nikunj suratwala | Pest Control India

Dengue cases grew by 63% in Maharashtra this year

The number of dengue cases in Maharashtra rose 63% between January and October this year compared to the same period last year. The number of deaths have remained the same, with 22 deaths in the comparative periods for 2015 and 2016.

Dengue is transmitted by the aedes aegypti-species of mosquito and has become a major public concern in the past two months, doctors said. A total of 5,653 cases were reported by the state epidemiology department this year as compared to 3,461 cases last year, with cases coming from cities like Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pune and Nashik, said Dr Kanchan Jagtap , joint director of health services of the state.

“Every year, there is an increase in the number of dengue cases post monsoon. Moreover, the increase in construction sites have created an ideal environment for mosquito breeding,” she said.

Although the number of dengue cases has gone up, not everyone who is infected with the virus develops complications, said doctors. “Say out of 100 people infected with dengue, only 10 show complications such as a drop in blood pressure, severe drop in n platelet counts, ”said Dr Pradeep Shah, physician, Fortis Hospital, Mulund.

“Most of the patients who show complications are people who have had dengue in the past, young children, elderly and pregnant women. These are the vulnerable groups,” he said.

Doctors also said state data could be giving an incomplete picture of the dengue situation, because only those cases where the patient has tested positive for dengue infection using the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) method of testing are counted as confirmed. “We treat so many patients who have all symptoms of dengue infection, but their blood test reports for ELISA test are negative. These numbers are not accounted for in the state’s data,” said Dr Altaf Patel, director of medicine Jaslok Hospital.

October 2016

Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation

Number of cases 63 number of deaths 5

Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation

Number of cases 33 number of deaths 2

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Number of cases 941 number of deaths 2

Source : Hindustantimes.com

Florida’s Fight Over GM Mosquitoes Going to a Vote

Scientists say there is strong evidence that the Zika virus can be controlled by releasing genetically modified male mosquitoes into the wild so they can mate with the disease-spreading females to produce sterile offspring.

But plans for a trial run in Key Haven, Fla., an unincorporated community just east of Key West, have been so controversial that officials decided to put it to a public vote.

Tuesday’s referendum is non-binding, but will weigh heavily on whether the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District proceeds with the test, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August.

The genetically modified mosquitoes have been tested in Brazil, Panama and the Caymen Islands, where they reduced the wild population of Zika-bearing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by more than 90 percent, according to British biotechnology company Oxitec, which developed the engineered strain of mosquitoes.

“In comparison, current technologies such as insecticides are only 30-to 50 percent effective at best,” Oxitec spokesman Matthew Warren told Seeker.

In addition to the Zika virus, which can cause birth defects and other disorders, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are responsible for the spread of dengue and chikungunya. It’s the female mosquitoes that do the biting, spreading disease in their wake.

Oxitec’s solution is to engineer a gene in the males, which are then released into the wild so they can mate with the females. Any offspring that result from the union will carry an engineered “kill switch” and die before maturing enough to mate or bite, drastically reducing the population.

“We have now released more than 180 million of our male self-limiting mosquitoes worldwide. And there have been no reports of adverse impacts in any of these releases,” Warren said.

The trial in the Florida Keys would be the first in the United States.

“The genetically modified mosquitoes are incredibly promising. They’ve been incredibly successful in many of the cases where they’ve been tested for Zika so far. I think that they have tremendous promise in the United States, but there are obviously a lot of fears,” ecologist Colin Carlson, with the University of California, Berkeley, told Seeker.

Among those opposed to the Florida trial is a group of physicians, led by Dr. John Norris, who have questions about whether Oxitec’s mosquitoes, which are dependent on the antibiotic tetracycline to survive, will end up spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

“We do not know what to expect when millions of mosquitoes are released on small neighborhoods possibly covered in resistant germs,” the doctors wrote in a petition to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board.

If the board decides to proceed with the trial, the doctors want to conduct a study to see if residents have altered bacterial resistance patterns.

Whether the referendum passes or not, one thing is certain: the spread of the Zika virus in South Florida is growing.

