It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) outbreak in Finnish fur farms
Significant virus adaptation to mammals observed in recent HPAI outbreak
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL (ECDC)
Between July and October 2023, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) was detected in animals on 27 fur farms in Finland. The outbreak, traced to wild birds, revealed significant virus adaptation to mammals. The virus caused severe inflammation in animals' lungs, brains, and livers. Further genetic analyses identified three viral clusters, with mutations facilitating mammalian adaptation.
Epidemiological Investigation
The outbreak likely originated from extensive exposure of fur animals to infected wild birds, given the high number of wild bird deaths in the surrounding areas. The virus caused a range of symptoms in the animals, from asymptomatic infections to severe neurological disease and death.
Analysis of viral samples revealed mutations associated with increased adaptability to mammals, which may increase the potential to infect humans in direct or indirect contact with infected farmed animals, wild birds and other wildlife, and contaminated fomites or feed. While oropharyngeal swabs were considered for rapid testing during the outbreak, inconsistent results led to a recommendation for tissue sampling in future investigations of suspected HPAI in fur animals.
Direct and indirect transmission of the virus likely occurred between fur animals, contributing to the rapid spread of the outbreak. Further data are needed to fully understand the complex routes and extent of spread between farms.
Key Findings
The findings of the study show that the A(H5N1) virus caused severe disease in infected animals, leading to widespread inflammation in the lungs, brain, and liver. Genomic analysis identified mutations in the virus's PB2 and NA proteins associated with increased adaptability to mammals, which may increase the risk of infecting humans. While no human infections have been reported, it serves as a reminder of the ongoing threat posed by HPAI and the importance of robust surveillance and control measures.
Finnish authorities responded swiftly to the outbreak, implementing comprehensive control measures, including culling infected animals and strengthening regulation on biosecurity requirements on fur farms. These actions contained the outbreak and prevented further spread of the virus.
Conclusions
This outbreak serves as a stark reminder of the risks associated with farming animals susceptible to avian influenza, underscoring the potential for HPAI viruses to pose a threat to human health. The rapid spread of the virus among farmed fur animals and the emergence of mutations that enhance its ability to infect mammals highlight the urgent need for continued vigilance and proactive measures to mitigate the risks posed by HPAI.
Stringent biosecurity measures, robust surveillance programs, and early detection mechanisms are crucial in preventing future outbreaks and protecting both animal and human populations. Virological surveillance designed for early detection of outbreaks, particularly in areas where HPAI is detected in wild bird populations near animal farms, is essential for effective disease control. This outbreak, with its observed genetic changes associated with increased mammalian adaptation, emphasises the importance of implementing safe fur farming practices to reduce the risk of future spillover events and the potential emergence of pandemic viruses.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infections on fur farms connected to mass mortalities of black-headed gulls, Finland, July to October 2023
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
20-Jun-2024
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Bird flu is highly lethal to some animals, but not to others. Scientists want to know why
Mike Stobbe Fri, June 14, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — In the last two years, bird flu has been blamed for the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide. It's killed legions of seals and sea lions, wiped out mink farms, and dispatched cats, dogs, skunks, foxes and even a polar bear.
But it seems to have hardly touched people.
That's "a little bit of a head scratcher,” although there are some likely explanations, said Richard Webby, a flu researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. It could have to do with how infection occurs or because species have differences in the microscopic docking points that flu viruses need to take root and multiply in cells, experts say.
But what keeps scientists awake at night is whether that situation will change.
“There's a lot we don't understand,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director who currently heads Resolve to Save Lives, a not-for-profit that works to prevent epidemics. “I think we have to get over the 'hope for the best and bury our head in the sand' approach. Because it could be really bad."
Some researchers theorize that flu viruses that originated in birds were the precursors to terrible scourges in humans, including pandemics in 1918 and 1957. Those viruses became deadly human contagions and spread in animals and people.
A number of experts think it’s unlikely this virus will become a deadly global contagion, based on current evidence. But that's not a sure bet.
Just in case, U.S. health officials are readying vaccines and making other preparations. But they are holding off on bolder steps because the virus isn't causing severe disease in people and they have no strong evidence it’s spreading from person to person.
The flu that's currently spreading — known as H5N1 — was first identified in birds in 1959. It didn’t really begin to worry health officials until a Hong Kong outbreak in 1997 that involved severe human illnesses and deaths.
It has caused hundreds of deaths around the world, the vast majority of them involving direct contact between people and infected birds. When there was apparent spread between people, it involved very close and extended contact within households.
Like other viruses, however, the H5N1 virus has mutated over time. In the last few years, one particular strain has spread alarmingly quickly and widely.
In the United States, animal outbreaks have been reported at dozens of dairy cow farms and more than 1,000 poultry flocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Four human infections have been reported among the hundreds of thousands of people who work at U.S. poultry and dairy farms, though that may be an undercount.
Worldwide, doctors have detected 15 human infections caused by the widely circulating bird flu strain. The count includes one death — a 38-year-old woman in southern China in 2022 — but most people had either no symptoms or only mild ones, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There's no way to know how many animals have been infected, but certain creatures seem to be getting more severe illnesses.
Take cats, for example. Flu is commonly thought of as a disease of the lungs, but the virus can attack and multiply in other parts of the body too. In cats, scientists have found the virus attacking the brain, damaging and clotting blood vessels and causing seizures and death.
