"China’s environment ministry has issued a ban on the pesticides lindane and endosulfan, substances known to pose health risks to humans. The decision, made jointly with 10 other government departments and published this week, is intended to improve China’s compliance with the Stockholm Convention, an international treaty on pollutants. China formally joined the Stockholm Convention in 2004. Lindane and endosulfan, which are frequently used to treat crops and parasites on humans and animals, are classified under the Stockholm Convention as “persistent organic pollutants” (POPs) that stay in the environment for an exceptionally long time ..." See full article. -- Source: CX Live. …
Identification of Arthropods By Polymerase Chain Reaction As Probes For Infectious Disease Studies In Experimental Coprolites
“The study of arthropods is still scarce in paleoparasitology, especially their molecular identification. In this experimental study, we amplify DNA using a polymerase chain reaction from 2 ectoparasite species, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Pediculus humanus capitis, in experimentally desiccated feces. This study shows perspectives for the study of the identification of arthropods in coprolites when taxonomic identification is not possible.” Pucu E1, Lemos E2, Rozental T2, Ogrzewalska M2, Chame M3, Machado-Silva JR4, Leles D1. J Parasitol. 2019 Feb;105(1):133-134. See full article: Identification of Arthropods By Polymerase Chain Reaction As Probes For Infectious Disease Studies In Experimental Coprolites …
Killing Clothes Lice by Holding Infested Clothes away from Hosts for 10 Days to Control Louseborne Relapsing Fever, Bahir Dah, Ethiopia
“Louseborne relapsing fever (LBRF) was once a cosmopolitan disease but it now occurs only in the Horn of Africa. Recent cases in refugees to Europe made LBRF topical again. Crowded boarding houses and church dwellings in Ethiopia are analogous to the crowded air-raid shelters of World War II. Thus, we might learn from experiments the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine conducted during World War II. When the vector of Borrelia recurrentis (Pediculus humanus lice) were held away from the host for 10 days, 100% of nymphal and adult lice starved to death and 100% of eggs did not hatch. We hypothesize that holding infested clothes away from hosts in plastic shopping bags will kill enough lice to control LBRF in Ethiopia. Owning 2 sets of clothes might be useful; 1 set might be held …