“We’re still trying to figure out how severe it’s going to be,” Carlson said. “From a public health perspective, it’s not a great situation.”

Pending approval by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, Oxitec’s test could begin next year.

Seeker.com

Dengue threat spirals out of hand as Kolkata’s platelet count drops

Kolkata: An acute platelet crisis has hit the city in the midst of a fresh dengue spurt, holding up treatment of patients in serious conditions. With blood donation camps dwindling in the festive period, supply of platelets has almost dried up. Consequently, all major blood banks are facing a crisis that isn’t going to ease till December.

Bhoruka Blood Bank, one of the prominent private banks in Kolkata, has been out of stock since Sunday. It isn’t expecting fresh supplies till next Sunday when donation camps are due. Life Care Bank, too, has no platelet but is helping dengue patients in case the latter’s kin donates blood. “We are getting the donated blood processed and giving out the platelet content. But the process is expensive and takes several hours,” said a spokesperson for the bank. While a unit of platelet sells for Rs 500, the processing charge could be as high as Rs 8000-10000.

At Ashok Blood Bank, stocks have been getting exhausted within hours of donation camps. They, too, have the facility to extract platelets from donated blood which takes around five hours. “For several weeks now, we have not been able to hold stocks for more than six hours,” said a representative.

Demand for platelets has gone up almost four times across city hospitals, forcing them to ration use. But planned camps and an organized system could help avert crises, felt Rupali Basu, CEO of Apollo Gleneagles Hospital where 17 have succumbed to dengue since July. “We insist on sticking to an exchange system for patients who need transfusion. Patients’ kin must donate blood. This has ensured that we never run out of stock,” said Basu. She added that blood banks needed to be more pro-active in organizing camps. “They can’t afford to rely on clubs and organizations alone. During festive periods, a crisis is invariably going to strike since camps will be fewer. A system needs to be evolved to tide over shortages like this,” she said.

At least two city hospitals said they were rationing platelet use, even though it may put patients’ lives to risk. Lion’s Blood Bank has been flooded with calls ever since it tied up with a club that will hold a camp on Thursday. “Mid-week supplies have been dwindling sharply, leaving patients’ families helpless. We have been able to organize the camp with a lot of difficulty. But the platelets are going to run out by Friday,” said an official.

TheTimesOfIndia

Indonesians now have access to world’s first Dengue Vaccine

Each year an estimated 390 million dengue infections occur around the world, resulting in around 25,000 deaths annually worldwide. But those number may start to drop soon thanks to a new vaccine that has just been approved by the Indonesian government.

“The first dengue fever vaccine has been given the green light by the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency [BPOM] and is now available,” Cissy B. Kartasasmita, chairwoman of Immunization Task Force, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), said on Sunday as quoted by Tempo.

The vaccine, called Dengvaxia, has has been in development for 20 years by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur. Since it was launched last year, it has been approved for use in seven countries and Indonesia is the second country in Asia in which the vaccine passed regulatory inspection. It has also been approved for use in Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines and Paraguay.
According to a press release from Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine has been tested through a clinical study program involving 40,000 children, adolescents and adults in 25 studies in 15 countries around the world. Efficacy analysis documented that the vaccine protects against 65.6% of symptomatic dengue disease caused by any of the four serotypes of the dengue virus in the study population from 9 – 16 years olds. In addition, the vaccines protection against severe dengue reached 93.2% and prevention of hospitalizations due to dengue reached 80.8%.

The important takeaway from that is that the vaccine has been proven to be most successful when applied to children 9-16 years old. It should also still be administered to those who have had dengue before, as there are actually four different strains of dengue and the vaccine protects against all of them.
Three doses of the virus need to be given in 6-month intervals and each dose currently costs Rp 900,000. Cissy said that the shots were not currently covered by the national healthcare program but that the plan was for them to eventually be incorporated into the government’s national immunization program.

