Brazil's Tocantins rules out highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial flock
SAO PAULO, May 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's state of Tocantins has ruled out the occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as bird flu, in a local commercial farm citing preliminary test results, according to a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday.
Adapec, as the state's farm agency is known, said authorities started the investigation on a local commercial chicken farm after seven animals, out of about 40,000 individuals, presented "torticollis", the statement said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Superbugs thrive as access to antibiotics fails in India
It's a grim paradox, doctors the one hand, antibiotics are being overused until they no longer work, driving resistance and fuelling the rise of deadly superbugs. On the other hand, people are dying because they can't access these life-saving drugs.A new study by the non-profit Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) looked at access to antibiotics for nearly 1.5 million cases of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN) infections across eight major low- and middle-income countries, including India, Brazil and South Africa. CRGN bacteria are superbugs resistant to last-line antibiotics - yet only 6.9% of patients received appropriate treatment in the countries bore the lion's share of CRGN infections and treatment efforts, procuring 80% of the full courses of studied antibiotics but managing to treat only 7.8% of its estimated cases, the study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal reports. (A full drug course of antibiotics refers to the complete set of doses that a patient needs to take over a specific period to fully treat an infection.) Common in water, food, the environment and the human gut, Gram-negative bacteria cause infections such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), pneumonia and food poisoning. They can pose a serious threat to newborns and the elderly alike. Especially vulnerable are hospital patients with weakened immunity, often spreading rapidly in ICUs and proving difficult - and sometimes impossible - to treat. Treating carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections is doubly difficult because those bacteria are resistant to some of the most powerful antibiotics."These infections are a daily reality across all age groups," says Dr Abdul Gaffar, infectious disease consultant at Apollo Hospital in India's Chennai city. "We often see patients for whom no antibiotic works - and they die."The irony is cruel. While the world tries to curb antibiotic overuse, a parallel tragedy plays out quietly in poorer nations: people dying from treatable infections because the right drugs are out of reach. "For years, the dominant narrative has been that antibiotics are being overused, but the stark reality is that many people with highly drug-resistant infections in low- and middle-income countries are not getting access to the antibiotics they need," says Dr Jennifer Cohn, GARDP's Global Access Director and senior author of the 'blockbuster' drugs to take on deadly superbugsIndia facing a pandemic of antibiotics-resistant superbugsThe study examined eight intravenous drugs active against carbapenem-resistant bacteria - ranging from older antibiotics including Colistin to newer ones such as Ceftazidime-avibactam. Of the few available drugs, Tigecycline was the most widely used. Researchers blame the treatment gap on weak health systems and limited access to effective antibiotics. For example, only 103,647 full treatment courses were procured of Tigecycline across eight countries - far short of the 1.5 million patients who needed them, the study found. This highlighted a major shortfall in the global response to drug-resistant infections. What prevents patients with drug-resistant infections in India from getting the right antibiotics? Physicians point to multiple barriers - reaching the right health facility, getting accurate diagnostic tests, and accessing effective drugs. Cost remains a major hurdle, with many of these antibiotics priced far beyond the reach of poorer patients. "Those who can afford these antibiotics often overuse them; those who can't, don't get them at all," says Dr Gaffar. "We need a system that ensures access for the poor and prevents misuse by the well-to-do."To improve access, these drugs must be made more affordable. To prevent misuse, stronger regulation is key. "Ideally, every antibiotic prescription in hospitals should require a second sign-off - by an infection specialist or microbiologist," says Dr Gaffar. "Some hospitals do this, but most don't. With the right oversight, regulators can ensure this becomes standard practice."To fix the access problem and curb misuse, both smarter policies and stronger safeguards are essential, say researchers. But access alone won't solve the crisis - the pipeline of new antibiotics is drying up. The decline in antibiotic R&D - and the limited availability of existing drugs - is a global bears one of the world's heaviest burdens of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but it may also hold the key to combating it - both at home and globally, researchers say."India is also one of the largest markets for new antibiotics and can successfully advocate for the development and access of new antibiotics," says Dr Cohn. With a strong pharmaceutical base, the country is emerging as a hub for AMR innovation, from promising new antibiotics to advanced Cohn says India can strengthen its antibiotic response by generating local data to better estimate needs and pinpoint gaps in the care pathway. This would allow for more targeted interventions to improve access to the right drugs. Innovative models are already emerging - Kerala state, for instance, is using a "hub-and-spoke approach" to support lower-level facilities in managing serious infections. Coordinated or pooled procurement across hospitals or states could also reduce the cost of newer antibiotics, as seen with cancer drug programs, researchers access to the right antibiotics, modern medicine begins to unravel - doctors risk losing the ability to safely perform surgery, treat complications in cancer patients, or manage everyday infections. "As an infectious disease doctor, I see appropriate use as one part - but only one part - of access," says Dr Gaffar. "When we get new antibiotics, it's important to save them on one hand - and save them for right patients." Clearly, the challenge is not just to use antibiotics wisely, but to ensure they reach those who need them most.
BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
Why doctors get bad handwriting?
Di writing of many healthcare professionals dey hard to understand sotay dem don even push plenti Brazilian states to pass law wey go require doctors to type prescriptions for computer or, at least, write am make e dey clear wit no abbreviations. But wetin explain di shape of our handwriting? And why some pipo get a perfect handwriting, while odas own be like say dem no fit write wetin pesin fit read at all? Anthropologist Monika Saini, professor for di Department of Social Sciences for India National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, tok say handwriting require coordination between di eyes and motor skills. "I go tok say handwriting na one of di most complex skills wey human beings don develop" she tell di BBC World Service CrowdScience programme. Saini main academic interest na to understand di factors wey make each of us unique for our handwriting. "Writing depend on utensils and our hands. And wen we tink of hands, we dey tok about somtin wey dey veri delicate, made up of 27 bones, wey dey controlled by more dan 40 muscles, most of dem dey for di arm and dey connected to di fingers by a complex network of tendons", she explain. Dis mean say our handwriting dey partly influenced by our anatomy and di genetic characteristics we inherit from our parents. In oda words: your height, di way you sidon, di angle of your notebook or paper, di firmness of your hand, weda you dey right- or left-handed... All dis dey influence di shape of di letters and words we dey produce. But small cultural influence dey wey dem no fit ignored. Abi na for house, for early childhood, wey we dey learn to hold pencil or pen, wit di help of our elders. Di way dem use dis utensils, dem dey pass am on wen di pikin take im first strokes wit pencil. Den school kon join - and a new wave of influence from teachers and classmates enta di mata. As di years go by, our writing go kontinu to change. One of di reason na becos, afta years of training and learning, many of us start to write less on a daily basis. And lack of habit, combined wit di rush of evriday life, fit make us less attentive to di way we write letters, syllables, words, sentences, paragraphs... We no fit also ignore di role of new technologies, wey dey make us type more dan we write wit hand. As part of one of her research projects, Ms Saini bin wan get beta understanding of di most important factors for pesin handwriting. To do am, she prepare a simple text on climate change and ask a group of volunteers to copy di sentences and make dem use di writing style wey dem sabi well-well. Afta dem collect di papers, di anthropologist fit assess elements like di size of di letters, shape of each symbol, di space between words or di pesin ability to follow straight lines in paragraphs. Using image recognition programmes, e dey possible to compare di writing wit di model wey i tok about bifor " di researcher explain. Wen a parent teach dia pikin to write, e dey highly likely say we go find similarities between di two scripts. But pesin handwriting dey also influenced by di time dem bin spend for school or by di style of a particular teacher." Di brain during writing Neuroscientist Marieke Longcamp, from di University of Aix-Marseille for France, dey studying how we take sabi how to write. To do am, she use magnetic resonance imaging machines, wey dey allow pesin brain to be view in real time as dem dey perform certain activities. For one of di study, dem give di volunteers tablet (writing material) wey fit record dia writing movements while dem dey examine dem. Ms Longcamp report say e dey possible to observe di activation of different parts of di brain, wey dey work togeda to make di complex act of writing possible. Regions like di premotor cortex, primary motor cortex and parietal cortex dey involved for di planning and control of hand gestures," she tells CrowdScience. Structures wey dey for di base of di brain, like di frontal gyrus, wey dey involved in certain aspects of language, and di fusiform gyrus, wey dey process written language dey influence writing." 