ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating socio-economic effect on the country, including the death of more than 102 000 people, many of whom were the breadwinners of their families. This could not have happened at a worse time, since the economy of the country was in a recession even before the pandemic. The situation is exacerbated by the highest level of unemployment in the world, widespread nepotism and corruption, the plundering of state coffers and the favouring of the business interests of BRICS partners by government officials over those of South Africans. The government's commitment to prioritising their BRICS partners' business interests over those of the South African people contributes to food insecurity in South Africa. This includes the export of coal from mines in Mpumalanga to China and India, while nothing is done to rehabilitate the region, which was once known for its agriculture. The government handed over to the Chinese company SAEMB the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, where four opencast mines, a 3 300 MW power station and an iron smelting plant will be developed. This development, however, requires the government to build a dam that will harvest 60% of the annual runoff of the Limpopo River, which in turn will have a devastating effect on farmers and communities downriver in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique who irrigate their crops with water from the Limpopo River. The same kowtowing of the South African government to its BRICS partners can be seen in the reluctance with which the government responds to the plundering of our marine resources by Chinese fishing boats and abalone smugglers. The unfair competition imposed on local chicken farmers by distributers of dumped chicken, mainly from Brazil, with the approval of government, caused the closure of several South African chicken farms and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of jobs along the supply chain. The reluctance of the government to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine war is partly linked to the fact that South Africa imports fertilizer and wheat from Russia. South Africa, a water-scarce country, is more vulnerable than many other countries to the effects of global climate change. The abnormal rain pattern, that is characterised by severe droughts in certain regions and heavy rainstorms and floods in others, has a devastating impact on the already economically struggling South African community. Abroad, attempts are made to ensure that mean temperatures do not exceed the pre-industrial level mark by more than 1,5 degrees C. South Africa, however, heats up twice as fast as many other countries, and has already exceeded the pre-industrial era level by more than 2 degrees C;it will continue to get warmer and drier, causing most of the country to become desertified by 2050. A third of South African rivers do not reach the sea anymore because of over ion of water from rivers;similarly, there is extensive ion of groundwater. Together farming and forestry account for 70% of water use in South Africa. This over ion of water, worsened by the heat and aridification resulting from climate change, led to the degradation of most wetland and estuarine ecosystems and the drying and burning of irreplaceable peatlands. These political, socioeconomic and environmental calamities create the worst possible scenario for food security in South Africa. Already one in four people in Africa suffers from food insecurity and this number will rapidly rise in the wake of global climate change, which will result in the loss of two thirds of arable land by 2025. South Africa is nearing socioeconomic collapse. This, in conjunction with continuing droughts, storms and rising temperatures associated with global climate change, will lead to food insecurity, starvation and anarchy. The effect of global climate change will make it progressively more difficult to produce enough food for the South African population. It is imperative that South Africans consider alternative methods of food production, including water use. Entomophagy is widely practiced throughout the world, but is especially prevalent in South America, the Far East and Africa, where approximately 2 billion people use 1 900 species of insects as food. The nutritional value of insects is unsurpassed and, in some respects, even more nutritious than meat. The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens are a source of high-quality proteins and unsaturated fats that are used worldwide as animal feed. Insects are a source of minerals such as iron, calcium, copper, zinc and magnesium and high levels of vitamin A, B 2 and C. The ecological and socioeconomic benefits of using BSF larvae instead of grain as feed for fish, chickens and pigs are enormous. BSF larvae can be bred almost for free by feeding it a wide variety of organic waste, including rotten vegetables and fruit, manure and even carcases that would have ended up in rubbish dumps and would have contributed to the methane and carbon dioxide pollution emanating from such dumps. The water use of BSF is negligible, because the water in the organic waste that would have been discarded in waste dumps is sufficient to sustain them. BSF affords the subsistence and small-scale farmer the opportunity to raise chickens at a lower input cost than ever before. The conversion of feed to food in insects is far greater than that of chickens, pigs or cattle. In the case of the house cricket (Acheta domestica) the conversion rate of feed to food is twice as effective as that of chickens, four times as effective as pigs and twelve times greater than that of cattle. Compared to conventional farming, this implies that with insects far more exceptionally nutritious food can be produced in a smaller area, with little water and no poison or fertilizer whatsoever, while waste and the associated methane gas are removed from the environment at the same time. A few South African companies have already seen the potential of insects as food and feed. Even though insect farming is still in its infancy, it is already generating jobs and new socioeconomic opportunities in South Africa. Insect farming, especially BSF farming, will in the near future probably grow in popularity all over the world as an affordable, healthy, ecologically sustainable alternative food source that will, directly or indirectly, be consumed by humans. BSF afford the environmentally conscious homesteader who wants to produce livestock such as chickens, fish, or pigs in a sustainable manner an unsurpassed environmentally friendly alternative. BSF will also give the desperate, impoverished and starving population of the future an alternative free source of feed that will offer them economic prospects and food security.