Source: Coconut Jakarta

How Sri Lanka bit back at mosquitoes and wiped out malaria – podcast

Sixty years ago, Sri Lanka was one of the countries most affected by malaria; in September 2016, the World Health Organisation declared the country free of the disease. Dinitha Rathnayake charts the journey of a huge victory for public health.

Dinitha Rathnayake, a radio journalist based in Colombo, looks back over Sri Lanka’s long struggle with malaria. She speaks to people who lived through the 1980s health crisis as well as the doctors, health workers and officials who helped to eliminate the disease.

Mahieash Johnney, of Sri Lanka’s Red Cross, looks back to the 1930s, when more than 5m cases of malaria were reported in the country.

Dr HDB Herath, the director of Sri Lanka’s Anti-Malaria Campaign, talks about what was involved in tackling the disease, from the use of insecticides to early detection through mobile health clinics.

The AMC’s SR Jayanetti discusses how the unique conditions of different regions affected malaria transmission – and how understanding this was a big part of the battle in containing it.

Finally, looking ahead to the challenge of maintaining Sri Lanka’s malaria-free status, Dr Anula Wijesundere, who saw the epidemic at first hand as a consultant at Polonnaruwa hospital from 1986 to 1989, talks of the danger of complacency and the vital importance of early diagnosis,

Source: theguardian.com

Here are some important facts about Dengue and Chikungunya

In a recent report, the MCD has confirmed as many as 2,711 dengue cases till October 8 as the situation remains critical.

New Delhi: Dengue and chikungunya have struck fear in Delhi so much that the health graph of the city has registered a steep rise in these cases of late.

In a recent report, the MCD has confirmed as many as 2,711 dengue cases till October 8 as the situation remains critical across the country.

With these vector-borne diseases, characterised by high fever and severe pain in the joints, taking their toll on our lives, experts have listed down some of the misconceptions about them that have been setting off false alarm bells around the country and undermining the efforts to curb and control these ailments.

1. Dengue and chikungunya mosquitoes breed in dirty water: This is the most common misconception associated with dengue and chikungunya. It is not just dirty water that mosquitoes can lay eggs in; clean water that has been stagnant for over five days can also often act as the best breeding ground for Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. Discarded tyres and tubes, empty flower pots, water stored in drums and water collected under refrigerators after defrosting can all be potential breeding havens for mosquitoes.

2. Having dengue once means it will not occur again: There are four different types of dengue viruses namely DEN 1, 2, 3 and 4. Being affected by one of the four types offers no protection against other strains, which means much like common flu, dengue can be contracted multiple times by a patient over the course of his/her lifetime.

3. Antibiotics are needed to treat dengue and chikungunya: So far, there is no vaccine that can immunise human beings against these diseases but vaccine for dengue will be coming soon. Nearly 75 percent of dengue cases are curable just by properly dispensing oral fluids and providing proper care and treatment to patients. Only prevention and control of mosquitoes can ensure long-term protection against these diseases.

4. Low platelet count does not always mean dengue: People tend to associate low platelet count with dengue. While it is a good indicator to find out if a patient is suffering from dengue or not, a common cold and viral fever can also bring down your platelet count. There are several other viral infections which can result in a low platelet count; people diagnosed with blood-related diseases, anaemia, severe infections and immunological disorders are bound to have fewer platelets in their blood.

5. Using insecticide sprays is enough to kill mosquitoes: While sprays and fumigation can prove beneficial in curbing the mosquito population to a great extent, using only insecticides cannot ensure 100 percent safety against mosquitoes. The main reason for this is mosquitoes get killed but eggs and larvae don’t get killed. It is equally important to keep your surroundings clean and tidy. Vectors are born in stagnant water accumulated in coolers, air conditioners, pots, ornamental plants, fountains, water tanks, bird feeders, etc. Hence, it is important to maintain hygiene in and around the house, and not allow water to accumulate anywhere.

6. Chikungunya will lead to joint deformity: While symptoms of chikungunya include joint pain and muscle pain, and can closely mimic rheumatoid arthritis or other rheumatologic diseases, the vector-borne disease cannot deform your joints. Most patients recover fully but in some cases, the joint pains may persist for weeks or months.

