Livestock for better nutrition and disease control–One Health Colloquium held this week at Chatham House
A4NH / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Climate Change / Diagnostics / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Event Report / Food Safety / Food Security / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / ILVAC / LIVESTOCKFISH / Nutrition / Policy / Presentation / Spotlight / UK / Vaccines / Zoonotic Diseases

Livestock for better nutrition and disease control–One Health Colloquium held this week at Chatham House

Today and tomorrow (31 May–1 Jun 2016), Chatham House, the Livestock Global Alliance (LGA), the One Health Platform and other One Health partners are convening senior policymakers, academics, multilateral development agencies, business leaders and other private-sector stakeholders to discuss livestock’s role in poverty reduction, sustainable livestock production systems, innovations in livestock vaccines and diagnostics and the value of establishing national and regional One Health centres to provide advice on links among agriculture, sustainable livestock systems and human development. Continue reading

‘Zoonotic’ diseases take the spotlight of UN environmental talks this week and next in Nairobi, Kenya
A4NH / Agri-Health / Diagnostics / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Epidemiology / Event Report / FSZ / ILRI / LiveGene / Presentation / Spotlight / Zoonotic Diseases

‘Zoonotic’ diseases take the spotlight of UN environmental talks this week and next in Nairobi, Kenya

Diseases transmitted between animals and people—which cause 60% of all human infectious diseases—are a ‘frontier issue’ at the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA2), being held this week and next at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in Nairobi, Kenya. Continue reading

‘One Health for the Real World’ (or, ‘real livestock for real global wellbeing’)
A4NH / Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Event Report / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Launch / Project / Report / RVF / Spotlight / Trypanosomiasis / Zoonotic Diseases

‘One Health for the Real World’ (or, ‘real livestock for real global wellbeing’)

Twenty organizations, including ILRI, made up the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium, which from 2012 to 2015 coordinated research exploring the relations among African ecosystems and zoonotic diseases—those transmitted between animals and people—that impinge on ecosystem, human and animal wellbeing. Continue reading

MERS-CoV antibodies found in two people in eastern Kenya
A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Camels / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / ILVAC / Kenya / LIVESTOCKFISH / MERS / Spotlight / Zoonotic Diseases

MERS-CoV antibodies found in two people in eastern Kenya

A new study published in the science journal Emerging Infectious Diseases reports that two individuals in Kenya have tested positive for the presence of antibodies to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV). Neither person is ill nor do they recall having any symptoms associated with MERS. There is no evidence of a public health threat and scientists concluded that the infections caused little or no clinical signs of illness. But they plan follow-up studies, as this is the first indication of a MERS-CoV infection that is not connected to primary infections in the Middle East. Continue reading

Limiting use of antibiotics in livestock production to stem growing antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens
A4NH / Agri-Health / AMR / Article / CCAFS / Consumption / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Opinion Piece / Policy / SLS / Spotlight / Zoonotic Diseases

Limiting use of antibiotics in livestock production to stem growing antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens

A commentary published in The Lancet last month supporting a series of five papers on antimicrobials recommends prohibiting use of antibiotics critically important for human medicine to promote the growth of livestock or to prevent routine livestock disease. The commentary was written by Tim Robinson, a principal scientist in spatial analysis at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and colleagues in partner organizations. Continue reading

Is the ‘Third Epidemiological Transition’ upon us?
A4NH / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Article / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Intensification / Spotlight / Zoonotic Diseases

Is the ‘Third Epidemiological Transition’ upon us?

Zoonoses—diseases transferred from animals to humans—have been with humanity throughout history. But today’s growing scale of livestock production in developing countries to feed their fast-growing and fast-urbanizing populations is sparking debate about whether the livestock sector is contributing to a fundamental a shift in global disease mortality, something known as an ‘epidemiological transition’. If so, it would be the third such transition in human history. Continue reading

Aflatoxin levels in cow milk and feed in the Addis Ababa milk shed—New study
A4NH / Aflatoxins / Agri-Health / Animal Feeding / Article / Cattle / Consumption / Dairying / Disease Control / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Spotlight

Aflatoxin levels in cow milk and feed in the Addis Ababa milk shed—New study

Ethiopian farmer with fresh milk from her cow (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). This article is written by ILRI scientists Dawit Gizachew, Barbara Szonyi, Azage Tegegne, Jean Hanson and Delia Grace Editor’s note: A statement in the article below, comparing various levels of risk, offended some of our readers. We thank those readers who let us … Continue reading

The sharp divide: Do we need animals to feed this world?
A4NH / Animal Products / Directorate / Food Security / FSZ / ILRI / Livestock

The sharp divide: Do we need animals to feed this world?

Livestock, the fastest-growing, highest-value and a highly controversial agriculture sector, is at a crossroads. Following a new set of 17 sustainable development goals, the current and potential roles of livestock systems in food and nutrition security and other aspects of sustainable development, including the environment, human health and livelihoods, continue to be debated. Opinions are sharply divided in the industrialized world between those who consider animals to be more part of the solution and those who consider them to be more part of the problem. Continue reading

New study recommends continued research on the possible role pigs could play in transmitting Ebola in Uganda
A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Food Safety / FSZ / Geodata / Human Health / ILRI / Pigs / Spotlight / Uganda

New study recommends continued research on the possible role pigs could play in transmitting Ebola in Uganda

A new risk assessment paper, Assessing the potential role of pigs in the epidemiology of the Ebola virus in Uganda, was published in the science journal Transboundary and Emerging Diseases on 27 Aug 2015. The authors are scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Presently, there is no solid evidence that pigs have any role in the past outbreaks of Ebola virus disease. But the risk assessment paper indicates that further research on the role pigs may play in Ebola virus transmission in Uganda is warranted. Continue reading

Ways forward for food safety in countries bearing the brunt of the world’s food-borne diseases
A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Consumption / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Markets / Policy / Spotlight

Ways forward for food safety in countries bearing the brunt of the world’s food-borne diseases

A new paper on food safety in low- and middle-income countries was published today by ILRI’s Delia Grace. The paper is based on a longer learning resource commissioned for the UK Department for International Development (DFID), which will be out shortly. Both publications reflect what ILRI and its partners have learned over the last 10 years since adopting a framework of risk analysis for assessing, managing and communicating about food safety. Continue reading