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Swine flu outbreak: New swine flu strain could be the next pandemic – expert

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https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1306023/swine-flu-china-research-new-pandemic-warning-coronavirus

A NEW swine flu strain has been identified as a possible human pandemic threat as scientists say that it has “all the essential hallmarks” of a future pandemic virus.

By MELANIE KAIDANPUBLISHED: 07:47, Tue, Jul 7, 2020 | UPDATED: 10:28, Tue, Jul 7, 2020

A study published by the National Academy of Sciences claimed the virus was a worsening issue in pig farms. Alexandru Niculae, Communication Officer Media and Risk Communication at European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told Express.co.uk: “The data have been already presented in earlier meetings where the issue of the circulation of >30 different reasserted swine flu viruses with different compositions in the pig population in China and most of them contained H1pdm09 segments were mentioned. Therefore these findings are well known.

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“The study highlights important findings to monitor swine influenza closely; however, the findings described due to the low sample size in a growing pig population of >60 mil pigs during a study period over several years in the past might not represent the actual situation in the Chinese pig population.

“In addition, the epidemic of African Swine Fever had a great impact in and caused high mortality in the pig population across South-east Asia including China over the last years, which might have contributed to a different situation.

“Although a relatively high rate of seropositivity of 10% is mentioned, positive serological findings could also indicate cross-reactivity to closely related viruses which might have a different gene composition.

“No international notification through IHR of any human case and in particular a severe human case has been reported from China or elsewhere related to this virus.”

New swine flu strain could be the next pandemic

New swine flu strain could be the next pandemic (Image: Getty)

“Comparable (or even higher) seropositivity results have been seen in Live Bird Market workers for avian flu (e.g. against H9), which underline the overall threat of influenza viruses to transmit from birds, swine or other animals to humans.

“Therefore, continuous monitoring of influenza viruses in animals is required to understand the evolution and be able to identify viruses with a zoonotic potential early.”

Of the transmission of the disease he said: “Influenza viruses can transmit through droplets but also direct contact between animals and humans.”

“Influenza viruses are entering the body through entry in cells in the respiratory tract, however, the mainly affected organs of newly emerging viruses are not known.”

READ MORE: Outrage at ‘disgraceful’ protest – ‘Keep Scotland COVID-Free’

A swine flu strain has been identified as a possible human pandemic threat

A swine flu strain has been identified as a possible human pandemic threat (Image: Getty)

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While the virus can potentially infect humans, no mild or severe infections have been reported within the human community.

Mr Niculae said: “No mild or severe human cases infected with these viruses have been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) according to Integrating the Healthcare

Enterprise (IHE) although serological findings might identify seroreaction against the described or similar viruses. The symptoms are not known.”

The authors of the study said the capability of the new pathogen – named G4 EA H1N1 – to acclimate would raise “concerns for the possible generation of pandemic viruses”.

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Coronavirus: The vital importance of social distancing

Coronavirus: The vital importance of social distancing (Image: Express)

Asked about the report at a briefing in Geneva today, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said: “We will read carefully the paper to understand what is new.

“It also highlights we cannot let our guard down on influenza and need to be vigilant and continue surveillance even in the coronavirus pandemic.”

Between 2011 and 2018, the research team observed about 30,000 nasal swabs taken from pigs in abattoirs in 10 Chinese provinces.

They also analysed 1,000 swabs from pigs with respiratory symptoms that had received treatment at CAU’s veterinary teaching hospital.

Between 2011 and 2018, the researchers observed about 30,000 nasal swabs taken from pigs in abattoirs in 10 Chinese provinces

Between 2011 and 2018, the researchers observed about 30,000 nasal swabs taken from pigs in abattoirs in 10 Chinese provinces (Image: Getty)

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They found a total of 179 swine influenza viruses, including G4, which started to prevail in the samples from 2016 onward.

“Close monitoring in human populations, especially the workers in the swine industry, should be urgently implemented,” the paper said.

“It is of concern that human infection of G4 virus will further human adaptation and increase the risk of a human pandemic.”

The alarm was raised when it was discovered that the immunity humans build up to regular seasonal flu does not protect against G4 EA H1N1.

Some abattoir workers – 10.4 percent – had formed the antibodies to ward off the new pathogen thanks to their exposure to it.

How grizzly bears have learned to live with humans

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Bears shifted their behaviour to be more nocturnal and avoid people, study found

Sherry Noik · CBC News · Posted: Jul 06, 2020 3:00 PM ET | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

Grizzly bears in Canada have developed an adaptation behaviour that lets them continue living near humans yet reduce their interaction with us, according to decades of research into their behaviour.