Similarly gruesome deaths have been reported in other animals, including foxes that ate dead, infected birds.
The flu strain's ability to lodge in the brain and nervous system is one possible reason for "higher mortality rate in some species,” said Amy Baker, an Iowa-based U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist who studies bird flu in animals. But scientists "just don’t know what the properties of the virus or the properties of the host are that are leading to these differences,” Baker said.
Unlike cats, cows have been largely spared. Illnesses have been reported in less than 10% of the cows in affected dairy herds, according to the USDA. Those that did develop symptoms experienced fever, lethargy, decreased appetite and increased respiratory secretions.
Cow infections largely have been concentrated in the udders of lactating animals. Researchers investigating cat deaths at dairy farms with infected cows concluded the felines caught the virus from drinking raw milk.
Researchers are still sorting out how the virus has been spreading from cow to cow, but studies suggest the main route of exposure is not the kind of airborne droplets associated with coughing and sneezing. Instead it's thought to be direct contact, perhaps through shared milking equipment or spread by the workers who milk them.
Then there's the issue of susceptibility. Flu virus need to be able to latch onto cells before they can invade them.
“If it doesn't get into a cell, nothing happens. ... The virus just swims around,” explained Juergen Richt, a researcher at Kansas State University.
But those docking spots — sialic acid receptors — aren't found uniformly throughout the body, and differ among species. One recent study documented the presence of bird flu-friendly receptors in dairy cattle mammary glands.
Eye redness has been a common symptom among people infected by the current bird flu strain. People who milk cows are eye level with the udders, and splashes are common. Some scientists also note that the human eye has receptors that the virus can bind to.
A study published this month found ferrets infected in the eyes ended up dying, as the researchers demonstrated that the virus could be as deadly entering through the eyes as through the respiratory tract.
Why didn't the same happen in the U.S. farmworkers?
Some experts wonder whether people have some level of immunity, due to past exposure to other forms of flu or to vaccinations. However, a study in which human blood samples were exposed to the virus indicated there's little to no existing immunity to this version of the virus, including among people who'd had seasonal flu shots.
A more menacing question: What happens if the virus mutates in a way that makes it more lethal to people or allows it to spread more easily?
Pigs are a concern because they are considered ideal mixing vessels for bird flu to potentially combine with other flu viruses to create something more dangerous. Baker has been studying the current strain in pigs and found it can replicate in the lungs, but the disease is very mild.
But that could all change, which is why there's a push in the scientific community to ramp up animal testing.
Frieden, of Resolve to Save Lives, noted public health experts have been worried about a deadly new flu pandemic for a long time.
“The only thing predictable about influenza is it's unpredictable,” he said.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press
Former CDC director predicts bird flu pandemic
Lauren Irwin Sat, June 15, 2024
Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield said he predicts a bird flu pandemic will happen, it’s just a matter of when that will be.
Redfield joined NewsNation Friday to discuss the growing concern for bird flu, as the virus has been detected in dozens of cattle across the country and the World Health Organization identified the first human death in Mexico.
“I really do think it’s very likely that we will, at some time, it’s not a question of if, it’s more of a question of when we will have a bird flu pandemic,” Redfield said.
He also noted that bird flu has a “significant mortality” when it enters humans compared to COVID-19. Redfield predicts the mortality is “probably somewhere between 25 and 50 percent mortality.” NewsNation noted that the death rate for COVID was 0.6 percent.
At the end of May, the CDC identified the third human case of someone diagnosed with the virus since March. None of the three cases among farmworkers were associated with one another. Symptoms have included a cough without fever and pink eye.
There is no evidence yet that the virus is spreading between humans. Redfield said he knows exactly what has to happen for the virus to get to that point because he’s done lab research on it.
Scientists have found that five amino acids must change in the key receptor in order for bird flu to gain a propensity to bind to a human receptor “and then be able to go human to human” like COVID-19 did, Redfield said.
“Once the virus gains the ability to attach to the human receptor and then go human to human, that’s when you’re going to have the pandemic,” he said. “And as I said, I think it’s just a matter of time.”
Redfield noted that he doesn’t know how long it will take for the five amino acids to change, but since it is being detected in cattle herds across the country, he is a bit concerned.
More than 40 cattle herds nationwide have confirmed cases of the virus. The CDC is tracking wastewater treatment sites to pinpoint where the virus is but the agency said the general public’s current risk of contracting the virus is low.
Since cattle live close to pigs and the virus is able to evolve from pigs to humans, there is cause for concern. Still, he argued, there is greater risk for the disease to be lab-grown.
“I know exactly what amino acids I have to change because in 2012, against my recommendation, the scientists that did these experiments actually published them,” he said. “So, the recipe for how to make bird flu highly infection for humans is already out there.” Top CDC officials warns US needs ‘more tests’ in face of bird flu fears
Melody Schreiber Fri, June 14, 2024 Dr Nirav Shah in Augusta, Maine, on 28 April 2020.Photograph: Robert F Bukaty/AP
There is not enough testing for bird flu among people and animals in the US, says Dr Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – but he is wary of pushing the issue and damaging fragile trust among farm workers and owners.
“We would like to be doing more tests,” Shah said. “We’d like to be testing particularly not just symptomatic workers, but anyone on a farm who is exposed.”
But, Shah said, “right now we want to be in a role where we’re building trust with farms and farm workers.”
For the general public, the risk is still low, the CDC says. But the risks are elevated for agricultural workers in close contact with animals – and potentially the people around them.
