[ad_1]
Study finds antibiotics and other drugs in urban flows
Screening of a network of urban waterways in Baltimore has revealed high concentrations of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, researchers reported this week in Environmental sciences and technologies.
Analysis of 371 water samples collected weekly over a year (November 2017 to November 2018) detected 37 unique compounds belonging to 11 pharmaceutical classes. The antibiotic trimethoprim was the most frequently detected compound (137 detections in 371 samples), while acetaminophen was the compound with the highest concentrations. Antidepressants have also been frequently detected.
Among the sites tested, higher concentrations and more compounds were found in streams with higher population densities.
Using their weekly estimates to calculate annual drug loads at the point of exit (Baltimore’s Inner Harbor), the researchers estimated that the equivalent of 30,000 acetaminophen tablets, 1,700 doses of antibiotics and 30,000 doses antidepressants pour into the port every year.
The authors note that because the wastewater produced by residents of this urban stream system is transplanted to a wastewater treatment plant outside the watershed, the source of the compounds is likely leaking pipes. sewer rather than wastewater effluent.
“These results demonstrate the importance of developing, maintaining and improving sewer infrastructure to protect water resources from pharmaceutical contamination,” they wrote.
August 18 About Sci Technology abstract
Two Wisconsin H1N2v Flu Cases Linked to County Fair
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported two cases of H1N2 (H1N2v) variant influenza, both involving patients 18 years of age or older who attended the same Wisconsin County fair who had pig shows.
An adult was hospitalized and both recovered from their infections. No human-to-human case has been linked to either person.
The illnesses bring the number of varying cases of influenza to seven this year. Of these, three were cases of H1N2v, including an earlier case in Wisconsin. All variant cases this season were related to contact with pigs or property with pigs prior to symptom onset.
August 20 CDC Fluview
H5N6 bird flu infects 1 more person in China
For the second day in a row, a new H5N6 avian influenza infection has been reported in China, this time in southern Guangdong province, according to a statement from the Center for Health Protection (CHP) in Hong Kong. The new case marks China’s 16th H5N6 infection of the year, amid a sharp rise in human illnesses.
The report states that the patient is a 52-year-old female from Huizhou City. There were no other details, such as the date of onset of symptoms, likely exposure to the virus, or her current clinical status.
China yesterday reported a case of H5N6 involving the husband of a woman whose illness was reported about a week earlier. The couple, from Hunan Province, had both shopped at a live animal market and cooked and ate a duck they bought at the establishment.
H5N6 circulates in poultry, mainly in China and other Asian countries. However, China and Laos are the only countries to report human infections, which are often serious or fatal. People infected with the virus usually have a history of exposure to live poultry or their environment. China has now reported 40 cases since 2014.
August 20 CHP declaration
Benin reports an H5 avian influenza epidemic; Taiwan notes new H5 restocking
Agriculture officials in Benin have reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in poultry, the first in the country since 2018, signaling an expansion of recent avian influenza activity in Africa.
According to a notification released today by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the outbreak began on July 26 on a layer farm in the Ouémé department, near the border with Nigeria. The virus has killed almost all 6,661 susceptible birds.
Other African countries have also reported outbreaks of H5N1 in recent months, including Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Mali and South Africa.
20 August OIE report on H5 in Benin
In other avian flu developments, animal health officials in Taiwan have reported a new, highly pathogenic H5N2 subtype, according to a government statement translated and posted today by Avian Flu Diary (AFD), a blog news on infectious diseases.
The virus was detected in dead ducks found in Yunlin County. The statement said the virus is genetically similar to the H5N8 viruses that recently circulated in South Korea. Genetic sequencing, however, reveals that the H5N2 virus is different from other H5N2 strains circulating in Taiwanese poultry.
AFD notes that, since 2015, Taiwan has reported at least three new highly pathogenic H5 strains, involving H5N2, H5N3 and H5N5.
August 20 AFD Publish
WHO panel extends polio emergency as Nigeria reports more cases
The World Health Organization (WHO) Polio Emergency Committee met earlier this month and decided the global situation still warrants a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PSIA), although he noted encouraging trends with wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived poliovirus. The group declared PHEIC in 2014, and the August 4 meeting was on August 29 to discuss the latest developments.
In a WHO statement today, the committee notes that transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 continues to decline, with only 1 case each in Afghanistan and Pakistan this year, compared to 94 during the same period in 2020. The positives for the environment in both countries have also declined. clearly. Experts pointed out that, despite commendable progress, there is no room for complacency and that vaccination gaps are worsening in many Afghan provinces with COVID-19-related vaccination interruptions in the past. two countries.
The committee also said the number of vaccine-derived poliovirus cases had also dropped sharply this year, with no new emergence, although DNA analysis found eight cases of international spread. They also noted an outbreak of type 3 poliovirus derived from a vaccine strain circulating in China, bringing the number of countries reporting vaccine-borne outbreaks to 31.
WHO emergency committees usually meet every 3 months, or more often if necessary.
August 20 WHO declaration
In other polio developments, only one country, Nigeria, has reported new cases this week, all 26 of which involve circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), according to the latest weekly update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GMIP).
In a separate development, the GPEI weighed in yesterday on the unrest and the transfer of power in Afghanistan to the Taliban. He said he was closely monitoring developments and assessing disruptions in efforts to eradicate polio and other essential health services. The GPEI said it had been operating in a context of insecurity and conflict in the country for many years and would continue to work with all groups to provide assistance.
“Together with our partners, the Afghan people, national and provincial authorities, we will do everything in our power to continue this essential work,” said the GPEI.
August 19 IMEP update
August 19 IMEP Afghanistan statement
Source link