Given the rapid rise in the number of reported cases of dengue and chikungunya, it is essential for every individual to contribute in the fight against these deadly diseases and to keep India healthy and illness-free. Accurate information, coupled with proper preventative measures, can play a major role in achieving this aim and ensure a tomorrow free from the threat of dengue and chikungunya.

Source: Deccan Chronicle News

A protein in mosquito spit can keep Dengue virus in check

Working on ways to reduce DENV transmission, Michael Conway, from Central Michigan University College of Medicine in Mt. Pleasant, USA, and colleagues, explore the targeting of mosquito saliva or midgut proteins to block transmission of DENV. This strategy has advantages compared with vaccines based on viral proteins because it does not need to take into account the different circulating DENV strains or adapt to rapidly evolving viruses.

The researchers had previously isolated proteins from the salivary glands of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits the Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya viruses, and tested batches of proteins to see if they could either enhance or block DENV transmission to human cells. In this study, they focused on proteins that could inhibit DENV.

Analyzing batches of proteins with inhibitory function, the researchers found high levels of so-called D7 proteins. Members of the D7 family are known to be present in mosquito saliva and thought to assist the blood feeding process. Comparing uninfected Aedes mosquitoes with DENV-infected ones, the researchers found that the latter had increased levels of D7 proteins in the salivary glands compared with uninfected controls.

They then produced one of the D7 proteins in insect cells and used it in further functional analyses. Treating cells that are susceptible to DENV infection with the D7 protein either before or during exposure to the virus significantly reduced DENV RNA levels in the cells, suggesting that D7 might both modulate the host cell as well as possibly act on the virus directly to inhibit infection or multiplication.

To determine whether D7 can inhibit DENV2 infection in vivo, the researchers exposed mice that are susceptible to DENV either to virus alone or to a combination of virus and D7. The presence of D7, they found, significantly reduced the levels of DENV RNA both at the exposure site and in neighboring lymph nodes (from where virus spreads to the rest of the body).

To understand how D7 protein mediates its antiviral effect, the researchers tested whether D7 can interact with DENV directly. They found that D7 can bind the DENV via the virus’s envelope protein (which covers the viral surface). These results, the researchers say, “support that D7 protein mediates its antiviral effect through direct protein-protein interaction […], although it is possible that modulation of the inflammatory response also occurs in vivo.”

D7 proteins can provoke strong immune responses, and individuals exposed to mosquitoes have high levels of anti-D7 antibodies. Because these antibodies likely inhibit D7 protein function, the researchers speculate that “although anti-D7 antibodies may prevent efficient blood feeding by a mosquito, they may also enhance disease transmission and disease severity.” “Characterizing the complex interplay of virus-vector-host interactions,” they conclude, “will lead to the development of better models of pathogenesis, strategies to limit disease transmission, and promote the development of therapeutics and transmission-blocking vaccines.”

Source: PLOS

Picky ants maintain color polymorphism of bugs they work with

Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan and colleagues investigated whether this symbiotic relationship played a role in the genetic selection of the red and green aphids that feed on the mugwort plant — known as Macrosiphoniella yomgicola. The presence of two or more clearly different forms in a species is known as “polymorphism.” Previous research had shown that aphid colonies that were more polymorphic tended to survive longer. This could be due to the number of ants attending to these colonies.

The team first experimented by removing ants from aphid colonies and found that most colonies whose attending ants were removed did not survive. This demonstrated that ants were necessary for the survival of the mogwort aphids.

They then experimented with colonies that had varying proportions of red and green aphids and found that the number of attending ants was highest when green aphids comprised 65% of the colony.

“This result suggests that these polymorphic colonies are protected more efficiently from predators by the attending ants than less polymorphic colonies,” write the researchers in their study published in the journal Science Advances. “Thus, ant attendance may maintain the observed colour polymorphism in M. yomogicola,” they say.

This result is particularly significant because it does not fall under previously known predatory-dependent methods of genetic selection that result in a balance of polymorphisms.