The CDC is “preparing for the possibility” that the virus could evolve to spread more easily among people, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Shah encouraged the use of personal protective equipment, but stopped short at promising shots for farm workers, who are now the most at risk for getting and spreading H5N1, a highly pathogenic bird flu.
US officials announced last week that a third person tested positive – a farm worker in Michigan who worked closely with sick cows.
Unlike the previous two cases, where conjunctivitis (or “pink eye”) was the only symptom, this patient experienced respiratory symptoms typical for the flu – a cough, congestion, sore throat and watery eyes.
Shah was quick to point out these symptoms don’t mean the virus is changing. Symptoms like these have been common in the 888 people who have tested positive for H5N1 since 2003.
“This virus, like many viruses, can present in more than one way. And for that reason, we should remain alert, not alarmed,” he said.
But having respiratory symptoms means the individual has more opportunities to pass the virus on to other people, he said, making monitoring and testing even more important than before.
Yet only 44 people have been tested in 2024, according to the CDC.
While officials believe there are probably cases flying under the radar due to the lack of testing, they are closely analyzing data from influenza monitoring systems, and no red flags have been observed yet. “We have not detected any differences in markers, like emergency room visits, in areas with affected herds compared to areas without affected herds,” Shah said.
“Our influenza infrastructure is strong, and it’s notable to discuss the ways in which it differs from our Covid infrastructure,” he said. There are tests available throughout the country, there is a good vaccine candidate for this strain currently being manufactured and the virus monitoring system is already well established.
“That said, we’d love to be doing more,” he continued.
Some states are now testing the blood of dairy farm workers to see how many people have antibodies against H5N1, which would give scientists a better idea of how much the virus is circulating. “We’ve done these studies in poultry [workers] over the years. We’d like to replicate them now in dairy farm workers,” Shah said.
Officials have also expanded the ways people can be tested for H5N1, including eye swabs in test kits to check for conjunctivitis. These eye swabs may now be tested at local labs instead of being sent to the CDC.
“Now we don’t wait until these tests are confirmed [by the CDC] before public health action is taken,” Shah said.
H5N1 continues spreading among farms, including poultry operations, with 4.2 million egg-laying chickens killed on a farm in Iowa after the virus was detected.
In Idaho, alpacas tested positive on 16 May after an outbreak among poultry on the same farm – a sign that the highly pathogenic flu may be spreading from cows to poultry to other livestock, potentially accumulating mutations.
The second person to test positive in the US bird flu outbreak this year showed a mutation that may make the virus spread more among mammals, genetic sequencing revealed.
No genomic analysis of the third case has been announced yet.
While the US Department of Agriculture announced another $824m in funding to protect livestock last week, health officials have not announced additional funds for this outbreak beyond the $101m for the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (USDA) announced in May.
Part of the USDA funding has included up to $2,000 a month to farms for providing personal protective equipment, or PPE, such as N95 respirators, face shields and goggles.
The CDC has asked states to distribute personal protective equipment to farm workers from their existing supplies as well as from the strategic national stockpile.
“Thankfully, there’s quite a lot of PPE available out there. Now the task is just connecting those who have PPE with those who need it,” Shah said.
But officials are mindful of the inherent difficulties of wearing, for instance, an N95 mask while working on a farm – from the wet nature of dairy farming to summer heat.
“We want our workers to be maximally protected, while at the same time not compromising their health and safety because they’re overheating,” Shah said.
US officials have ordered 4.8m doses of an H5N1 vaccine they say seems well matched to this strain. It takes several months to create flu vaccines, and new formulations like this then go through regulatory processes for authorization or approval.
Officials have shied away from saying who might be prioritized for the vaccines.
“There is not right now a recommendation to vaccinate farm workers,” Shah said. “Of course, it’s under discussion. As scientists, as scientific organizations, we are always discussing what might be coming next and evaluating the pros and cons of that.”
Shah highlighted the importance of community trust in public health, especially since H5N1 is an emerging disease in livestock. Poultry producers, for example, have built up relationships with officials and regulators over decades of bird flu outbreaks.
Trust is “the most important tool that you have in your toolbox in an outbreak setting”, Shah said.
“When H5 became a phenomenon in the poultry industry, it was not overnight that poultry farm owners, operators, as well as workers were ready to work with public health entities – that relationship took time to develop,” Shah said. “The same thing is under way here.”
That means being clear about what testing does and doesn’t entail, and assuring the privacy of workers, he said.
“It’s not something that happens overnight, but we have made progress with farms and farm owners. We want to continue that, rather than trying to overplay our hand and shatter the trust that we’ve created so far.”
From chickens to foxes, here's how bird flu is spreading across the US
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY Sat, June 15, 2024
A bird flu outbreak that has infiltrated six continents and is wreaking havoc in U.S. farms is among a group of avian influenza flu viruses first described in Italy in 1878 as a "fowl plague."
This outbreak, from a strain that emerged among poultry flocks and wild birds in Europe in the fall of 2020, has been the most pervasive in the U.S. and Europe. Once the highly contagious strain – H5N1 – was identified, it quickly began spreading across Europe and into Africa, the Middle East and Asia. By October 2022, it had been declared the largest avian flu epidemic ever in Europe.