ABSTRACT
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic used in human medicine and veterinary medicine. Moreover, its use intensified in Brazil during the pandemic as an early treatment for COVID-19. Bearing in mind that drugs enter the environment via different pathways, ecotoxicological studies are essential to understanding the effects of these compounds on biota. The aim of this study was to perform a bibliometric analysis of the ecotoxicological effects of ivermectin. Searches were conducted using different English, Portuguese and Spanish descriptors in different databases within the 2010-2021 time window. The papers found were subjected to inclusion and exclusion criteria and subsequently studied. Fourteen publications, with records going all the way back to 2012, were assessed. According to their type, most papers were classified as original studies and revealed that the predominant test organisms were flies. In terms of subject areas, the studies fell within the fields of Environmental Science, Toxicology, Molecular Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Pharmacy and Multidisciplinary Chemistry. In all of the papers studied, there was a case of association of researchers from different countries as well as a predominance of English manuscripts. Word cloud analysis based on the keywords highlighted a concern with the impacts of this antiparasitic on the biota present in manure. As a result of the survey conducted, environmental monitoring of this substance and the performance of experiments that contemplate the current situation of occurrence of this drug in different environmental matrices are recommended.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating socio-economic effect on the country, including the death of more than 102 000 people, many of whom were the breadwinners of their families. This could not have happened at a worse time, since the economy of the country was in a recession even before the pandemic. The situation is exacerbated by the highest level of unemployment in the world, widespread nepotism and corruption, the plundering of state coffers and the favouring of the business interests of BRICS partners by government officials over those of South Africans. The government's commitment to prioritising their BRICS partners' business interests over those of the South African people contributes to food insecurity in South Africa. This includes the export of coal from mines in Mpumalanga to China and India, while nothing is done to rehabilitate the region, which was once known for its agriculture. The government handed over to the Chinese company SAEMB the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, where four opencast mines, a 3 300 MW power station and an iron smelting plant will be developed. This development, however, requires the government to build a dam that will harvest 60% of the annual runoff of the Limpopo River, which in turn will have a devastating effect on farmers and communities downriver in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique who irrigate their crops with water from the Limpopo River. The same kowtowing of the South African government to its BRICS partners can be seen in the reluctance with which the government responds to the plundering of our marine resources by Chinese fishing boats and abalone smugglers. The unfair competition imposed on local chicken farmers by distributers of dumped chicken, mainly from Brazil, with the approval of government, caused the closure of several South African chicken farms and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of jobs along the supply chain. The reluctance of the government to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine war is partly linked to the fact that South Africa imports fertilizer and wheat from Russia. South Africa, a water-scarce country, is more vulnerable than many other countries to the effects of global climate change. The abnormal rain pattern, that is characterised by severe droughts in certain regions and heavy rainstorms and floods in others, has a devastating impact on the already economically struggling South African community. Abroad, attempts are made to ensure that mean temperatures do not exceed the pre-industrial level mark by more than 1,5 °C. South Africa, however, heats up twice as fast as many other countries, and has already exceeded the pre-industrial era level by more than 2 °C;it will continue to get warmer and drier, causing most of the country to become desertified by 2050. A third of South African rivers do not reach the sea anymore because of over ion of water from rivers;similarly, there is extensive ion of groundwater. Together farming and forestry account for 70% of water use in South Africa. This over ion of water, worsened by the heat and aridification resulting from climate change, led to the degradation of most wetland and estuarine ecosystems and the drying and burning of irreplaceable peatlands. These political, socioeconomic and environmental calamities create the worst possible scenario for food security in South Africa. Already one in four people in Africa suffers from food insecurity and this number will rapidly rise in the wake of global climate change, which will result in the loss of two thirds of arable land by 2025. South Africa is nearing socioeconomic collapse. This, in conjunction with continuing