Antibiotic use in poultry sector rampant: CSE

Agencies
February 28, 2018

New Delhi, Feb 28: A green body has slammed an advertisement highlighting that no antibiotics are used in chicken as an "eye wash" and alleged that the use of antibiotics in poultry sector is "rampant". The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) yesterday slammed the All India Poultry Development and Services Private Limited for its advertisement and said it was "complete misrepresentation". The advertisement refers to the results of a 2014 study conducted by the CSE on chicken, it said while strongly rejecting the way the study results have been twisted to suggest that there is no misuse of antibiotics in the poultry sector and that the chicken produced is safe. "This is complete misrepresentation of the facts and the antibiotic misuse practices adopted by the Indian poultry industry. Antibiotic use in poultry sector is rampant. "They are even using life-saving drugs like colistin to fatten the chicken. There seem to be no genuine attempt by the industry to reduce antibiotic misuse and this advertisement is an eyewash,? the Deputy Director General, CSE, Chandra Bhushan, said.

The advertisement which said that chicken should be eaten as it has a lot of benefits, also went on to say that the Indian poultry industry has already adopted usage of prebiotics, probiotics, phytogenic additives, acidifiers and immuno stimulants as an alternative to antibiotics. The deputy director general of CSE further said that the industry has ignored the results of its latest 2017 study, which show how poultry farms are breeding grounds of superbugs. "They are misguiding the nation and trying to dilute their contribution to the problem of antibiotic resistance. This will not help the industry in the long-term. They must act responsibly,? Bhushan said. Referring to the issue of maximum residue limits (MRLs) in the advertisement, Amit Khurana, a senior programme manager, Food Safety and Toxins team, CSE said that it is a "myopic" view as residue level in food is only one part of the problem. "Resistant bacteria can also get transferred to handlers and consumers. Unabsorbed antibiotics as well as resistant bacteria in chicken droppings which enter into the environment are a big concern. The problem starts with antibiotic misuse," he said.

Chandra Bhushan further added that India does not have any standards on residue levels in chicken meat. "Comparing residue results with the MRL of the European Union is meaningless. Our study was aimed at establishing the fact that banned, critical and highly prescribed antibiotics are being misused by the poultry industry ? we did not make any comparisons with MRL as India does not have an MRL of its own," Bhushan said. CSE researchers believe that even after so many years of the issue being highlighted, the government response to address the antibiotic resistance crisis has been inadequate so far. "There is no legal ban on use of antibiotic growth promoters in poultry. The 2014 advisory from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries has no legal binding. "The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is yet to come up with final standards of antibiotic residues in chicken. We have a National Action Plan on AMR now, but unfortunately there are no funds allocated for it. The plan would have no real functionality without money put behind it," Bhushan added.

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Agencies
March 25,2020

The practice of washing your hands for 20 seconds is one of the best preventive measures you can take to avoid the spread of any virus including coronavirus as recommended by the WHO.

The modern day concept of handwashing was introduced by Hungaraian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis, in 19-th century Vienna. Semmelweis proposed the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in the city's general hospital.

Decades later, in the modern times too the practise has not lost it's relevance. To connect with savvy consumers the message is being sent through social media? But social media can also be a dark place where misinformation is rampant; consumers can end up being misguided and compromised on sensitive issues like health and hygiene.

Dettol, recently kickstarted its #HandWashChallenge on TikTok aiming to raise awareness on four simple steps of handwashing. Strategically aimed at creating awareness among audience, a unique song has been created pairing it extremely well with the hashtag #HandWashChallenge. The hashtag filter has a branded Dettol strip across the top with the hashtag and names the steps involved in washing hands. The user can dance out the steps to the challenge and share it with their friends to further amplify the message on hygiene and safety.

Commenting on the same, Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB Health South Asia said, "We are elated with the response to the #HandWashChallenge, it has definitely become one of the most successfully led initiatives by any of our brands at RB. Understanding the consumer's mindset is of the utmost importance to us, therefore our campaign communication is built in a way that creates meaningful conversations to drive awareness amongst consumers. The participation by TikTok users across India has helped deliver the right message in a more engaging and interactive manner.

"I personally would like to encourage more and more people to join this global health & hygiene educational exercise. Together, let us all build a healthier nation, four steps at a time."

He further said, "Over the past couple of weeks we have witnessed a lot of misinformation floating around hygiene practices, especially over the internet. Realizing the gravity of the issue and being the responsible brand, we felt it was our prerogative to initiate this awareness campaign."

The campaign witnessed several quirky activities on each day leading to increased consumer interest. Joining the force were some of Bollywood's popular celebrities like Kartik Aaryan and Urvashi Rautela among several other TikTok influencers who have millions of followers on the platform. As part of Phase II, Dettol plans to take the challenge global by encouraging more users to participate while the audience worldwide.