As it spread around the world, it forced the deaths of tens of millions of chickens and turkeys and has killed or sickened thousands of birds, as well as land-based mammals and marine mammals. For now, the risk to people remains low, but the longer it lingers, researchers say, the risk increases that it could evolve into a virus that has greater impact on human health.
Here are some of the key events in the transmission and spread of the virus. May – July 2021
Wild fox kits at a rehabilitation center in the Netherlands test positive for the virus during an outbreak in wild birds.
Virus found in great skuas – a type of seabird – on Fair Isle, Scotland. November – December 2021
Four ducks harvested by hunters North and South Carolina test positive for the virus, the first bird flu infection among wild birds in the U.S. since 2016. January – February 2022
An avian flu infection is reported in an 80-year-old man in England, with no symptoms who raised ducks that became sick in late December.
Virus detections begin occurring at other commercial poultry facilities in the U.S. Diseases of chickens and other poultry are the focus of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia. April – September 2022
U.S. reports first human case, possibly the result of contamination of the nasal passages rather than actual infection in a worker culling chickens on a Colorado farm.
Virus found in at least 88 mammals in the U.S. , including harbor seals, red foxes, skunks and a bottlenose dolphin. Similar detections occurring in Europe and Japan.
Virus reported in more than two dozen mammals, including a black bear and Kodiak bear in Alaska, and in grizzly bears in Montana and Nebraska, and in a mountain lion.
Bird flu spillover into mammals continues. Several human cases reported internationally.
By February, more than 50 million chickens have been affected in the U.S., in what has become one of the largest bird flu outbreaks in recorded history.
In December, the first detections are reported in both polar regions. A dead polar bear in Alaska tests positive for the virus, a first for polar bears and for the Arctic. Virus also found in elephant and fur seals in the Antarctic. Endangered California condors are among the species that contracted the H5N1 bird flu. More than a dozen died before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversaw development of a vaccine that was successfully used to treat them. March – April 2024
Virus found for the first time in dairy cows, at farms in Kansas and Texas. Later research suggests it was circulating since December, likely after introduction by a wild bird to a Texas cattle farm.
Infection reported in another farm worker in the U.S., and this time the patient has respiratory symptoms, which healthcare researchers find more concerning. It's the fourth reported human case, the third by exposure to dairy cows.
Thousands of Canadian border guards at airports and land crossings with the U.S. were poised to strike Friday as they worked to reach an agreement with their employer, the federal government.
But with 90% of frontline border officers with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) designated essential workers, according to the government, it was not clear what form that strike could take.
The U.S. is Canada's biggest trading partner, with an average of $2.63 billion worth of goods and services crossing the border in both directions combined in 2023, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
The two sides have been negotiating with the assistance of a mediator this week and talks were ongoing Thursday morning, a Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) spokesperson said, with a strike deadline of 4 p.m. Friday.
Sticking points include wages, remote work, retirement benefits and workplace protections, according to the union.
"The border will remain open and safe," CBSA spokesperson Luke Reimer said in an email Tuesday.
He said about 4,870 of the agency's 5,400 frontline officers are designated essential, meaning they cannot legally stop working.
"Border services officers occupying essential services positions cannot work to rule and cannot intentionally slow down border processing," Canada's Treasury Board said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the CBSA "will take progressive disciplinary action or other measures" against essential workers "who engage in illegal job action."
But the discretion border officers have to stop, question and search travelers could slow cross-border traffic, said Carleton University associate professor of management Ian Lee.
"A slowdown where they really did work to rule would be just catastrophic at Pearson (Airport in Toronto) and Vancouver and Montreal," he said.
"The pressure that would be brought to bear on the government … will be so great they will have to intervene," forexample through binding arbitration or, as a last resort, back-to-work legislation, Lee said.
What it means for Detroit automakers
The Free Press reached out to several automakers for comment on the situation at the border.
Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson provided a statement noting that the company, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands, is aware of a possible labor stoppage by border agents.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and working with our transportation providers to mitigate any production impact,” the statement said.
General Motors spokesman Kevin Kelly declined to comment on the situation.
"Contingency plans are in place to minimize any impact," said Lars Weborg, Ford manufacturing spokesman.
Laurie Harbour-Felax, president and CEO of the Southfield-based consulting firm Harbour Results, said a strike by border workers would be “very problematic” for the auto industry for a couple of reasons.
One issue, she said, is that much of the automotive industry’s mold building is done in the Windsor, Ontario, area.
“There’s a whole tool industry in Canada that makes injection molds, door molds and instrument panel molds. There’s very little left here in the States,” she said. “Most of the big automotive molds are coming out of Windsor.”
It would be especially problematic for any automakers trying to manage a major product launch, she said.
Automakers, including Ford, Stellantis, GM, Honda and Toyota, as well as Tier 1 suppliers also have major operations in Canada. And lots of parts cross the border daily. In some cases, parts on the same vehicle come from plants on either side of the border, Harbour-Felax said.
Although automakers have contingency plans for dealing with bottlenecks overseas, “there’s probably not a lot of contingency plans” connected to issues related to Canada, she said.
Michael Belzer, an economics professor at Wayne State University, studied the potential impact of a shutdown of commerce in Detroit in 2003. He said that shows how long concerns about these types of issues have been percolating. More recently, they arose in connection with a 2022 shutdown of the Ambassador Bridge by truckers said to be upset in part by vaccine mandates.
That situation had swift consequences for the auto industry, with reports of GM chartering cargo planes to move parts over the border.
