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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 6, 2024 at 10:58am

Bird flu has infected a person after spreading to cows

A strain of avian influenza that has likely sickened and killed millions of birds around the globe has popped up in an unexpected species: Cows.

On April 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that cattle on a farm in New Mexico had tested positive for a strain of bird flu called H5N1. The news followed a March 25 announcement that officials had detected the virus on two dairy farms in Kansas and two Texas farms. The virus was also detected in a Michigan herd that had recently received cows from Texas, the USDA reported on March 29. Five additional herds in Texas have tested positive, and an outbreak in Idaho is presumed to have been caused by H5N1.

A person exposed to cattle on one of those Texas farms has tested positive too, becoming only the second person in the United States ever documented to be infected with H5N1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported April 1. The individual is being treated with an antiviral drug for a single symptom, eye redness. It’s unclear how the cows were infected, although consuming wild bird excrement is a possibility. The person was probably infected while in close contact with the cows. Most people fall ill with H5N1 only after close contact with infected animals, typically poultry, and these infections can be mild to deadly. Right now, the CDC considers H5N1’s risk to people to be low. But milk from infected cows should be thrown out before reaching our food supply, the USDA says. Pasteurization would also kill the virus, so it should not spread through the country’s milk, the agency said.

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0401-avian-flu.html

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 6, 2024 at 9:00am

Europe and North America had higher proportions of human-tolerant bird species than Latin America and Africa did. Europe has a long history of environmental impacts spanning millennia, which, according to the researchers, may have resulted in historical disappearances of sensitive species and also in a long time frame for the remaining species to adapt to the gradually changing landscapes.

The researchers quantified tolerance to breeding in human-dominated environments for 6,000 bird species. The data on birds originated from citizen science observations from the eBird project from 2013–2021. The data on the extent of human impact was the Human Footprint Index that summarizes the combined pressures of built environments, human population density, night-time lights, agriculture and roads.

Emma‐Liina Marjakangas et al, Bird species' tolerance to human pressures and associations with population change, Global Ecology and Biogeography (2024). DOI: 10.1111/geb.13816

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 6, 2024 at 8:59am

Four in five bird species cannot tolerate intense human pressures, data show

Currently 14% of the world's 11,000 bird species are threatened with extinction. A new study assessed the populations of bird species across a spectrum of landscapes from pristine habitats to human-dominated environments.

Threatened species, and species with declining populations, are less tolerant to breeding in human-dominated habitats. For example, the Fern Wren, a species occurring only in tropical forests of northeastern Australia, is endangered, has a declining population and a very low tolerance to any human pressure, say the researchers. However, not all species are as sensitive to living alongside humans. Some species can tolerate even the most intense human pressures on all continents. Common Swifts are an example of such species that can be found breeding in urban areas all around the world.
Following the UN's Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, goals have been set to protect 30% of the Earth's land for conservation, but not much of that percentage will be pristine habitat.
This new study enables us to identify species that are particularly sensitive to human activity and need more protected habitats to thrive, for example the Great Snipe in Europe, the Nkulengu Rail in Africa and the Hume's Lark in Asia. Conservation action to protect or restore habitat can then be targeted towards the species and locations that need it most.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 5, 2024 at 12:13pm

mRNA shows promise beyond vaccines
A therapy that extends mRNA technology beyond vaccines has shown early success in treating a rare genetic disease, propionic acidaemia, that prevents people from processing certain nutrients. The treatment — made by US pharma company Moderna, and known as mRNA-3927 — gives those treated a working copy of the instructions needed to make an enzyme that is missing in people with the disease. In a small clinical trial, half of the participants receiving the therapy saw their risk of life-threatening episodes decrease by 70-80%. But the drug also produced side effects and required frequent infusions.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00954-4?utm_source=Live+...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 5, 2024 at 10:47am

Nakht was also found to be riddled with worms that infect both the blood vessels and the urinary tract. Like 65 percent of other mummies, he suffered from schistosomiasis, an acute parasitic illness caused by worms known as blood flukes.

Another mummy housed at the Manchester Museum even had worms in its brain, while 40 percent of 218 mummies analyzed for headlice turned out to be positive.
Explaining this high prevalence of microscopic nasties, Mitchell suspects that “the River Nile acted as a conduit for tropical water-born parasites that would not normally be found in arid regions.” Malaria-carrying mosquitoes and other harmful pathogens could therefore have flourished in ancient Egypt despite low levels of rainfall.

However, as well as bringing death, the Nile may also have helped to fertilize agricultural fields by depositing sediment during annual floods. As a result, farmers didn’t have to fertilize their crops with human poop, which may explain why ancient Egyptian mummies show very low rates of whipworm and roundworm, both of which were common throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065308X2300...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 5, 2024 at 10:45am

Ancient Egyptian Mummies Are Riddled With Malaria, Worms, And Lice

The inhabitants of ancient Egypt were infested with parasites, many of which caused anemia and other debilitating conditions. According to a new meta-analysis of prior research on Egyptian mummies, around two-thirds suffered from worms of various kinds, while 22 percent had malaria and 40 percent had headlice.

In the famous Valley of the Kings, for instance, four out of 16 mummies tested for Plasmodium falciparum – the microbe responsible for a deadly form of malaria – were positive. One of these was Tutankhamun, who was found to be infected by two different strains though probably died from falling from his chariot rather than as a result of malaria.

According to study author Piers D. Mitchell from the University of Cambridge, 49 of the 221 Egyptian mummies analyzed for malaria tested positive.  “As such, we would expect malaria to have had a major impact upon child deaths and debilitating anemia in all ancient populations along the Nile.”

