The Right To Remain Silent In New Orleans: The Role Of Non-Politically Accountable Charter School Boards In The School-To-Prison Pipeline

Residents and officials of many cities may fantasize about the possibilities of rebuilding their cities from scratch

Impact of neglected diseases on animal productivity and public health in Africa

Animal diseases have important impacts on animal productivity and welfare, and on human health and wellbeing. A survey, commissioned by the OIE, was conducted to generate information on the impact of animal diseases in OIE Member Countries in Africa. This identified priority animal diseases according to their impacts: for instance, epidemic diseases affect trade and assets, endemic diseases affect livestock and fish productivity, zoonoses and food-borne diseases are a threat to human health and emerging diseases can shock economies. The survey identified animal diseases that most impact on different aspects of national economies. It found that state Veterinary Services rank human development impacts of disease as especially important when deciding on disease priorities. For most diseases, respondents reported that control is only fair or poor. However, good progress is reported in developing priority disease lists and contingency plans and inclusion of both public and private veterinary services in vaccination. Overall, animal diseases were seen to be increasing (44% of the diseases assessed) or static (also 44%); this is another indicator that investments in better control are required. Disease increase was the result of a number of drivers, the most important of which were climate change, trade, population growth and livestock intensification. In terms of disease prevalence, respondents reported that many important diseases were common. They also reported that treatments were commonly applied. These are both indicators of the high impacts of disease. Only a minority of animals are slaughtered in approved abattoirs, a situation that poses a risk to human health. Respondents provided estimates of disease parameters, which were used to generate a preliminary estimate of some economic impacts of animal disease on the livestock sector. The 35 priority diseases were estimated to cost nearly USD 9 billion a year, equivalent to 6% of the total value of the livestock sector in Africa. Most of this cost was from the death of adult animals, followed by the death of young animals, the cost of vaccination campaigns and the cost of treatment. Microbial hazards, many of which are zoonotic and/or associated with food of animal origin were seen to be of great importance to human health and a source of economic losses. Antimicrobial resistance, linked to the use of antibiotics in agriculture, was also a cause for concern in most countries. Better disease reporting can lead to a better understanding of the impacts of animal diseases. Respondents put forward suggestions on how this could be achieved. Suggestions as to how the OIE could best support the control of animal diseases were also put forward

GATA-2 and GATA-3 regulate trophoblast-specific gene expression in vivo.

We previously demonstrated that the zinc finger transcription factors GATA-2 and GATA-3 are expressed in trophoblast giant cells and that they regulate transcription from the mouse placental lactogen I gene promoter in a transfected trophoblast cell line. We present evidence here that both of these factors regulate transcription of the placental lactogen I gene, as well as the related proliferin gene, in trophoblast giant cells in vivo. Placentas lacking GATA-3 accumulate placental lactogen I and proliferi

A global review of approaches to animal health priority setting and resource allocation, 2000 -2021: A structured, systematic scoping review

Objective The objective of this scoping review was to identify and describe methods that have been used to prioritise animal diseases to allocate resources for interventions associated with disease control, surveillance or research. Materials and methods Three electronic databases (Medline/PubMed, Embase and CAB Abstracts) were searched using syntax with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The search identified 6395 articles after de-duplication. Upon manual searching, an additional 64 articles were added. A total of 6460 articles were finally imported to an online systematic review management software (sysrev.com) for screening. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 532 articles passed the first screening and after the second round of screening, 336 were recommended for a full review. Results The main methods of disease prioritisation identified were based on economic analysis, multi-criteria evaluation, risk assessment (qualitative, quantitative or semi-quantitative), simple ranking, spatial risk mapping and simulation modelling. Disease prioritisation was performed for the following reasons: 1) disease control, prevention or eradication strategies, 2) identification priority of diseases to inform general organisational strategy, 3) identification of high-risk areas or populations, 4) assessment of the risk of disease introduction or occurrence, 5) disease surveillance and 6) research priority setting. With regard to the geographical focus of the 336 articles prioritisation studies and assessments screened 49% had a national focus, 13% were local, 12% were regional, 7% were sub-national and 4% were global; 16% had no particular geographic focus. Conclusion This review describes the different approaches available for prioritising animal health investments and reflects on the pros and cons of different approaches. It also considers approaches used in other fields such as environment and human health and reflects on their suitability for animal health decision making

Knowledge, attitude and practice of tomato retailers towards hygiene and food safety in Harar and Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