Belzer’s work, following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, involved thinking about a “bad actor” targeting the bridge, one of the most important crossings in North America. That work didn’t anticipate a shutdown or slowdown of all crossings, however.
“The bottom line … for Detroit, there would really be a huge disruption for the auto industry,” he said of a shutdown or significant slowdown. “It would be a major economic disruption for the U.S. and Canada.”
Notably, Wayne State in Detroit has 350 Canadian students, according to spokesman Bill Roose.
The Free Press also reached out to several hospital systems in the area, including the Detroit Medical Center, Henry Ford Health and Corewell Health, seeking comment. A couple of spokespeople said they were checking into the situation.
Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Rod Nickel.
Free Press reporters Eric Lawrence and Jamie LaReau contributed.
Planning to cross the border? Here's what to know about the possible strike
A Canada Border Services Agency officer speaks to a motorist entering Canada at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing, in Surrey, B.C., on Monday, August 9, 2021. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)
June 6, 2024 11 As the clock ticks on toward a strike at the Canadian border, a union spokesperson says the group remains in negotiations with the government.
They have until 4 p.m. Friday to make a deal.
"If a deal is not reached, a strike will take place." Pierre St-Jacques, spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) union, wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on Thursday.
More than 9,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members who work for the CBSA, including border guards, secured a strike mandate(opens in a new tab) at the end of May, threatening to slow traffic through Canada's national entry points.
The union says it wants "fair" wages comparable to other law enforcement agencies in Canada, changes to its workers' retirement plans, and "flexible" online and remote work options.
"We are still hopeful that we can reach an agreement to avoid strike action, but the window is closing if the government wants to avoid any potential delays at Canada’s borders," wrote St-Jacques.
Claire Fan, an economist with the Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto, said in an interview with CTV's News Channel on Thursday that she expects the potential strike to have a spillover impact. She says auto manufacturers could see the biggest economic hit. Tourism and restaurants could also be hurt if travellers call off their trips as the travel season starts to ramp up.
Up to 60 per cent of goods trade across the border between Canada and the United States was done with trucks in 2023, she noted.
Despite the potential economic impact of a strike, it wouldn't be a full shutdown of the border since 90 per cent of front-line border officers are considered essential workers and can't stop working during a strike. "That in itself is good news," Fan said. "It means goods will still be able to move across borders for the most part."
Instead, border workers may implement work-to-rule efforts, which could cause delays with vehicles taking longer to pass through the border, Fan said. Follow the CTV News channel on WhatsApp
In 2021, the union carried out a work-to-rule effort, slowing traffic into long lines of tourist and commercial vehicles waiting to cross. A deal was reached after an extended 36-hour negotiation.
"While the government fully respects the right of employees to gather and demonstrate lawfully, unlawful job action(opens in a new tab) will not be tolerated," reads a Wednesday release from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
"Negotiation is a process of give and take. The government is prepared to make concessions, but there needs to be movement on both sides," it reads.
The latest GDP numbers(opens in a new tab) indicate many businesses are holding more inventories in anticipation of potential disruptions to supply chains, among lessons they learned over the last few years, Fan added.
Jim Cooper, CEO of Canarm Limited(opens in a new tab), a ventilation company with its headquarters in Brockville, Ont., is worried about the impact of a strike. "The border is a critical link to us being successful as a manufacturer in Canada," Cooper said in an interview with CTV News. "We've got product crossing the border every single day of week.
The association of Canadian Manufactures and Exporters (CME) estimates that about $3.1 billion in goods cross the Canadian border each day. Last year, cross border trade totalled $1.6 trillion, it says.
“We need the federal government to take a proactive approach to preventing these disruptions,” wrote CME president Denis Darby in a Wednesday news release.
More than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency workers begin job action Friday if agreement not reached
PSAC June 4, 2024
The clock is ticking to avoid a nationwide strike at Canada’s borders by more than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employees. Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) will begin job action across the country starting June 7 at 4 p.m. ET if an agreement is not reached at the table with CBSA and Treasury Board this week.
“We are still hopeful that we can reach an agreement to avoid strike action and any potential delays at Canada’s borders," said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President. “But the clock is ticking for Trudeau’s Liberal government to get to work on a fair contract for our members.”
PSAC members in the FB bargaining group have been without a contract for over two years. Key issues in this round of bargaining include fair wages that are aligned with other law enforcement agencies across the country, flexible telework and remote work options, equitable retirement benefits for CBSA law enforcement personnel and stronger workplace protections.
Job action by CBSA personnel in 2021 nearly brought commercial cross-border traffic to a standstill, causing major delays at airports and borders across the country and a marathon 36-hour bargaining session to reach an agreement.
“Our members have overwhelmingly told us they are prepared to fight for fair wages, equitable retirement and to make CBSA a better place to work,” said Mark Weber, CIU National President. “It’s time for the government to step up for CBSA employees.”
The two sides remain in negotiations this week with the assistance of a mediator in a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement.
Monday, June 03, 2024
Egyptian casualty along Gaza border puts strain on the landmark Israel-Egypt peace accord
Nabih Bulos Wed, May 29, 2024 Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip queue outside the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side March 23. (Khaled Desouki / AFP/Getty Images)
It was another close call. When a clash between Egyptian and Israeli soldiers near Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip left one Egyptian dead, it raised the specter — yet again — of a spark that would set off a conflagration across the Middle East.