The challenge has witnessed over 18 Billion views and generated over 123K user participation videos in one week of starting the campaign.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Washington, Feb 21: The fat around arteries may play an important role in keeping the blood vessels healthy, according to a study in rats that may affect how researchers test for treatments related to plaque buildup, as seen in conditions leading to heart attack.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, noted that the fat, known as perivascular adipose tissue, or PVAT, helps arteries let go of muscular tension while under constant strain.

According to the researchers, including Stephanie W. Watts from the Michigan State University in the US, this feature is similar to how the bladder expands to accommodate more liquid, while at the same time keeping it from spilling out.

"In our study, PVAT reduced the tension that blood vessels experience when stretched," Watts said.

"And that's a good thing, because the vessel then expends less energy. It's not under as much stress," she added.

According to Watts and her team, PVAT has largely been ignored by researchers believing its main job was to store lipids and do little more.

Until now, she said, scientists only divided blood vessels into three parts, the innermost layer called the tunica intima, the middle layer called the tunica media, and the outermost layer called the tunica adventitia.

Watts believes PVAT is the fourth layer, which others have called tunica adiposa.

Tunica, she said, meant a membranous sheath enveloping or lining an organ, and adiposa is a synonym for fat.

"For years, we ignored this layer -- in the lab it was thrown out. In the clinic it wasn't imaged. But now we're discovering it may be integral to our blood vessels," Watts said.

"Our finding redefines what the functional blood vessels are, and is part of what can be dysfunctional in diseases that afflict us, including hypertension. We need to pay attention to this layer of a blood vessel because it does far more than we originally thought," she added.

Earlier studies, Watts said, had shown that PVAT plays a role in the functioning of blood vessels, finding that it secretes substances that can cause blood vessels to relax as well as substances that can cause it to contract.

In the current study, the researchers decided to test whether PVAT provides a structural benefit to arteries by assisting the function of stress relaxation.

They tested the thoracic aorta in rats, and found those with intact PVAT had more stress relaxation than those without.

The study revealed that the pieces of artery with surrounding fat had measurably relaxed more than those without.

Watts and her colleagues then tested other arteries, and were able to duplicate the same response.

"It's not something you see only in this particular vessel or this particular species or this particular strain. But that maybe it's a general phenomenon," she said.

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News Network
February 4,2020

Toronto, Feb 4: People who text while walking face a higher risk of an accident than those listening to music or talking on the phone, a study has found.

The study, published in the journal Injury Prevention, found that smartphone texting is linked to compromised pedestrian safety, with higher rates of 'near misses', and failure to look left and right before crossing a road.

Researchers from the University of Calgary in Canada call for a more thorough approach to exploring the impact of distracted pedestrian behaviours on crash risk.

Worldwide, around 270,000 pedestrians die every year, accounting for around a fifth of all road traffic deaths, according to the researchers.

'Pedestrian distraction' has become a recognised safety issue as more and more people use their smartphones or hand held devices while walking on the pavement and crossing roads, they said.

The researchers looked for published evidence to gauge the potential impact on road safety of hand-held or hands-free device activities.

This included talking on the phone, text messaging, browsing and listening to music.

From among 33 relevant studies, they pooled the data from 14 -- involving 872 people -- and systematically reviewed the data from another eight.

The analysis showed that listening to music wasn't associated with any heightened risk of potentially harmful pedestrian behaviours.

Talking on the phone was associated with a small increase in the time taken to start crossing the road, and slightly more missed opportunities to cross the road safely.

The researchers found that text messaging emerged as the potentially most harmful behaviour.

It was associated with significantly lower rates of looking left and right before or while crossing the road, and with moderately increased rates of collisions, and close calls with other pedestrians or vehicles, they said.

Texting also affected the time taken to cross a road, and missed opportunities to cross safely, but to a lesser extent, according to the researchers.

The review of the eight observational studies revealed that the percentage of pedestrians who were distracted ranged from 12 to 45 per cent, they said.

It also found behaviours were influenced by several factors, including gender, time of day, solo or group crossing, and walking speed.

The researchers acknowledge "a variety of study quality issues" which limit the generalisability of the findings.

"Given the ubiquity of smartphones, social media, apps, digital video and streaming music, which has infiltrated most aspects of daily life, distracted walking and street cross will be a road safety issue for the foreseeable future," the researchers noted.

"And as signage and public awareness campaigns don't seem to alter pedestrian behaviour, establishing the relationship between distracted walking behaviour and crash risk is an essential research need," they said.

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