droughts, storms and rising temperatures associated with global climate change, will lead to food insecurity, starvation and anarchy. The effect of global climate change will make it progressively more difficult to produce enough food for the South African population. It is imperative that South Africans consider alternative methods of food production, including water use. Entomophagy is widel practiced throughout the world, but is especially prevalent in South America, the Far East and Africa, where approximately 2 billion people use 1 900 species of insects as food. The nutritional value of insects is unsurpassed and, in some respects, even more nutritious than meat. The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens are a source of high-quality proteins and unsaturated fats that are used worldwide as animal feed. Insects are a source of minerals such as iron, calcium, copper, zinc and magnesium and high levels of vitamin A, B2 and C. The ecological and socioeconomic benefits of using BSF larvae instead of grain as feed for fish, chickens and pigs are enormous. BSF larvae can be bred almost for free by feeding it a wide variety of organic waste, including rotten vegetables and fruit, manure and even carcases that would have ended up in rubbish dumps and would have contributed to the methane and carbon dioxide pollution emanating from such dumps. The water use of BSF is negligible, because the water in the organic waste that would have been discarded in waste dumps is sufficient to sustain them. BSF affords the subsistence and small-scale farmer the opportunity to raise chickens at a lower input cost than ever before. The conversion of feed to food in insects is far greater than that of chickens, pigs or cattle. In the case of the house cricket (Acheta domestica) the conversion rate of feed to food is twice as effective as that of chickens, four times as effective as pigs and twelve times greater than that of cattle. Compared to conventional farming, this implies that with insects far more exceptionally nutritious food can be produced in a smaller area, with little water and no poison or fertilizer whatsoever, while waste and the associated methane gas are removed from the environment at the same time. A few South African companies have already seen the potential of insects as food and feed. Even though insect farming is still in its infancy, it is already generating jobs and new socioeconomic opportunities in South Africa. Insect farming, especially BSF farming, will in the near future probably grow in popularity all over the world as an affordable, healthy, ecologically sustainable alternative food source that will, directly or indirectly, be consumed by humans. BSF afford the environmentally conscious homesteader who wants to produce livestock such as chickens, fish, or pigs in a sustainable manner an unsurpassed environmentally friendly alternative. BSF will also give the desperate, impoverished and starving population of the future an alternative free source of feed that will offer them economic prospects and food security. [ FROM AUTHOR]
ABSTRACT
Background: Due to the confirmation of the presence of the novel coronavirus in the feces and municipal sewerage system, and the feeding of domestic insects from fecal matter, as well as the ability of these insects to mechanically transmit microbes from the sewerage system. This study was aimed at molecular evaluation of the novel coronavirus infection isolated on cockroaches and flies collected from Kamkar-Arabnia Hospital in Qom City, Iran. Methods: Totally, 18 samples; (12 samples cockroaches and 6 flies) from the external surface of cockroaches and houseflies as well as their digestive system were prepared. After designed and synthetized exogenous heterologous internal control, the RNA was extracted to investigate the contamination of these samples with the novel coronavirus. To detect the virus, the E and RdRp genes were identified. Results: Investigation of coronavirus E gene using the multiplex one-step qPCR technique on the collected samples showed an amplification plot in CT= 35.70 related to the internal surfaces of cockroaches collected from the treatment and sick room of the hospital. Also, the design of internal control to ensure the accuracy of the extraction process was successful. Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study regarding detecting the presence of the coronavirus infection in the digestive system of domestic insects such as American cockroaches and considering their ability to mechanically transmit viruses, it is recommended to control the domestic insects that are in close contact with humans in crowded places such as hospitals and health centers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
The unique biology of flies and their omnipresence in the environment of people and animals makes them ideal candidates to be important vectors of antimicrobial resistance genes. Consequently, there has been increasing research on the bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes that are carried by flies and their role in the spread of resistance. In this review, we describe the current knowledge on the transmission of bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes by flies, and the roles flies might play in the maintenance, transmission, and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance.