Both countries moved swiftly to contain the fallout, a sign of the durability of their decades-long diplomatic ties. Egypt’s military spokesman talked about a “shooting incident” but did not mention Israel, while the Israeli military said “dialog was taking place with the Egyptian side.”
But Monday’s skirmish was the latest in a string of events underscoring the region’s volatility since Oct. 7, and the risk that the Israel-Hamas war will rattle long-standing peace agreements — nurtured by Washington for decades — between Israel and its neighbors.
Relations between Egypt and Israel have been strained for months, with Cairo intent on stopping any Israeli effort to drive Gaza residents onto Egyptian territory.
Tensions only worsened after Israel pushed into the south Gazan city of Rafah this month — where an estimated 1.4 million of Gaza’s residents had taken refuge — and seized the Palestinian side of the crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor, an almost 9-mile-long and 300-foot-wide path along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
In response, Egypt shut down humanitarian deliveries via Rafah, insisting administration of the crossing return to Palestinian control and that Israel was violating decades-old security arrangements that limited the number of soldiers and equipment on either side of the border.
But Monday’s shooting, the first deadly clash between Egyptian and Israeli forces since the war began, illustrates the risks of spillover in the fighting as Israel presses its offensive into Rafah and operates in close proximity to Egyptian units, not to mention Egyptian civilians living close to the border.
“This will happen again,” said Samir Ragheb, an Egyptian analyst and chairman of the Cairo-based Arab Foundation for Development and Strategic Studies.
“Committees [are] investigating the incident and [there’s] dialogue between the two sides,” he said. “All that’s fine. But there’s no guarantee for what comes later. ... This is dealing with the symptom not the disease: which is that Israel is in Rafah and on the border where it shouldn’t be.”
Israel says the crossing and the corridor must remain in its hands if it is to choke off arms supplies to Hamas through the Sinai, whether through the crossing or the cross-border tunnel network Hamas operates.
On Tuesday, in response to questions about tanks appearing on the streets of Rafah for the first time in the war, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said troops had “detected tunnels running along the Philadelphi Corridor ... going to Sinai.”
Egyptian officials have repeatedly dismissed Israeli accusations of allowing smuggling as “groundless,” adding that it has destroyed thousands of tunnels, created a buffer zone and built a barrier to prevent weapons transfers.
Details of exactly how the clash occurred remain murky. Initial Israeli reports said the Egyptian side was the first to open fire, while Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News said preliminary investigations indicated a skirmish had started between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters, with shots fired in multiple directions. That led an Egyptian security team member to take protective measures and “deal with the source of fire,” the news agency said.
“This is what Egypt has warned against for months,” an unnamed Egyptian security official told Al Qahera on Monday. “The Israeli attack on the Philadelphi Corridor creates field and psychological conditions that are difficult to control and liable to escalate.”
The killing of the soldier has ratcheted up anti-Israel sentiment in a country that has never managed more than a so-called cold peace with its neighbor, despite being the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
“There are 115 million Egyptians who are not happy with what’s happening in Gaza,” Ragheb said. “They’re watching it every day on television screens. The Egyptian soldier stationed at the border is seeing massacres in real time before his very eyes. So this will be a provocation.”
Some of that anger could be seen on Tuesday, when dozens gathered in the central Egyptian village of Agameyin for the burial of the slain soldier, 22-year-old Abdullah Ramadan. Thousands left comments on his Facebook page, calling him a martyr and a hero, and excoriating the government for tamping down the matter.
Though the Egyptian government says it aims to preserve the peace treaty, popular rage against Israel may force it into taking measures it would rather not take.
“The problem for Egypt is that public opinion is already at a boiling point because of what’s happening in Gaza,” said Mouin Rabbani, an analyst and nonresident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies. “If you now add dead Egyptians to the mix, that makes it all the more combustible. Should government officials get to a point where they have to do something to defuse discontent, then they may feel Israel’s conduct has created such public pressure on them that they have no choice but to do something more significant.”
A wider Israeli assault on Rafah could very well be that tipping point. On Sunday, hours before the shooting, Israeli warplanes attacked what they said were Hamas high-level targets in Rafah, killing 45 people in the process, Palestinian authorities say, and spurring a tsunami of international anger.
The wider destruction, meanwhile, has reached unprecedented proportions, aid groups say, with more than 36,000 people killed in Gaza, according to the Gazan Health Ministry, including many women and children. In the three weeks since Israel began what it called a limited operation in Rafah, around 1 million people have had to flee, many of them displaced before by the violence, according to the U.N.’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
“This happened with nowhere safe to go and amidst bombardments, lack of food and water, piles of waste and unsuitable living conditions,” UNRWA said on X on Monday. “Day after day, providing assistance and protection becomes nearly impossible.”
The war was sparked after Hamas operatives killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, and saw 250 others taken hostage. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of more than 30 others.
Few believe the Israel-Egypt peace treaty — a mainstay of Egypt’s foreign policy that brings in roughly $1.3 billion every year in military assistance from the U.S. — is at serious risk. But there’s little doubt the situation is affecting coordination between the two nations, said Rami Dajani, project director of Israel and Palestine with the International Crisis Group.
“The cumulative effects of these events impact how these agreements are functioning and the practical, real-life channels of communication on intelligence and security,” he said.
It also raises questions about how both sides will manage the border area in the future.
“For both sides, it’s not a question of walking away from the treaty,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former Arab-Israeli negotiator.