In areas where bears and humans coexist, there are often policies in place to protect bear populations while safe-guarding people’s lives. But it turns out the bears are also helping their own cause.

A team of researchers from B.C. and Alberta pooled data on the movements, habitat use and mortality rates of 2,669 grizzly bears over 41 years to examine how they survived when living in or near human-dominated areas.

The researchers found that even as humans encroached further and further into the animals’ habitats, the bears didn’t necessarily shy away from people, but instead gradually shifted their behaviour to become more active at night, when they would be less likely to come into contact with them.

The data was compiled from an area of 378,191 square kilometres predominantly in B.C., which has an estimated 15,000 grizzlies — more than half of Canada’s grizzly bear population.

The research was published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Better survival by becoming nocturnal

Typically, bears in the wilderness spend about half their time in daylight and half under cover of darkness, said study co-author Clayton T. Lamb, who is affiliated with the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia and the University of Montana.

But by increasing their “nocturnality” by two to three per cent each year, bears living in “coexistence landscapes” — in proximity to people — also increased their survival rate by two to three per cent per year. This led the researchers to conclude that the shift to more nighttime activity was induced by humans. 

The older the bears got, the more nocturnal they became, starting from the age of three onward, to the point where the bears observed in the study reached at least 60 per cent nocturnality, and most of them 70 per cent or more.

Younger bears and those that didn’t adopt the behaviour didn’t do as well.

“If you could learn to live there, you could do OK,” Lamb said in an interview. “A lot of bears don’t switch fast enough and they end up dying.”

Three grizzly bears are captured on a motion sensor camera feasting on an animal left in an open roadkill pit in B.C. (Clayton T. Lamb )

Grizzlies are “integral” to maintaining a healthy ecosystem, the B.C. government says. But their survival is at risk, according to both the provincial Conservation Data Centre and the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

The biggest threat to bears? People.

B.C. banned grizzly bear hunting in 2017. In the decades prior to that, the province’s statistics found an average of 340 grizzly bears died from “human causes” each year — most killed by hunters, but about 30 were killed by animal control as a result of conflicts with humans.

Better for bears, better for humans

This shift to nocturnal behaviour is not only better for the bears, it’s better for humans, because it reduced the number of conflicts between the species, the study said.

Looking at the records of conflicts with 45 individual bears who were fitted with GPS collars, the researchers found there was about a 71 per cent lower chance of conflict with one of them at least once a year if the bears were more active at night than during the day.

“There’s more conflict where there’s more people, obviously,” Lamb said. “But bears that were more nocturnal were always in less conflict, regardless of how close they were to people. 

“Bears are helping to shape that landscape to benefit themselves.”

Nonetheless, bears are still on the losing side of the equation. 

Even though a majority of adult female bears in the area have become more nocturnal and are breeding successfully, they are dying in numbers too high to maintain their population.

For every bear that becomes a successful “coexister,” 29 die prematurely, the research found. They have to rely on “immigrant” bears from nearby wilderness areas to keep thriving.

This isn’t the first time animals have been observed shifting their schedules. A 2018 analysis of dozens of studies covering 62 species, including brown and black bears, found animals increased their nocturnality “in response to human disturbance.” 

But Lamb said the four decades of research on bears brings the whole picture into focus: the extent of the risk they face from living near people, the adaptation that helps them survive and the need for “demographic rescue” via bear immigration to sustain their numbers. 

“The next steps in all this research is really the applied aspect — what can we do with this information to make the landscape work better for people and carnivores,” Lamb saidhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bears-become-more-nocturnal-to-survive-1.5636570

Drunk driving hunter arrested in Pulaski County, deputies say

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarCommittee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog

James Allison
James Allison (New River Valley Regional Jail)

PULASKI COUNTY, Va. – Pulaski County deputies arrested a man they say was driving drunk, as well as hunting drunk, on Friday night.

At about 8 p.m., they responded to the 1500 block of Julia Simpkins Road after being alerted that 58-year-old James “Teddy” Allison was drunk and making threats, while firing a gun.

When deputies arrived, Allison was driving away and they stopped him in a nearby field.

They could see he was drunk and found a gun in his car, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

He’s charged with driving under the influence, reckless handing of a firearm and hunting while intoxicated.

He’s being held without bond at the New River Valley Regional Jail.

