Consumption frequency of added sugars and UK children's dental caries

Objectives: To examine the association between consumption frequency of foods and drinks with added sugar and dental caries experience in the permanent teeth of 12‐ and 15‐year‐old children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, using the Children's Dental Health Survey 2013 (CDHS) data. Methods: Four thousand nine hundred and fifty children aged 12 and 15 have the following information available: daily consumption frequency of foods and drinks with added sugar, tooth‐brushing frequency, dental attendance, and water‐drinking frequency. The children's dental caries experience was available as a DMFT score (number of decayed, missing, filled permanent teeth). A zero‐inflated negative binomial model (ZINB) was used to fit the DMFT score. Results: Lower socioeconomic status (SES), nonregular dental check‐ups, and low water‐drinking frequency were associated with higher consumption frequency of added sugar (all P 0), but the chance of being free of obvious caries (DMFT = 0) was lower for children with high frequency (≥4) of sugar‐added foods than for children reported to have a sugar‐free diet (OR = 0.5, 95% CI [0.3, 0.8]). Conclusions: Consumption frequency of added sugars was associated with dental caries and a number of child demographic and lifestyle characteristics. Children who consume foods and drinks with added sugar more frequently are more likely to develop dental caries, but higher consumption frequency of drinking water in fluoridated areas might reduce dental caries. The findings add to the evidence for the association between children's dental caries and added sugar consumption

Mineral composition of commonly consumed ethnic foods in Europe

Background: Ethnic foods are an integral part of food consumption in Europe contributing towards the overall nutrient intake of the population. Food composition data on these foods are crucial for assessing nutrient intake, providing dietary advice and preventing diseases. Objective: To analyse selected minerals in authentic and modified ethnic foods commonly consumed in seven EU member states and Israel. Design: A list of ethnic foods commonly consumed in selected European countries was generated, primary samples collected and composite sample prepared for each food, which were analysed for dietary minerals at accredited laboratories. Methods for sampling, analysis, data scrutiny and documentation were based on harmonised procedures. Results: New data on 128 ethnic foods were generated for inclusion in the national databases of seven EU countries and Israel within the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR), an EU Network of Excellence. The Na, K, Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Cl, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se and I contents of 39 foods is presented for the first time in this study. Conclusion: The data will serve as an important tool in future national and international food consumption surveys, to target provision of dietary advice, facilitate implementation of policies and inform policymakers, health workers, food industry and researchers

Global mapping of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 and H5Nx clade 2.3.4.4 viruses with spatial cross-validation.

Global disease suitability models are essential tools to inform surveillance systems and enable early detection. We present the first global suitability model of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 and demonstrate that reliable predictions can be obtained at global scale. Best predictions are obtained using spatial predictor variables describing host distributions, rather than land use or eco-climatic spatial predictor variables, with a strong association with domestic duck and extensively raised chicken densities. Our results also support a more systematic use of spatial cross-validation in large-scale disease suitability modelling compared to standard random cross-validation that can lead to unreliable measure of extrapolation accuracy. A global suitability model of the H5 clade 2.3.4.4 viruses, a group of viruses that recently spread extensively in Asia and the US, shows in comparison a lower spatial extrapolation capacity than the HPAI H5N1 models, with a stronger association with intensively raised chicken densities and anthropogenic factors

Interspecies interactions and potential Influenza A virus risk in small swine farms in Peru

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The recent avian influenza epidemic in Asia and the H1N1 pandemic demonstrated that influenza A viruses pose a threat to global public health. The animal origins of the viruses confirmed the potential for interspecies transmission. Swine are hypothesized to be prime "mixing vessels" due to the dual receptivity of their trachea to human and avian strains. Additionally, avian and human influenza viruses have previously been isolated in swine. Therefore, understanding interspecies contact on smallholder swine farms and its potential role in the transmission of pathogens such as influenza virus is very important.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This qualitative study aimed to determine swine-associated interspecies contacts in two coastal areas of Peru. Direct observations were conducted at both small-scale confined and low-investment swine farms (n = 36) and in open areas where swine freely range during the day (n = 4). Interviews were also conducted with key stakeholders in swine farming.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In both locations, the intermingling of swine and domestic birds was common. An unexpected contact with avian species was that swine were fed poultry mortality in 6/20 of the farms in Chancay. Human-swine contacts were common, with a higher frequency on the confined farms. Mixed farming of swine with chickens or ducks was observed in 36% of all farms. Human-avian interactions were less frequent overall. Use of adequate biosecurity and hygiene practices by farmers was suboptimal at both locations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Close human-animal interaction, frequent interspecies contacts and suboptimal biosecurity and hygiene practices pose significant risks of interspecies influenza virus transmission. Farmers in small-scale swine production systems constitute a high-risk population and need to be recognized as key in preventing interspecies pathogen transfer. A two-pronged prevention approach, which offers educational activities for swine farmers about sound hygiene and biosecurity practices and guidelines and education for poultry farmers about alternative approaches for processing poultry mortality, is recommended. Virological and serological surveillance for influenza viruses will also be critical for these human and animal populations.</p

Bioprospecting the African Renaissance: The new value of muthi in South Africa

This article gives an overview of anthropological research on bioprospecting in general and of available literature related to bioprospecting particularly in South Africa. It points out how new insights on value regimes concerning plant-based medicines may be gained through further research and is meant to contribute to a critical discussion about the ethics of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). In South Africa, traditional healers, plant gatherers, petty traders, researchers and private investors are assembled around the issues of standardization and commercialization of knowledge about plants. This coincides with a nation-building project which promotes the revitalization of local knowledge within the so called African Renaissance. A social science analysis of the transformation of so called Traditional Medicine (TM) may shed light onto this renaissance by tracing social arenas in which different regimes of value are brought into conflict. When medicinal plants turn into assets in a national and global economy, they seem to be manipulated and transformed in relation to their capacity to promote health, their market value, and their potential to construct new ethics of development. In this context, the translation of socially and culturally situated local knowledge about muthi into global pharmaceuticals creates new forms of agency as well as new power differentials between the different actors involved