In this study, we assessed knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) related to tomato hygiene and food safety, among tomato vendors in the Ethiopian cities of Harar and Dire Dawa. From a total of 1498 tomato retail market vendors identified in the two cities through vendor mapping exercises, 151 outlets were randomly selected for a cross-sectional KAP survey on tomato handling, marketing, loss due to damage, safety, and hygienic practice. Tomato vendors claimed that they knew about food safety and hygiene, and risks associated with raw tomatoes. We found considerable variation in food safety knowledge, barriers, and practices during handling and marketing. The major concern of tomato traders in terms of food safety for vegetables was contamination with dirt. Around 17% of street vendors did not know about the importance of water quality and cleanliness for food safety. About 20% of tomato traders washed tomatoes after they purchased them and 43% and 14% of respondents who practiced tomato washing revealed that they cannot get the quantity and quality of water needed, respectively. Tomatoes were displayed in direct sunlight in about 85% of stalls. About 37% of vendors said rodents were present at night and could contact surfaces tomatoes are displayed on. For about 40% of outlets one or more flies were seen to be present on a third to two-thirds of their tomatoes. Overall, 40% of respondents reported they do not have adequate toilet facilities and 20% of those that use a toilet do not have water for washing hands after. The study identified areas that should be targeted by interventions aiming to improve food safety in this setting, however, without improvements in basic infrastructure to provide the pre-requisites for food safety the impact of small-scale food safety interventions may be limited

Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa

The world is facing unprecedented, inter-connected threats to the health of people, animals and the environment. Threats to health security originating from animals and ecosystems can best prevented and managed by One Health (OH) which recognizes the interconnection of people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. But attaining the OH dividend requires greater operationalization of OH science and harnessing the power of youth to solve the problems of the present and future. In line with this approach, this project aims to enhance national and sub-regional cross-sectoral collaboration between government entities with OH mandates and OH stakeholders across society, to equip educational and research institutes to train the next generation One Health workforce, and to increase the capacity of government and non-governmental stakeholders to identify and deliver OH solutions to key problems. To conceptualize the above objectives, we conducted an expert integrative review to identify OH capacity potential and gaps in eastern and southern Africa, to develop a four-year, eleven-country project to translate OH science to development impact. We identified neglected zoonoses, emerging zoonoses, food safety and livestock associated antimicrobial resistance as key OH domains, with soil health subsidiary. Multi-criteria processes identified 11 priority countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, of which four are deep dive) and four support areas (observatory, platforms, future workforce and field solutions). A consortium was developed of research and research translation institutes (three Africa-based) linked to multipliers in priority countries. Future OH capacity will be enhanced through strengthening educational institutions to deliver recognised OH courses. Delivery of solutions for a specific OH issue is planned for Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with the approach then used as a model for OH delivery. This initiative will ensure government entities capacitated in the development of evidence based One Health strategies and policies, education institutes strengthened in building OH capacity of the present and future workforce, and research institutes capacitated in identification, development, adoption and delivery of One Health solutions

Foodborne disease hazards and burden in Ethiopia: A systematic literature review, 1990–2019

Objective(s): To summarize literature on foodborne hazards and their associated burden in Ethiopia, identify research gaps and intervention targets. Materials and methods: A systematic literature review was performed according to Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines. Searches were performed on PubMed and CAB Direct for relevant publications between 1990 and 2019 (inclusive). Observational studies, secondary data analyses, reviews and grey literature were included. Titles and abstracts were screened, and selected publications reviewed in full for quality and data extraction. A metanalysis was not conducted as studies were varied in focus with few similar studies estimating the same parameter. Results: In total 142 articles met the inclusion criteria. Most studies focused on identification and prevalence of biological and chemical hazards in food. High levels of microbial contamination in different food value chains were often found by the typically small, ad hoc, observational studies. Dairy products, beef, poultry, and eggs were the most commonly studied food products. Raw beef and raw milk were the products reporting higher levels of pathogen contamination. Presence of Listeria monocytogenes, a serious but often overlooked foodborne pathogen, was reported in various foods. Several important value chains were less frequently studied including vegetables, fruits, crops, fish, sheep, goats, and camel. There were few reports of incidence of human FBD or resulting health and economic impacts. High levels of bacterial contamination on the hands of food processors were widely reported. Foodborne parasites were often found at higher prevalences in food than bacterial and viral pathogens, possibly due to differences in ease of identification. Conclusion: There are fundamental gaps in the knowledge of food hazards in Ethiopia, particularly regarding FBD incidence and impact. Furthermore, important value chains and pathogens have been neglected. Greater investment in food safety is needed, with enhanced and coordinated research