Thursday, January 21, 2010

Bird flu strikes once more, villagers oppose culling

As bird flu strikes once again in Bengal, the state government seems struggling to contain the outbreak.

The outbreak, which started in Khargram block in Murshidabad, has already spread to the neighbouring Kandhi block. The villagers have demanded an increase in compensation and supposed that they are yet to receive aid for the 2008 outbreak.
These include villagers from Mahisar, Baliya, Borowan, Kirtipur, Parulia, Khargram and Jaipur.

As culling teams visited Borowan on 19th January 2010, locals stopped them from taking away their hens and ducks. Despite police escorts, the teams could not enter the villages. There are fifty nine culling teams working in the area, most of whom have been given police escorts.

People are not handing over their domestic poultry, be it hens or ducks. They fail to realize that all their birds will die and there is an ability of human infection. They are not allowing the culling teams to work. We are conducting awareness camps and I am speaking to them.”

Bird flu was confirmed in Nagar and Hajarbati in Khargram on January 14, 2010. At that point in time, the state government had earmarked 60,000 birds to be culled. Meanwhile, the Avian Influenza spread to new areas and pretentious Kandhi — the block bordering Khargram. Though 7 days have passed, only a little over 35,000 birds have been culled.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Health: Rabbit milk to help treat heart patients


Scientists are focused on creating herds of dairy rabbits to help treat heart patients with their milk.

A farm in Holland is said to be the 1st in the commercial milking of rabbits, who have been genetically modified to include a human gene and contain a protein called C1 inhibitor.

The milk could help prevent the rejection of transplant organs and tissue injure in survivors of strokes, heart attacks and car accidents, and may also treat the hereditary immune disorder angioedema.

“I am truly excited. This therapy will transform the lives of sufferers,” Times online quoted Hilary Longhurst, an immunologist at Barts hospital in London, as saying.

Sijmen de Vries, the chief executive of Pharming, the biotech company behind the project, added: “There is a huge unmet need for this product. We have the capacity to produce it cheaply in unlimited quantities.”

The milk is currently waiting to receive the green signal from European drug regulators and will hit the UK shelves later this year.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Ladies: How do I keep myself safe at a party Function

New social settings like parties are a fun way for you to spend time with your friends. Most of the time parties are safe, but sometimes things can happen that can make a party a dangerous place to be. It's important to know what to do if a party gets out of control and how to keep yourself safe.

  • Never walk away with strangers.
  • Never be alone with someone who has been drinking or taking drugs.
  • Do not drink alcohol or do drugs.
  • Tell your parents and friends where you are going.
  • Never get in a car with someone who has been drinking or doing drugs.
For more: http://www.girlshealth.gov/