The current focus on exotic food consumption in China often relies on Orientalisation, and is in some cases tinged with anti-Chinese sentiment. Continue reading
Category Archives: Emerging Diseases
Under emerging zoonotic diseases, we work on bird flu and other emerging diseases in developing countries, understanding and mapping the risks associated with these.
From sledgehammer to scalpel: Scientists say a ‘moonshot effort’ is needed to end social distancing and this pandemic
Scientists say a moonshot effort is needed to end social distancing and this pandemic. Continue reading
‘Tip of the iceberg’: is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19?
An article in The Guardian newspaper raises the question of whether human destruction of nature is responsible for mass pandemics like COVID-19. It quotes Eric Fevre, a principal scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute, on the ubiquity of possible germ sources: ‘”There are countless pathogens out there continuing to evolve which at some point … Continue reading
Vaccines against this year’s novel (and world-changing) coronavirus are already in development and being tested—Good news from Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty
While some COVID-19 surges are now ‘baked-in’, the viral curves should flatten with appropriate measures now being introduced in many countries, and several different vaccines are being developed and already being tested, says Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty. Australian veterinary and medical immunology researcher Peter Doherty won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Now based in Melbourne, Doherty is patron of the the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Doherty is also a former board member and current patron of ILRI. Continue reading
Thursday links (June 2019)
A monthly round-up of recent articles, blog postings and tweets about livestock, aid and other topics that may be of interest to ILRI staff and partners, compiled by David Aronson. Continue reading
Scottish gene-edited chickens produced to help stop bird flu
Reuters reported Sunday that this first batch of “transgenic” chicks is expected to hatch sometime in 2019 at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Continue reading
Checking the facts behind the ‘livestock facts’ we think we know
A new look at the facts behind the ‘livestock facts’ we think we know—Twitter Moment Continue reading
While some animal-transmitted diseases of the poor are declining, other, mostly foodborne, diseases are on the rise
A new category of infectious diseases is thriving. Amid mostly stabilizing population growth, declining poverty, rising urbanization and emerging economic wealth, other zoonotic, largely foodborne diseases are emerging more quickly, keeping pace with human progress. . . . “While we’re getting rid of conditions that bring about some diseases, we’re also creating the conditions to give rise to new diseases or make other diseases worse,” [ILRI’s Delia Grace] said. Continue reading
ILRI and Farm Ink ‘Facebook project’ to track livestock diseases in Kenya among five winners of research grants
The CGIAR Platform on Big Data in Agriculture has awarded five research proposals USD100,000 each during its inaugural convention 19–22 Sep 2017. Using Facebook to track the spread of livestock diseases and your smartphone to diagnose crop diseases in realtime, could soon be a reality thanks to a series of research grants awarded by the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture. Continue reading
Kenya’s leading role in ‘One Health’ strategies controlling diseases transmitted between animals and people
‘Prof Eric Fèvre, a researcher of veterinary infectious diseases at the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi told the Business Daily the close interaction between people and animals worsened the situation. Continue reading