasp of international development contexts, and current development discourse.

It is presented in three main sections:

Part 1 will help readers to understand what is meant by foodborne disease and its impact. It summarises current best evidence and knowledge gaps on foodborne disease in developing countries.

Part 2 summarises some of the interventions for managing food safety and stimulates thinking about the ‘so what’ questions. It shows that foodborne disease is preventable.

Part 3 covers food trends and drivers that affect food safety in developing countries in more detail. It also reviews the geography of food safety and how this impacts on people who are poor, and looks at what food safety means for small farmers, export industries, women, the most vulnerable people, and for nutrition.

The conclusions presented at the end capture what the current best evidence is telling us:

• Food safety has been neglected in developing countries. There is growing evidence that foodborne disease may be an important contributor to gastrointestinal disease.
• Foodborne disease has been increasing in developed countries and is likely to increase in developing countries.
• Foodborne disease is not just a health issue. Already a major determinant of export market access, it is increasingly affecting domestic markets.

 

ILRI presentations win prizes at international conference on pork safety

Maurice Murungi, a graduate fellow attached to the Urban Zoo project, receives the award for best oral presentation by students at the Safe Pork 2015 conference (photo credit: ILRI/Fred Unger).

With rapidly increasing populations and unprecedented rates of urbanization, the demand for meat also rises. Much of this demand is being met by poultry and pig meat as production is well placed to scale up because of short cycles, large numbers of offspring and ability to grow fast on cereal feeds.

In the case of pork, however, one crucial barrier must be overcome if it is to contribute optimally to feeding the future: pork safety. Indeed, since prehistoric times, pork has been subject to taboos and it has been argued that this is because of the large number of parasites and pathogens that pigs can carry.

The biennial Safe Pork conference is the premier meeting for researchers, industry and policymakers concerned with the safety of pork. This year, the meeting was held on 7-10 September in Porto, a coastal city in Portugal, and was co-organized by Spanish and Portuguese universities.

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) presented findings from the Livestock and Fish and Agriculture for Nutrition and Health research programs in the smallholder pig sectors of Uganda and Vietnam as well as from the Urban Zoo project on urban livestock value chains in Kenya and work on possible links between pork production and antimicrobial resistance.

Three ILRI scientists (Delia Grace, Maurice Murungi and Fred Unger) attended as well as visiting scientist Pablo Alarcon. Although our delegation was small, our impact was high and ILRI was awarded two of the four ‘best in show’ prizes: Maurice accepting the prize for best oral presentation by students on behalf of the Urban Zoo team and Delia the prize for best poster on behalf of the PigRisk team.

The conference was an excellent snapshot of the big issues in pork safety. There were several presentations on the most serious zoonotic pathogens in modern pork industries: Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria.

Emerging pathogens were of obvious concern with presentations on hepatitis E and livestock-associated Staphylococcus. In his sum up, the chair said that antimicrobial resistance was the issue of the day; this was witnessed by two sessions on this important topic. Both economics and One Health had a profile.

Overall, the focus of the conference was mostly on intensive swine production in Europe and North America. This had the side effect of drawing more attention to ILRI presentations as participants were interested to hear views from the South and in a globalized world, disease is not a regional problem.

As was pointed out, Denmark may successfully reduce treatment regimes from 20 milligrams to 10, but if countries elsewhere are using thousands of tons of antibiotics a year, their achievement will have little impact in curbing rising antimicrobial resistance.

The conference format was all plenaries, increasing the salience of presentations, and industry was well represented from both pharmaceutical and production sectors.

All in all, the conference was a good opportunity to disseminate ILRI research, get updated on pork safety and network for future collaboration. The next Safe Pork meeting will be held in 2017 in Brazil.

Listed below are the ILRI presentations at the Safe Pork 2015 conference.

Assessing and understanding food safety risk practices in Nairobi pork food system: A value chain approach
Murungi, M.K.; M.; Muinde, P.; Akoko, J.; Rushton, J.; Fèvre, E.M.; Dominguez-Salas, P.; Muloi, D.; Häsler, B.; Alarcon, P.

Food safety challenges in smallholder pig value chains in Vietnam: From an assessment to feasible interventions using an integrated approach
Unger, F.; Lapar, L.; Van Hung, P.; Dang-Xuan, S.; Hong Ngan, P.; Rich, K.M.; Nguyen, H.; Grace, D.

Market based approaches for food safety and animal health interventions in smallholder pig systems: The case of Vietnam
Rich, K.M.; Thu Huyen, N.T.; Nam Ha, D.; Duong Nga, N.T.; Xuan, V.K.; Trung, N.X.; Van Long, T.; Van Hung, P.; Unger, F.; Hamza, K.; Lapar, L.

Present and future use of antimicrobials in pigs in developing countries and case studies from Uganda and Vietnam
Grace, D.; Unger, F.; Roesel, K.; Tinega, G.; Ndoboli, D.; Sinh, D.X.; Nguyen-Viet, H.; Robinson, T.

Risk-based approach for food safety applied to pork value chain in Vietnam
Nguyen-Viet, H.; Sinh, D.X.; Hanh, T.T.T.; Unger, F.; Grace, D.; Phuc, P.D.; Makita, K.

Serological and molecular investigation for brucellosis in swine in selected districts of Uganda
Erume, J.; Roesel, K.; Dione, M.M.; Ejobi, F.; Mboowa, G.; Kungu, J.; Akol, J.; Pezo, D.; El-Adawy, H.; Melzer, F.; Elschner, M.; Neubauer, H.; Grace, D.

Blog post contributed by ILRI scientists Delia Grace and Fred Unger

 

New book chapter explores how trade liberalization affects nutrition and health

Locally made beef stew sold in Bagnon market at Yopougon, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Informal food trade is less amenable to regulation and may be an important cause of foodborne disease (photo credit: ILRI/Valentin Bognan Koné).

The World Health Organization last month (August 2015) published a book on trade and health that provides useful background information for health policymakers to formulate a national response to trade and health-related issues, especially within the context of liberalization of global trade.

Trade liberalization influences the entire food supply chain. Changes along the food supply chain in turn influence the environment in which consumers make choices about the food they eat. These choices affect the diets of consumers and, therefore, the prevalence of foodborne diseases, undernutrition, and obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases.

There are also indirect effects of trade liberalization on human nutrition and health. These include the effects on household incomes and the inadvertent entry of emerging human, animal and plant diseases.

However, assessing national-level nutrition and health impacts of trade and trade policy is a complex affair. Therefore, in a chapter on trade liberalization, food, nutrition and health, the authors discuss four basic steps that governments can adopt to assess the potential impact of trade liberalization on food-related health and nutrition. These are:

• an assessment of the types of impacts trade liberalization could have on a selected sub-set of key nodes in the food supply chain
• an assessment of the subsequent impact on food safety, food availability, food prices and food marketing
• an assessment on the food-related health outcomes themselves, namely foodborne diseases, undernutrition, and obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases
• an assessment of the implications of trade agreements on the policy space required to address these health conditions

The chapter also puts forward a number of opportunities for using trade policy to improve nutrition and health.

The chapter Trade liberalization, food, nutrition and health was authored by Corinna Hawkes, Honorary Fellow at the City University London Centre for Food Policy and Senior Adviser at the Leverhulme Center for Integrative Research into Agriculture and Health; Delia Grace, Program Leader, Food Safety and Zoonoses, International Livestock Research Institute and Anne Marie Thow, Lecturer in health policy at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney.

Access the book, Trade and Health: Towards building a National Strategy, edited by Richard Smith, Chantal Blouin, Zafar Mirza, Peter Beyer and Nick Drager.