But with Israel seeking greater control over Gaza through the Philadelphi Corridor while Egypt insists it won’t reopen the crossing without Palestinians in control, matters are likely to be fraught for a long time.
Said Miller: “All of this poses an enormous amount of problems for the proverbial day after.”
Cultural and linguistic networks of Central African hunter-gatherers have ancient origin
Evolutionary anthropology
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH
IMAGE:
BAYAKA HUNTER-GATHERERS IN CONGO PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND DANCING, WHICH HELPS THEM TO SPREAD CULTURAL TRAITS AND SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY BETWEEN DIFFERENT GROUPS.
Central Africa has been occupied by hunter-gatherer populations for hundreds of thousands of years, according to recent research based on genetic, archaeological and paleoenvironmental data. However, contemporary hunter-gatherers living in the Congo Basin speak languages that they have acquired from their agricultural neighbors, the Bantu, in recent times. This raises the question which elements of ancient cultural diversity in Central Africa stem from long-term evolution and regional cultural exchange predating agriculture, and which aspects are influenced by interactions with farming communities.
Culture, language and genes co-evolve
An international team of researchers led by Andrea Migliano from the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Zurich (UZH) has discovered previously unknown links between culture, language and genes among different hunter-gatherer populations in Central Africa. “We found that the distribution of musical instruments among hunter-gatherers correlates very strongly with those genetic segments that are of ancient origin. So, these populations were exchanging musical instruments long before there were any agricultural populations in the region,” says Migliano.
The project was developed by Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias, PhD student and first author. The timing of genetic exchanges between populations can be inferred by tracing the origins of specific genome segments. To this end, the researchers assembled genetic data from eleven Central African hunter-gatherer groups and divided their DNA into segments based on the timing of the exchanges: those introduced through introgression or exchange with Bantu populations, those from recent exchanges between hunter-gatherer populations, and those of ancient origin.
Additionally, the team compiled an extensive dataset of musical instruments and foraging tools, along with their names from historical documents and ethnographies. They then compared how the structure of cultural diversity – the similarity between groups in musical instrument and subsistence tool repertoires, based on the presence or absence of similar musical instruments – correlated with genetic diversity at different points in time.
Extensive social networks spanning thousands of kilometers
“It was surprising that, although the different Central African hunter-gatherer groups speak languages from very different families, they share a disproportionate number of words related to music. Therefore, these words can be traced back to a time before the hunter-gatherer populations adopted the languages of their Bantu neighbors,” says anthropologist Andrea Migliano.
The results suggest that extensive interactions among hunter-gatherer groups in the Congo Basin, even those separated by thousands of kilometers, influenced not only their genetic makeup but also their linguistic and cultural traits. These extensive social networks helped maintain a cultural diversity that evolved thousands of years before the arrival of the agriculture in the region. Migliano adds: “The large-scale cultural networking of modern humans has deep roots in the past, at least in Central Africa.”
Deep history of cultural and linguistic evolution among Central African hunter-gatherers
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
27-May-2024
Biobased building materials less sustainable than concrete in South Africa, experts find
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered that mycelium composites, biobased materials made from fungi and agricultural residues, can have a greater environmental impact than conventional fossil-fuel-based materials due to the high amount of electricity involved in their production.
In the findings, published today in Scientific Reports, the team show that this is further exacerbated in countries like South Africa where fossil fuel is the main source of electricity. This isn’t helped by mycelium composites’ shorter lifespan and the need for multiple replacements over the duration of long-term applications, thereby increasing their overall environmental impact.
Despite this discovery, they also concluded that the overall potential damage on the environment caused by this technology can be mitigated by incorporating alternative energy sources like firewood.
Lead author Stefania Akromah explained: “Mycelium composites are considered a sustainable alternative to traditional fossil fuel derived materials.
“However, the sustainability of these materials depends on various location-specific factors like resource availability, economic structures, cultural practices, and regulations.
“Our main focus was to determine if producing mycelium composites is sustainable in Africa and to identify which manufacturing processes have the most potential to damage the environment.”
Now team plans to evaluate the environmental impact of mycelium composite technology under various scenarios aimed at reducing the overall footprint, to conduct uncertainty analysis to verify the accuracy of the current results, and to compare the footprint of mycelium composites with other emerging green materials that are or could be used in Africa. Additionally, they are also looking to investigate the economic feasibility and social implications of the technology to provide a comprehensive evaluation of its sustainability.
Stefania continued: “Africa faces heightened vulnerability to climate change impacts owing to its limited financial resources, making it crucial to mitigate these impacts as much as possible.
“This study offers valuable insights that can be used to proactively address the potential impact of this technology on the environment and human health.
“It was interesting to find that even a technology that is generally perceived as sustainable can sometimes have a greater environmental impact than conventional fossil-fuel-based materials. This highlights the importance of life cycle assessment studies and the need to carefully consider all factors, including energy sources and lifespan, when evaluating new materials.”
“Stefania’s work just demonstrates that it’s important, when conducting LCAs, that geographical considerations, and cultural practices, are taken into account, to calculate sustainability. The right decisions can then be made to ensure that manufacturing has as low an impact as possible, while also contributing to local economies and African livelihoods.”, said Professor Steve Eichhorn, Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Composites, Science and Manufacturing (CoSEM) – from which this study was funded.
The research was conducted using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology following the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards for evaluating the environmental impact of materials or processes.
