March 12/2012

New rabies virus discovered in Tanzania

The virus was identified as part of a rabies surveillance research project funded by the Wellcome Trust and was investigated following an unusual incident when a child was attacked by a civet – a cat-like nocturnal mammal – in a part of the Serengeti which was thought to be rabies-free.

The samples that were collected tested positive for rabies at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Dar es Salaam. Subsequent genetic tests showed that the virus was a new type of rabies virus that had not been previously described, but was similar to a bat rabies virus isolated in the Caucasian region of Eastern Europe.

Scientists believe the new virus is likely to originate in bats and that cross-over infection to civets and other mammalian species is likely to be relatively rare. However further studies are planned to determine the extent of infection and the degree of risk to human and animal health.

Professor Sarah Cleaveland, of the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: “The vast majority of human deaths from rabies are caused by bites from domestic dogs with rabies, which can be effectively controlled through mass dog vaccination campaigns.

“This new virus is unlikely to pose a threat to humans on the scale of that of dog rabies. However this research highlights the need for vigilance and maintaining good levels of surveillance. Read More

American woman Abandons adopted Russian twins on freezing street with just a note saying: 'I've given them up'

Twins adopted by an American woman, 28, were found abandoned on a freezing Russian street with a note saying she no longer wanted them.

Sasha and Masha are just 15 months old and the 'cruelty' of the mother's rejection has led to a demand from the Kremlin's children's tsar Pavel Astakhov for a total ban on adoptions to American parents.

He branded the woman - who has not been identified and is now on the run - as an 'absolutely immoral person', and the case has been dubbed an 'outrage' by the Russian media.

It has alarming echoes of a 2010 episode in which Tennessee woman Torry Hansen sent her adopted seven-year-old Russian son Artem Saveliev on a plane back to Moscow alone with a message saying: 'I no longer wish to parent this child.'

Custodial staff in Russia's second city of St Petersburg discovered the twins - a boy and a girl - in sub-zero temperatures close to the front door of their institution. Read More

It's the Wei of the future: BBC launches cartoon Mandarin lessons to prepare children for a Chinese-dominated global economy

Children as young as four will learn to speak Mandarin thanks to a BBC series that starts today.

An animated bug called Wei, who wears rollerskates and a crash helmet, will teach young viewers basic vocabulary such as the words for 'hello', 'thank you', the names of colours and numbers up to 10.

It has been suggested that the decision to include Mandarin alongside the two other 'priority' languages - French and Spanish - was driven by calls for children to be prepared for a global economy dominated by China.

Makers of the show, which will be broadcast on CBeebies, promise to expand youngsters' horizons, 'extending their cultural knowledge and understanding of the world around them'.

Other languages featured in the 11-minute episodes include Polish, Urdu, Punjabi and Somali, as well as Welsh. Read More

3.0 Magnitude Earthquake NORTHERN CALIFORNIA - 12th Mar 2012

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake has struck Northern California at a depth of 1 km (0.6 miles Poorly constrained), the quake hit at 16:30:09 UTC Monday 12th March 2012
The epicenter was 2 km (1.2 miles) WSW from Anderson Springs, California
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Pensioner, 79, held hostage for two days is freed as knife-wielding son, 40, surrenders to police

An armed siege at a pensioner's home ended today when her 40-year-old son who held her at knife-point gave himself up.

A police spokesman said the man was talked out of the home in Sandwell, West Midlands, by police and arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment.

The 79-year-old mother is receiving medical attention at the scene but is understood not to be injured. Read More

Metalworkers cooked to death inside giant Austrian oven after door closed and 800C furnace was accidentally switched on

An Austrian metalworker accidentally switched on an oven that two colleagues were inside cleaning - leaving them to slowly cook to death.

Detectives investigating the horrific deaths in the massive oven say the pair had tried to rip the insulation off the wall of the oven and clawed at the door in a desperate bid to get free.

The tragedy happened when the automatic door of the oven at the factory owned by the Salzburger Aluminium AG company in Lenz closed.

The giant oven which reaches a temperature of 800 degrees centigrade was then switched on.

Now detectives say the two men who had been sent inside to clean the oven had actually finished the job and left before returning a second time without informing colleagues.

They also failed to instigate any of the four security measures including putting up a sign indicating that they were inside, and also failing to secure the door so that it stayed open.

As a result the door had somehow swung shut and the colleague, believing the cleaning work had finished because he had already seen his colleagues outside and noting the door was closed, had switched the oven on. Read More