Researchers uncover spike in 'rat lungworm disease'
Pet owners are being urged to be on alert after a spike in a potentially fatal disease affecting dogs on Australia's east coast.
Scientists say they have confirmed 93 cases of 'rat lungworm disease' between 2020 and 2024, with most of these in Sydney and Brisbane.
The study found dogs usually fall ill after eating potentially infected slugs and snails.
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Australian sugarbag honey from stingless bees found to have antimicrobial properties
Bees are the unsung heroes of the food chain, but it is not just golden nectar this humble insect provides. It has been revealed that Australian sugarbag honey can help kill off bacteria and fungi that is harmful to human health — all thanks to native, stingless bees. The new study from University of Sydney researchers found the stingless bees are unlocking their honey's antimicrobial properties and stopping particular pathogens from becoming drug resistant. It is welcome news, considering experts in infectious diseases forecasted drug-resistant superbugs could kill up to 39 million people by 2050. Mycologist and lead researcher Kenya Fernandes said current treatments we use for bacterial and fungal infections may not be as effective in the future. She said it is the sheer number of compounds in sugarbag honey — all of which have their own antimicrobial qualities — that could be of significant scientific use. In order for the bacteria and fungi to survive the honey's compounds, they would need to develop multiple mutations all at the same time, which is an "incredibly unlikely" possibility. Although the benefits of bees have been under the microscope of researchers for some time, First Nations bush medicine has been using honey for thousands of years to help fight infection. Compared to manuka, which gets its antibacterial properties from nectar, sugarbag honey gets its strength from the native bees. For Dr Fernandes, she and her colleagues tested honey produced from three species of Australian stingless bees, being Tetragonula carbonaria, Tetragonula hockingsi and Austroplebeia australis. The study used a range of bacteria and fungi to test the honey on, including tinea, golden staph, E. coli and the yeast Cryptococcus neoformans, which causes a serious lung infection. PhD student Jasmin Li, who worked alongside Dr Fernandes, said many types of honey contain hydrogen peroxide, which is known for its antiseptic properties. The researchers realised the peroxide overshadowed other potential activity present in the honey, so they removed it through heat treatment. The results revealed that even after the peroxide was removed, every sample of honey showed activity in reducing bacteria and fungi. Even more surprising — the honey's microbe-fighting properties persisted through heat treatment and long-term storage, with one batch of honey having sat for 18 years before being used in the study. With further research, the honey could eventually be used to treat wounds or skin infections. "We still have a way to go to figure out how we can safely emulate these honey into those kinds of treatments, but we're very optimistic because of the way that the honey works," Dr Fernandes said. There are a few hurdles the native bees must buzz through before their honey hits pharmacy shelves. "Australian stingless bees do face a number of different threats. For example, habitat loss due to land clearance, climate change and also the overuse of pesticide," Ms Li said. The study also discussed the difficulties in scaling up honey production. Australian stingless bees are much smaller than the average European honey bee, producing only half a litre of honey a year. One way to improve scalability would be for more people to keep beehives as pets, given these native bees are low maintenance compared to honey bees. Sugarbag honey was granted approval for human consumption by Food Standards Australia New Zealand just last year. While the study shows promise, Dr Fernandes hopes further research will look into the honey's untapped medical potential.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Eddie the echidna released after surviving swim from Bribie Island to the mainland
A juvenile echidna which is believed to have completed an epic one-kilometre swim in waters off Queensland's Sunshine Coast has been released back into the wild. The female echidna, nicknamed Eddie, was returned to bushland on Wednesday afternoon after spending weeks in care. Eddie captured the imagination of residents after she was found in an exhausted state on a rock wall at Golden Beach last month. The echidna was believed to be the same one spotted a few weeks earlier stranded on the battered tip of Bribie Island where the ocean has broken through in three places since 2022. Eddie was released at Lighthouse Reach, about 5km south of the breakthroughs, with the location selected to give the native animal the best chance of survival. The release was coordinated by Pumicestone Passage Catchment Management Board (PPCMB) spokesperson Jen Kettleton-Butler and licensed wildlife carer Sybelle Foxcroft, with support from the Caloundra Coast Guard. "The last time I saw her, she was on her last legs. She is [now] looking fit as a fiddle," Ms Kettleton-Butler said. Caloundra resident Dave Cairns found the echidna lying on its back against a rock wall on May 24. He contacted Ms Kettleton-Butler, who had previously filmed what appeared to be the same echidna during erosion inspections on Bribie Island. The animal was taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, where she was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia — a condition linked to water inhalation. Eddie required round-the-clock care in the hospital's intensive care unit, with a spokesperson saying she had "quickly stolen the hearts of everyone here". While it's a rare sight, echidnas are able to swim by using their back feet to paddle and steer themselves and using their tiny snouts like a snorkel. Wildlife experts believe the animal may have been swept off the island by rising tides, or could have entered the water in search of food. Before the rescue, Ms Kettleton-Butler and Ms Foxcroft had conducted dusk searches along the isolated northern spit, concerned for the echidna's safety as the land continued to erode. The echidna was not located at the time, but other wildlife, including reptiles and small marsupials, were observed on the ever-shrinking tip, which is now approximately 400 metres long and 20 metres wide. Coastal scientists monitoring the site have warned the entire tip could be lost over time, along with the reptiles and small marsupials that still inhabit it. "Eddie is our ray of hope," Ms Kettleton-Butler said. The state government recently allocated $20 million for urgent repair works to the island, which also acts as a natural barrier against storm surges for low-lying communities on the mainland. The works will involve pumping approximately 100,000 cubic metres of sand to infill the two most recent breakthroughs triggered by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred earlier this year. An inner sandbank will also be constructed inside the first breakthrough, caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth in 2022. The sandbank is aimed at reducing the wave energy entering the Pumicestone Passage. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said Caloundra residents had been "rightly concerned about community impacts". "We are taking swift action to ensure they are protected," Mr Bleijie said. Ms Kettleton-Butler said it was a "bandaid" ahead of the next storm season. "These are just sacrificial sand dunes. If we get hit by a storm, there's no doubt they'll get washed away," she said. "But the whole idea is that these are the temporary measures that they can implement right now while we design the long-term solution, [which] is going to take a lot of planning, a lot of community consultation, and also a fair bit to get through the approval process."