'Anoda fundamental structure na di cerebellum, wey dey coordinate movements and corrects our gestures', Marieke Longcamp add. Di neuroscientist point out say writing depend essentially on two senses: vision and proprioception. "Proprioception dey takes into account information from di muscles, di skin and di whole body. All dis dey encoded wen we write", she explain. How writing influence learning? For dis context, e dey curious to see how di development of technology fit influence di way we understand information. For many centuries, good old-fashioned writing na di only way to take notes, study, memorise and learn different tins. But dis don change radically in recent years wit di arrival of computers, tablets and smartphones. Today, many young pipo dey learning to write wit keys and screens, instead of pencil, pen and paper. Dis transition get any impact on learning? Professor of psychology and neuroscience Karin Harman James, from Indiana University for di United States, dey seek to answer dis question. She dey study how our hands, and di way we hold and manipulate objects, influence brain development and di way we learn. According to dis specialist, difference dey in terms of brain function between to look a letter or words and to uss di body motor systems to interact wit dis pieces of written information. 'I bin want to understand how di interaction of objects wit our hands dey enable us to activate di brain motor systems', she explain to CrowdScience. For one study, Ms James bin recruit four-year-old wey no sabi how to write. For di laboratory, dem bin teach dis young volunteers one of three tins: how to complete strokes to form a letter, how to type a letter and how to write a letter. Wen dem complete di first part of di activity, dem go do MRI scan for dem. "We bin show di children different letters while we bin dey scan dia brains. E reach one point, all dem need to do na to look di letters wey dem bin learn to make for di laboratory", di neuroscientist describe. "We observe say di children wey bin learn di letters by hand show brain activation for di areas wey dey linked to dis skills. No be so e be for di oda two groups, wey complete di strokes or type am", she compare dem. But di relationship between writing and learning no stop for dere. Ms James bin also assess students. Dia task na to attend a lecture for subject wey dem no sabi anytin about. Dem kon fill one questionnaire on how well dem bin take taken note of wetin di teacher bin teach dem. Di next day, all di volunteers bin take di test based on di content wey dem don teach dem. 'We bin compare di results of students wey bin take notes by hand, and wit computer or on tablet', she explain. Di neuroscientist explain say na common practice for American universities for lecturers to share slides wit students. And some of dem don get di habit of opening dis file on tablets and taking notes by hand, using digital pens, for di slides demsefs. 'For our work, di students wey bin use di tablet to write for di screen get beta results for di tests', di professor of psychology and neuroscience explains. "We fit explainam by di fact say di students no only get di original material, for di slides, but dem fit also write dia own notes by hand. But writing wit pen and paper also prove beneficial. Di volunteers wey bin use dis method bin get beta results pass di pipo wey type dia notes for computer", Karin Harman James add. In oda words, according to di latest available data, if you really want to learn somtin, di best tin to do na to write by hand, weda on paper or tablet. You fit improve your writing? But all dis debate bring us back to di discussion for di beginning of di article: Pipo wey dey write fit write beta so day pesin fit read am to understand and learn? As part of di CrowdScience programme, Cherrell Avery, one handwriting trainer for London (UK), bin give some advice wey fit prove useful. Her first piece of advice na to 'go slowly'. We dey write too fast and we no dey pay attention to di shape of letters and words. Ms Avery also add say di need to understand each pesin style, including di best writing utensil, na how to hold di pen/pencil, di right posture and di type of paper, among oda factors. For her opinion, e dey possible to improve your handwriting through exercise. 'Of course, one single training session no go reach to make significant changes,' she tok. But wit a little insistence, e dey possible to create a "muscle memory" wey dey encourage a new writing style. "At first, na a conscious effort. But little by little, e go become a habit and you no go even think about dis new way of writing", Cherrell Avery tok. Finally, Ms Avery say writing dey important to us, evritime becos e represent an 'extension of our personality'. "E be like say we dey leave a bit of oursef for di page".
