BJP plans to emulate UP model for social media outreach in Karnataka

Washington, Jun 30: Researchers in China have discovered a new type of swine flu that is capable of triggering a pandemic, according to a study published Monday in the US science journal PNAS.

Named G4, it is genetically descended from the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009.

It possesses "all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans," say the authors, scientists at Chinese universities and China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers then carried out various experiments including on ferrets, which are widely used in flu studies because they experience similar symptoms to humans -- principally fever, coughing and sneezing. 

G4 was observed to be highly infectious, replicating in human cells and causing more serious symptoms in ferrets than other viruses.

Tests also showed that any immunity humans gain from exposure to seasonal flu does not provide protection from G4.

According to blood tests which showed up antibodies created by exposure to the virus, 10.4 percent of swine workers had already been infected.

The tests showed that as many as 4.4 percent of the general population also appeared to have been exposed.

The virus has therefore already passed from animals to humans but there is no evidence yet that it can be passed from human to human -- the scientists' main worry.

"It is of concern that human infection of G4 virus will further human adaptation and increase the risk of a human pandemic," the researchers wrote.

The authors called for urgent measures to monitor people working with pigs.

"The work comes as a salutary reminder that we are constantly at risk of new emergence of zoonotic pathogens and that farmed animals, with which humans have greater contact than with wildlife, may act as the source for important pandemic viruses," said James Wood, head of the department of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University.

A zoonotic infection is caused by a pathogen that has jumped from a non-human animal into a human.

Bengaluru, Apr 24: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday held a meeting with state officials to address the situation in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to COVID-19, the prices of the crops have come down. It was instructed to buy those vegetables and keep them in cold storage and then sell. It was also instructed to export fruits, vegetables which cannot be kept for a long time to other states and countries.

Wherever there is a scarcity of drinking water, it was decided to supply water immediately.
Chief Minister Yediyurappa had earlier spoken to Union Minister Sadananda Gowda and took information regarding fertilisers.

As fertilisers' demand is less in the international market, the Union minister for fertilisers said that farmers will be given fertilisers at less than the actual price.

As some of the associations/guilds have violated the lease conditions by not starting the actual work which they have got the land for in Bengaluru, they have been instructed to return the land to the government where the lease conditions have been violated.

As far as the irrigation department is concerned, much water is stored in dams. It was decided to utilise the same for the cultivation of crops and for the purpose of drinking.

As far as the education department is concerned, it was instructed to give online training to students.

With the help of state television channel Doordarshan, it has been decided to teach students about the syllabus and other activities till the reopening of school.

The KSRTC has lost hundreds of crore due to the reduction in bus services due to COVID-19. So, they were instructed to use buses to transport goods to generate revenue.

The government also decided that salary for the doctors, who are working on a contract basis against COVID-19, will be increased significantly.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 26: The Kerala Police on Wednesday arrested a man who had threatened people protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Delhi on social media.

"The person was arrested by Agali police in Palakkad district for trying to instigate communal violence," the Police said.

On Tuesday, Kerala DGP Lokanath Behera had said that strict action will be taken against those who try to create any communal divide.

"Action will be taken against those who create or forward such messages that create communal tension through social media. All messages on social media are under police surveillance," he said.