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Soccer heading can alter brain chemistry, new research shows
Amateur Sydney soccer player Oliver Lee-Young remembers countless heading sessions when he was an aspiring young player. "My dad took me to the park in the north of Sydney and we used to practice heading all the time, coaches as well, the school programs, all that kind of thing," Lee-Young said. "It's so important — you can't really play the game without heading for defence, for attack, for scoring goals, for pretty much every facet of the sport." But Lee-Young said new research that has found any soccer heading alters the brain's chemistry and electrical activity has given food for thought. The work, published today in the journal Sports Medicine — Open, found changes in the brains of players who participated in a heading study by researchers at the University of Sydney and Griffith University. "Overall, I'd say we found that soccer heading has a subtle effect on the brain even when there's no concussion and cognitive impairment detected," said researcher Dr Danielle McCartney, a research fellow at the Lambert Institute of Cannabinoid Therapeutics at Sydney University. The study recruited 15 male amateur soccer players between the ages of 18 and 35 to head a ball launched 20 times in 20 minutes from a machine at a fixed distance and speed. The players then underwent MRI scans and gave blood samples. Dr McCartney said the results showed the players' brain chemistry had changed immediately after doing the headers. "We found altered electrical conductive and altered chemistry in certain regions of the brain," she said. The changes included altered chemistry in a part of the brain involved in motor control and decreased electrical conductivity across several areas. "We also found that two blood biomarkers, which have previously been associated with head trauma and dementia, were elevated following the heading task," Dr McCartney said. The blood samples showed elevated levels of two proteins, GFAP and NFL. Elevated levels of these two proteins are also seen in cases of concussion and dementia, albeit at much higher levels than were seen in the study's participants. These proteins are currently considered some of the best available blood biomarkers of brain injury and future dementia risk. But Dr McCartney was quick to point out that the players in the study didn't suffer any cognitive effects. "It tells us that they (the effects) are subtle," she said. "It tells us that we need to do further work to really understand the clinical and long-term significance of these effects." Dr Nathan Delang, who led the research as a PhD candidate and is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Queensland, said more studies were being done to understand the patterns. "Elevated levels of these biomarkers indicate brain cells have been disturbed at a microstructural level," Dr Delang said. "The clinical and long-term significance of such small elevations is still being studied, particularly in relation to how much, and what pattern, of exposure might lead to effects on brain structure and function." But Dr McCartney said determining the long-term impact of soccer heading was difficult because it was virtually impossible to sort out the effects of sub-concussive knocks — like heading a soccer ball — from more severe head knocks. "Often people who are experiencing a lot of non-concussive impacts are also experiencing concussive impacts, and so, it makes it hard to do these observational studies," she said. "Our research shows that heading has acute effects on the brain. "Certainly, we need more studies to determine whether or not these effects persist, whether they not they accumulate over time. "Those kinds of things will help us better understand the effects of heading on long-term health." The research will add to the debate in Australia about whether children should be allowed to head the ball. In the United States and the United Kingdom, young children are banned from heading until they're in their early teens. Certain clubs in Australia have also initiated a ban, but it hasn't been adopted across the country. In a statement, Football Australia said it released updated guidelines on concussion for junior and community sport last month. "Junior football is played on smaller fields, with a reduced number of players and small goals," the statement said. "Modifications to the laws of the game, including no throw-ins and the requirement for goalkeepers to release the ball by rolling or throwing, help reduce the incidence of heading at a junior level. "Football Australia has approved an expert project team to consider a Football Australia Expert Working Group's suggestions on strategies to reduce the incidence, magnitude and burden of heading in youth football, commencing with a comprehensive literature review." Lee-Young said the University of Sydney research might make people consider the potential dangers of heading, but he didn't believe it would ever be banned from the game. "It's like saying you can't bowl a bouncer in cricket — it's part of the sport. It wouldn't really be soccer with heading," he said. "But for kids, it might be a different story." Dr McCartney said there needed to be caution. "As a starting point, I think we need to be exercising caution in and around heading," Dr McCartney said. "Making an effort to limit exposure as appropriate. "Undertaking intense training sessions involving a lot of heading might not be the best plan based on our results."