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Diego Maradona's daughters' lawyer reveals gruesome details of his 'abandonment' death 'amid the smell of urine and faeces'
Gruesome details about Diego Maradona 's 'abandonment' death have emerged with the football legend said to have passed away amid the smell of 'urine and faeces'. Maradona died at the age of 60 in November 2020 following a heart attack, just two weeks after he was released from hospital following surgery for a bleed on his brain. His family have accused the medical team who oversaw his care of negligence, a cover-up and derogatory comments - calling it a 'mafia'. Seven medical professionals are currently on trial for culpable homicide - roughly equivalent to involuntary manslaughter - but have denied the charges. They are facing prison sentences of between eight and 25 years. However, there was a shock twist when the case was declared a mistrial on Thursday, after one of the three judges overseeing proceedings stepped down following criticism surrounding her participation in an upcoming documentary. Her two fellow judges opted to restart the entire case from scratch. Morbid details on Maradona's condition before his passing were revealed during the trial. Indeed, it emerged he had suffered an agonising 12-hour death in a dark room, struggling to breathe after his heart swelled to double that of a regular size. Now, Fernando Burlando, the lawyer who represents Maradona's daughters, Dalma and Gianinna, has shed further light on the alleged negligence of his medical team. Speaking on Mirtha Legrand's show, he bluntly said: 'He died amidst the smell of urine and faeces.' Burlando then added that Maradona had been 'deeply sedated' by doctors, before claiming the medics purposefully isolated him from his loved ones. Burlando also shockingly alleged Maradona's phone number was changed constantly, and that his daughters' numbers were saved under different names so that he would not recognise them when they tried to call. He said: 'When Dalma or Gianinna arrived, Diego's face would transform, he would become a different person, his eyes would light up. 'But Diego didn't understand why they didn't call him. '"Why don't you call me?" he asked one of his daughters. They told him they did it all the time, but their calls didn't appear on his phone.' Burlando concluded: 'I doubt everything, and this deserves a serious investigation. Maradona was abandoned, isolated, and delivered to the worst possible end.' It was revealed earlier in the trial that four-and-a-half litres of fluid had accumulated in his organs due to an acute pulmonary edema brought on by heart failure. Forensic expert Carlos Mauricio Casinelli showed pictures of brain clots, a 'sign of agony', and claimed his heart weighed 503 grams - more than a football. Argentinian newspaper Clarin carried the horrifying details which became public, with Casinelli claiming that his torture would have been easy to spot for days. 'The heart was completely covered in fat and blood clots, which indicate agony,' he said. 'This is a patient who had been collecting water over the days; that's not acute. 'This was something that was foreseeable. Any doctor examining a patient would find this. The water he had in his abdomen, in both pleurae, and in his heart isn't normal. 'It doesn't form in a day or an hour. It's been forming over several days. It could have been from the time he was expelled (from hospital) until he died. 'This is likely to take at least 10 days, given the addition of cirrhosis and myocarditis.' Maradona had struggled with drug addiction, obesity and alcoholism for decades, and reportedly came close to death in 2000 and 2004. But prosecutors suspect that - were it not for the negligence of his doctors - his death could have been avoided. Maradona's cause of death was officially listed as 'acute pulmonary edema secondary to exacerbated chronic heart failure'.