ABSTRACT
This study highlights the importance of insect evidence by evaluating 949 insect-associated cases, including 139 entomological reports, from 2001 to 2019 at the Institute of Legal Medicine Frankfurt/Germany. With a high number of cases in the summer months and a low number in the colder season, 78.5% of the bodies were found indoors, regardless of year or month. In more than 80% of the cases, where PMI information was available (n = 704), the presumed PMI ranged from 1 to 21 days, a period during which entomological evidence can provide a day-specific estimate of PMImin. In cases where insects have been identified to species level (n = 279), most bodies were infested by one or two species with a maximum of 10 different species. Overall, a total of 55 insect species were found. Information on biology, activity and distribution of the most abundant taxa is given and applied for 5 case histories estimating different PMImins of up to over 6 months. Despite proved importance and scientific development of forensic entomology, insects are still rarely considered as a tool in forensic case work. The main reasons are a lack of awareness and (too) late involvement of a forensic entomologist. Our work shows that forensic entomology is an independent discipline that requires specialist expertise.
Subject(s)
Forensic Entomology , Insecta , Animals , Cadaver , Humans , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a recently emerged coronavirus that is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 in humans is characterized by a wide range of symptoms that range from asymptomatic to mild or severe illness including death. SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and is transmitted via the oral-nasal route through droplets and aerosols, or through contact with contaminated fomites. House flies are known to transmit bacterial, parasitic and viral diseases to humans and animals as mechanical vectors. Previous studies have shown that house flies can mechanically transmit coronaviruses, such as turkey coronavirus; however, the house fly's role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission has not yet been explored. The goal of this work was to investigate the potential of house flies to mechanically transmit SARS-CoV-2. For this purpose, it was determined whether house flies can acquire SARS-CoV-2, harbor live virus and mechanically transmit the virus to naive substrates and surfaces. METHODS: Two independent studies were performed to address the study objectives. In the first study, house flies were tested for infectivity after exposure to SARS-CoV-2-spiked medium or milk. In the second study, environmental samples were tested for infectivity after contact with SARS-CoV-2-exposed flies. During both studies, samples were collected at various time points post-exposure and evaluated by SARS-CoV-2-specific RT-qPCR and virus isolation. RESULTS: All flies exposed to SARS-CoV-2-spiked media or milk substrates were positive for viral RNA at 4 h and 24 h post-exposure. Infectious virus was isolated only from the flies exposed to virus-spiked milk but not from those exposed to virus-spiked medium. Moreover, viral RNA was detected in environmental samples after contact with SARS-CoV-2 exposed flies, although no infectious virus was recovered from these samples. CONCLUSIONS: Under laboratory conditions, house flies acquired and harbored infectious SARS-CoV-2 for up to 24 h post-exposure. In addition, house flies were able to mechanically transmit SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA to the surrounding environment up to 24 h post-exposure. Further studies are warranted to determine if house fly transmission occurs naturally and the potential public health implications of such events.