Indeed, 92 percent of malaria-infected mummies display porous bones and other signs of anemia, which is characterized by a reduced number of red blood cells or depleted hemoglobin levels. “Such a disease burden must have had major consequences upon the physical stamina and productivity of a large proportion of the workforce,” writes Mitchell.

Other parasites detected in ancient Egyptian mummies include the mind-altering pathogen toxoplasmosis, which has been linked to schizophrenia and, bizarrely, an increased likelihood of dying in a car crash. “As toxoplasmosis can be caught by humans when they are in close contact with cats, it is possible that the disease occurred due to the role of cats as cult animals which were often mummified and used as religious offerings in ancient Egypt,” explains the author.

Mitchell also estimates that around 10 percent of mummies are positive for visceral leishmaniasis, which has also been linked to anemia and is fatal in around 95 percent of untreated cases. Stomach worms such as fish tapeworm have also been detected in two mummies and were probably caught by eating undercooked fish from the Nile.

Another type of worm known as trichinosis was identified in the chest muscles of the mummy of an individual called Nakht, who has been identified as a weaver from the royal funerary chapel at Thebes. Typically contracted by eating undercooked pork, this nasty little nematode encysts inside muscle tissue and can cause death if it enters the heart.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 5, 2024 at 10:01am

experts recommend a variety of actions to minimize exposure to PFAS:

Avoid using nonstick cookware.
Limit use of food packaging, such as grease-resistant takeout containers.
Filter your water at the tap, with pitchers that are certified for PFAS.
Avoid wearing water-resistant textiles.
Seek out PFAS-free retailers' products—including menstrual products and large items like carpets or furniture.

Janne Julie Møller et al, Substantial decrease of PFAS with anion exchange resin treatment – A clinical cross-over trial, Environment International (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108497

Part 4

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 5, 2024 at 10:01am

we still know very little about the health impacts of PFAS, especially on a population level. While these compounds have been around for some time, there is insufficient research to answer many questions that have emerged over decades.

But some action is being taken. Last year, the EPA proposed the first federal limits on forever chemicals in drinking water. And in February 2024, the agency proposed that nine PFAS be categorized as hazardous to human health—a designation only applied to substances that are toxic or cause cancer, genetic mutation, or embryo malformation.

"The main reason for the step that the EPA is taking is that there's increasing evidence that there are toxic effects on a variety of levels.
The proposal would classify the chemicals as "hazardous constituents" under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, making it easier for the agency to clean up contaminated sites—and to allocate funds to treat affected drinking water.

But these nine compounds are only the tip of the iceberg.

"Researchers estimated there are more than 12,000 individual PFAS compounds, and unfortunately for most of them, we have basically no understanding about toxicity, and we don't really know a lot about their occurrence in the environment.
A small study published in Environment International showed that cholestyramine—a cholesterol-lowering drug—could help scrub toxic forever chemicals from the blood of people who have been highly exposed. But the most efficient way to reduce contamination is preventatively.
by regulating PFAS production and cleaning up the environment—especially waterways—and ensuring that our drinking water facilities are equipped to remove these compounds.

"The issue at this point is really that we don't know what levels are concerning or lead to health effects, and which don't.
That's something that only the future will tell."
Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 5, 2024 at 9:59am

If they're not removed in our wastewater treatment plants, [PFAS] get into our rivers, streams, and groundwater, which are commonly used for drinking water production. Around 50% of our rivers and streams contain measurable PFAS concentrations.
According to a 2020 study published in Science by the Environmental Working Group, an estimated 200 million Americans are served by water systems that contain PFAS. And it's not just public systems—a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that approximately 20% of private wells are contaminated.

These compounds are now so ubiquitous, that an estimated 98% of the U.S. population has detectable concentrations in their blood. That's concerning, since studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS may be linked to harmful health effects, both in animals and humans.
We know today that even very low concentrations can impact the reproductive system, [have] developmental effects, increase risk of certain cancers, reduce immune response, as well as increase cholesterol levels.
The Environmental Protection Agency also links the compounds to thyroid disorders, obesity, and asthma.
Individuals who may have had high exposure to PFAS—in firefighting or chemical manufacturing industries, for example—should consider blood testing
Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 5, 2024 at 9:57am

The omnipresence of PFAS—and what we can do about them

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—also known as "forever chemicals"—are everywhere. Created in the 1940s, these synthetic compounds are an unseen ingredient in many items that we use in our daily lives, like cleaning products, food packaging, nonstick cookware, cosmetics, personal care items like dental floss, water-repellent clothing, as well as stain-resistant carpets and upholstery. Since the 1970s, they have also been used in firefighting foams and by the military.

Food is another potential source. Unfortunately, PFAS are also present in biosolids which are used as agricultural fertilizer, creating a pathway from contaminated soil to produce in the grocery store.

Because of their longevity and resistance to disintegration—a characteristic born of their carbon-fluorine chemical bonds—PFAS can last thousands of years. These "attributes also make them very resistant to degradation in our treatment systems.

The most common method of destroying PFAS is incineration, but some studies indicate that this fails to eliminate all the chemicals, and instead releases the remaining pollution into the air.

In water treatment systems, the main methods for destroying PFAS are reverse osmosis, activated carbon, and ion-exchange resins—but these technologies are costly. Other methods include supercritical water oxidation, plasma reactors, and most recently, sodium hydroxide (lye) and dimethyl sulfoxide, chemicals used in soap and as a medication for bladder pain syndrome, respectively.

But when items containing PFAS inevitably reach landfills, the compounds leach into the environment. And every day, people flush PFA-laden products—like shampoo, cleaning liquids, even some toilet papers—down the drain.

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