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HSI undercover investigation shows foxes bludgeoned, skinned alive on Asian fur farms

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https://blog.humanesociety.org/2020/07/hsi-undercover-investigation-shows-foxes-bludgeoned-skinned-alive-on-asian-fur-farms.html?credit=blog_em_070720_id11507&utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=humanenation

July 7, 2020 0 Comments

HSI undercover investigation shows foxes bludgeoned, skinned alive on Asian fur farms

The animals are crammed into tiny wire cages where they can barely move. It’s the only space they’ll ever know, and it is a terrible one. Feces pile up under the cages, and their water bowls are either dry or a fetid pool of algae.Share186TweetRedditEmail186SHARES

The cruelty of fur is on terrifying display in these scenes from a fur farm, captured on video by investigators working with Humane Society International. Foxes are pulled out of their cages, one by one, usually by their tails as they try to cling to the wire walls in terror. Each is thrown to the ground and repeatedly bludgeoned in the head and face with a metal rod. The animals struggle and tremble, badly injured but not yet dead. The ground is stained with the blood that pours out of their heads.

Moments later, if you can still bear to watch (warning: the linked video contains images that many will find disturbing), you’ll see men skinning the animals, some still alive, after which their bodies are dumped like trash. The camera moves to a pile of discarded carcasses, including one skinned animal who raises his head, slowly and painfully.

It’s hard to imagine a worse way to die. But the lives of the nearly 100 million animals killed each year for their fur, including foxes, raccoon dogs and mink, are hardly any better: they spend all of their days in captivity at fur factory farms like these. As you see in the undercover footage, the animals are crammed into tiny wire cages where they can barely move. It’s the only space they’ll ever know, and it is a terrible one. Feces pile up under the cages, and their water bowls are either dry or a fetid pool of algae. The animals are never seen by a veterinarian, and many exhibit symptoms of mental distress and decline.

Skinned animals are heaped in a pile at a fur farm. Animals are sometimes skinned while still alive.

Investigators filmed this footage at 11 randomly selected fur farms in one of the top fur-producing countries in Asia. We are choosing not to reveal the country in order to protect the identity of the investigators. Besides, it’s important not to lose sight of the true culprits here: fur factory farms like these would not exist if designers, retailers and consumers did not provide a market for these cruel products.

With growing awareness about the immense suffering of animals in the fur industry, major fashion houses and retailers the world over have shunned it. In the last few years alone, we have worked with major fashion brands and retailers, including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Prada, Gucci, Armani, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, YOOX Net-A-Porter, Farfetch, Donna Karan, Burberry, Coach and others, to announce fur-free policies. California last year became the first U.S. state to ban fur, and we are working to pass similar bans in cities and states across the United States, including Minneapolis, Rhode Island and Hawaii.

Globally, HSI has kept up the momentum against fur. HSI/United Kingdom spearheads the campaign to make Britain the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur. The U.K. banned fur farming two decades ago but still imports tens of thousands of pounds of fur each year. More than a dozen European countries, including Austria, the Czech Republic and Norway, have also banned fur production.

The Netherlands, once the third largest fur farming country in the world, banned fur production in 2013 with an 11-year phaseout. But in recent months, the coronavirus crisis has added even more urgency to end the fur trade there and around the world. After two fur farm workers in the Netherlands were reported to have contracted the virus from infected mink, the country killed hundreds of thousands of mink, most of them pups, on 20 Dutch fur factory farms to stop any further spread of the virus. The Dutch government is now considering a permanent closure of all mink fur farms in the country. Denmark, which is Europe’s largest mink producer, has also discovered infected mink on three fur farms. Infectious disease experts had already warned fur farms could act as reservoirs for the disease, and with this cull, we have seen even more needless suffering play out for these animals.

The fur trade has nothing to offer except the worst sort of cruelty for a product no one needs. So many warm and stylish alternatives indistinguishable from animal fur are now widely available to consumers, and even a single animal bred and killed for their fur is one too many. This gruesome video is a reminder that we still have a long way to go, but we won’t stop until this cruel commodity is wiped out for good, and no animal is beaten to death and skinned alive on a fur farm anywhere in the world.

Warning: Video below contains images many may find disturbing.https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/YtNXaYk12e4?wmode=transparent&iv_load_policy=1&modestbranding=0&rel=0&autohide=1&feature=youtu.be&autoplay=0

8 people, thousands of animals killed in floods in Mongolia

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http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/07/c_139194470.htm

Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-07 14:39:59|Editor: huaxia

ULAN BATOR, July 7 (Xinhua) — Eight people and thousands of livestock animals were killed and thousands of homes were flooded as a heavy rain caused flash floods in some provinces of Mongolia on Friday and Saturday, the country’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported on Tuesday.