‘Potential Environmental Impact of Mycelium Composites on African Communities’ by Stefania Akromah, Neha Chandarana, Jemma L. Rowlandson and Stephen J. Eichhorn in Scientific Reports.
JOURNAL
Scientific Reports
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Data/statistical analysis
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Not applicable
ARTICLE TITLE
Potential Environmental Impact of Mycelium Composites on African Communities
Rapid urbanization in Africa transforms local food systems and threatens biodiversity
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
Since the early 2000s, Africa’s urban population has more than doubled, reaching over 600 million in 2020. If current growth continues, the urban population is expected to double again by 2050. In Africa, the annual rate of urban area expansion has surpassed the rate of urban population growth. Globally, future urban area expansion is expected to cause significant food production losses, reduce biodiversity, and increase land-use change emissions, jeopardizing human livelihoods and the natural environment.
Typically, recent research on the environmental impact of urban expansion treats it as the conversion of various land covers to urban land, focusing only on the direct effects. In a new study, published in Nature Sustainability, IIASA researchers and their colleagues demonstrate the complexity of expected urbanization and its multiple environmental impacts.
“As Africa is urbanizing the fastest, its food system is also transforming rapidly. This puts a lot of pressure on food security in what is already the most food-insecure region in the world,” notes Koen De Vos, study author and a guest research assistant in the Integrated Biospheres Futures Research Group of the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program. “In our study, we consider both direct land-use changes and indirect effects, such as agricultural displacement and dietary shifts associated with urbanization, particularly concerning rice consumption.”
The researchers developed a method to integrate all of this information using the GLOBIOM model, creating an elaborate, complex, and multidimensional study that is unprecedented in its scope. Results show that, contrary to common belief, urban area expansion has a limited impact on food production losses, as agricultural land simply expands elsewhere. At the same time, the impact on natural lands is more significant, as it encompasses not only the direct effects of urban area expansion but also the subsequent displacement of agricultural land.
The most important environmental spillover effects arise from dietary changes, particularly rice consumption. As people eat more rice in African cities, more rice needs to be produced, resulting in greater reliance on imports and local production. Consequently, this leads to an increase in methane emissions, additional loss of natural lands, changes in water usage, and biodiversity loss.
“This result adds to the growing evidence that our diets will be one of the major drivers of planetary health,” explains Marta Kozicka, a study coauthor and IIASA researcher in the Integrated Biospheres Futures Research Group.
In their study, the research team highlights that policymakers should adopt holistic approaches in the decision-making process. Integrating indirect land-use effects and dietary shifts into land-use planning and policymaking is essential to tackle future sustainability challenges.
Reference De Vos, K., Janssens, C., Jacobs, L., Campforts, B., Boere, E., Kozicka, M., Leclère, D., HavlÃk, P., Hemerijckx, L.M., Van Rompaey, A., Maertens, M., Govers, G. (2024) African food systems and biodiversity affected by urbanization via dietary shifts rather than area expansion. Nature Sustainability DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01362-2
About IIASA:
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
The results are presented at the AFROSCREEN regional symposium on May 29 and 30, 2024 in Dakar, Senegal, in the presence of all scientific, technical and financial partners, as well as CDC Africa and WHO.
Genomic sequencing, a public health tool
Today, genomic sequencing is an essential public health tool for detecting and tracking infectious pathogens with epidemic potential. A better understanding of the genome of pathogens and their genetic evolution can guide the production of diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines, leading to better control of epidemics at both local and international levels.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the disparities between continents in terms of surveillance and sequencing systems. At the end of October 2021, of the 4.6 million sequences shared on the free and public GISAID tool worldwide, only 49,000 came from the African continent, representing less than 1% of Covid-19 cases diagnosed there.
With this in mind, AFROSCREEN was designed to improve preparedness and response activities at regional level, support decision-makers in defining public health priorities in each partner country, and produce data to feed into the international public health effort.
AFROSCREEN regional symposium: review and prospects of the genomic surveillance network in Africa
On May 29 and 30, 2024, the “AFROSCREEN Regional Symposium: a genomic surveillance network for emerging pathogens” will be held in Dakar, Senegal. The event will bring together partners, CDC Africa and WHO representatives, health authorities from the countries concerned and international funding agencies. The aim of the symposium is to take stock of the project's scientific and technical achievements, and to discuss future prospects for capitalizing on this network.
Three years after its launch, the AFROSCREEN project has made it possible to:
improve the SARS-CoV-2 detection and sequencing capabilities of the 21 laboratories in the network by providing equipment (sequencers, reagents, laboratory materials). Capacity building in these laboratories has contributed to an increase in the number of sequences deposited on GISAID by countries (around 10,000 sequences deposited);
training over 150 people in charge of sequencing, analysis and data sharing, including biologists, technicians, data managers, bioinformaticians and staff in charge of surveillance and epidemiological investigations;
create and run the AFROSCREEN network of partner laboratories, comprising 25 partners in 13 African countries;
set up, reactivate or support 77 sentinel sites in 11 countries for epidemiological surveys and sample collection, as well as for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.
This network can now be rapidly mobilized in the event of the emergence or re-emergence of pathogens with high epidemic potential beyond SARS-CoV-2: influenza, Mpox, dengue, Lassa, chikungunya, Marburg, etc.
The GISAID open-access platform enables the rapid sharing of data (genetic sequences and virus-related clinical and epidemiological data) on influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses.