There is much room for future research on this topic, the researchers say, because many questions remain unanswered. The team is now investigating why the ants prefer an intermediate colour ratio of aphid colonies.

Source : Hokkaido University

It’s a boy: Controlling pest populations with modified males

Withholding tetracycline in the larval diet essentially means “It’s a boy” when the genetically modified male flies successfully mate with females in the field, says Max Scott, an NC State entomologist who is the corresponding author of a paper describing the research.

“Genetic suppression of a pest population is more efficient if only males survive, so we manipulated screwworm genes to promote a female-lethal system that works when a common antibiotic is not provided at larval stages,” Scott said. “If we feed the larvae the antibiotic both male and female survive and are as fit as the wild type strain.”

The study shows that the genetically modified males both compete well for the attention of fertile females and mate successfully with fertile females. The genetically modified flies also do not mate with other very closely related fly species.

New World screwworm flies (Cochliomyia hominivorax) parasitize warm-blooded animals in the Western Hemisphere tropics and sub-tropics, causing massive financial and animal losses. The flies were eradicated from North and Central America years ago using the sterile insect technique, which has resulted in annual savings of more than $1 billion per year. However, the flies continue to wreak havoc across South America and some Caribbean islands.

Scott says that a sterile insect technique has been used to keep the South American flies at bay. This technique involves irradiating both male and female flies to make them sterile and then releasing them — in an area between the Panama Canal and Colombia — to mate with fertile flies in order to prevent screwworm re-introduction to Central and North America.

“This is a bit inefficient, as sterile males will mate with sterile females, which is totally unnecessary,” Scott says. “Releasing only males, would cut down on the costs of rearing sterile female flies and should significantly increase the efficiency of the suppression program. Plus, it would take fewer resources to begin screwworm eradication program in other afflicted areas, like the west coast of South America, for example.” In addition, the technology should be easily transferable to other flies that are pests of livestock such as the Old World screwworm.

Scott added that COPEG will now evaluate one of the genetically modified screwworm fly lines. That commission has worked to prevent the reintroduction of the pest into North and Central America and is responsible for the current sterile insect technique program. All of the genetically modified strains were developed within the COPEG biosecure facility in Panama, which will facilitate incorporation of the strains into the ongoing operational program.

The study was published online in the journal BMC Biology. Funding was provided by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and its National Institute of Food and Agriculture BRAG program, COPEG and NC State.

Source : North Carolina State University

Heat Waves Inspire Cockroaches to Fly

Two joys of New York City summers apparently combine to create a third: heat and cockroaches lead to flying cockroaches.

An article in DNAInfo reveals one more reason why so many people flee the city in the sultry month of August. The outlet spoke to American Museum of Natural History’s resident bug expert, Louis Sorkin, who said that as heat indexes rise, American cockroaches “have more use of their muscles.” Namely, heat inspires the roaches to flex the muscles of their normally inactive little wings.

“The more activity, the more flight,” said Sorkin.

The American cockroach has long found a very comfortable home in the Big Apple, with its abundance of garbage and dark crevices. And while the city’s human population has been wilting under a nearly week-long heat wave, abandoning outdoor parks and sidewalks for the shelter of air-conditioned apartments, cockroaches have come to life.

Ken Schumann, an entomologist at Bell Environmental Services, told DNAInfo that “In hot steam tunnels, something with the temperature and the humidity encourages them to fly. When it’s warm and steamy that seems to be what they like.”

While the thought of flying cockroaches is certainly enough to send a shiver down your spine, take heart. Schumann clarified that the insects don’t exactly take flight with the same ease as, say a robin or a butterfly. The cockroach’s flight is more of a descent from a high point to a low point.

“It’s almost like they just glide down,” Schumann told DNAInfo.

While the revelation of flying cockroaches may mean big business for the city’s exterminators, there’s little chance the insects will ever truly be tamed.

Cockroaches have been around for 300 million years. Their ability to adapt even allowed them to survive the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Source : www.seeker.com