“A total of eight people, including two children lost their lives due to the heavy rain-triggered floods in Umnugovi province in the south and Sukhbaatar province in the east on July 3,” NEMA said in a statement.

More than 7,000 livestock animals were killed in three provinces, namely Tuv and Govisumber in the central and Arkhangai in the central-west due to the floods, the report said.

In addition, a total of 2,360 homes in some provinces such as Khentii, Tuv and Khuvsgul were flooded, it said.

Meteorologists forecast heavy rains to hit a large part of the country in the coming days, urging citizens, especially herders, to take extra precautions. Enditem

Unite human, animal and environmental health to prevent the next pandemic – UN Report

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

by United Nations Environment (UNEP)

Nairobi, July 6, 2020 – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take lives and disrupt economies across the world, a new report warns that further outbreaks will emerge unless governments take active measures to prevent other zoonotic diseases from crossing into the human population, and sets out ten recommendations to prevent future pandemics.

The report, Preventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission, is a joint effort by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

It identifies seven trends driving the increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases, including increased demand for animal protein; a rise in intense and unsustainable farming; the increased use and exploitation of wildlife; and the climate crisis. The report finds that Africa in particular, which has experienced and responded to a number of zoonotic epidemics…

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Answer to the “Sun” article

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarCommittee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog

This is my response to the article I posted earlier:..

Hunting, fishing licenses required (even if you don’t hunt or fish) for hundreds of Colorado wildlife areas

“We want folks to hunt and fish on these properties,” stated public information officer, Travis Duncan, in a recent Colorado Sun article entitled, “Hunting, fishing licenses required (even if you don’t hunt or fish) for hundreds of Colorado wildlife areas.” In other words, if you’re there simply to bird and/or wildlife watch or otherwise enjoy the sights and sounds of the living natural world and its inhabitants, you’re not welcome. Not without paying the same fee and being lumped in with those who came there to kill something (sportingly, of course).

Don’t get me wrong, visitors who might want spend a morning or afternoon at one of Colorado’s remaining natural areas and witness the natural splendor they have to offer are not opposed to…

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Hunting, fishing licenses required (even if you don’t hunt or fish) for hundreds of Colorado wildlife areas

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarCommittee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog

The Ruby-Horsethief section of the Colorado River below the Loma put-in, which is part of a State Wildlife Area. (Jason Blevins, The Colorado Sun)

Rule approved last month applies to State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Lands, which can contain popular stretches for boating and other recreation

OUTDOORSPRIMARY CATEGORY IN WHICH BLOG POST IS PUBLISHED

The Colorado Sun — jason@coloradosun.com

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The Colorado Wildlife Commission in late April approved new licensing rules for visitors to the 350-plus State Wildlife Areas and nearly 240 State Trust Lands.

 “We are seeing a lot of unintended use of these properties and these lands were acquired for specific wildlife purposes using hunting and fishing dollars,” said Travis Duncan, a public information officer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

This story first appeared in The Outsider, the premium outdoor newsletter by Jason Blevins. Become a Newsletters+ Member to get The…

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Updates on coronavirus in Seattle and Washington state

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Exposing the Big Game's avatarThe Extinction Chronicles

caption: The sign in front of a Seattle drug store attempting to mitigate contact with cases of Covid-19.
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The sign in front of a Seattle drug store attempting to mitigate contact with cases of Covid-19.
CREDIT: DYER OXLEY / KUOW
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This post will be updated with information about the coronavirus pandemic in Washington state. Scroll down for older information.

As of Friday, July 3, the Washington State Department of Health reports:

1,354 Covid-19 related deaths; 35,247 confirmed cases (5.8% positive rate among those tested, and 3.8% death rate among positive cases). Note that tests have been limited, so there are likely more unreported cases.

The most heavily hit counties have been King (619 deaths), Snohomish (173 deaths), Yakima (160 deaths), and Pierce (105 deaths).

Versión en español aquí / Read KUOW’s coronavirus coverage in Spanish

MONDAY, JULY 6

Snoqualmie Tribe donates $1M to organizations hit hard by the pandemic

8:45 a.m. — The Snoqualmie Tribe has donated nearly $1 million “to organizations that…

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