Tag Archives: careers
No Mers from pasteurised camel products: Experts
No Mers from pasteurised camel products: Experts Amanda Fisher (amanda@khaleejtimes.com) / 14 August 2013 With a link established between camels and the deadly coronavirus that has killed 46 people, scientists are at pains to reassure the public camel products are still fit for consumption. In the wake of news that scientists in the UAE, the Netherlands and Germany have discovered anti-bodies from the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome — a relative of Sars — in dromedary camels, fears have been mounting amongst both the public and camel owners about the safety of consuming camel products. Since last year there have been 94 confirmed Mers cases, including five in the UAE, which led to the death of an elderly Emirati man from Abu Dhabi — who already had cancer. Dubai-based Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) virologist Renate Wernery, who is working on the international research alongside husband and CVRL scientific director Dr Ulli Wernery, said local camel owners had “expressed concern”. However, the husband and wife team have assured all camel products in the country are completely safe — as long as they are pasteurised. “The camel milk and camel milk products that go to the public are pasteurised, and any virus, including the coronavirus dies off — that is a scientific fact — at 56 degrees Celsius. Pasteurisation happens at a much higher temperature.” Pasteurisation occurs between temperatures of about 63 and 75 degrees Celsius. “The public is concerned now that there is an insecurity from consuming products from the camel, which is absolutely not valid. Everything is safe, especially from the market here.” Dr Ulli Wernery said the presence of Mers antibodies in camels could even be a good thing. “People have confused the antibodies which have been found in the camels with the virus but the virus has not been found in camels. Camels developed antibodies against the virus which protect them from the disease, it’s very harmless, it’s good even — (the camels are) protected from the virus.” It was not clear how or when camels had come into contact with the Mers coronavirus, though one theory suggested the link had come from bats “but maybe it comes from rats or mice in the desert, who knows?”. “(Camels) have connected to the virus some point during their lives, but we don’t know when — it could be 10 years ago,” Dr Ulli Wernery said. And if camel populations were really hosting the virus, the Wernerys should know about it — the avid camel milk fans, who drink the milk daily, work closely with a large population of camels. “I have done more than 1,000 (post mortems) on camels and I’m still very fit. I really come into contact very closely and nothing has happened…I’m not worried at all,” Dr Ulli Wernery said. Renate Wernery said camels had “very aggressive, robust” immune systems, which meant they had antibodies to many diseases — sometimes diseases that had never even manifested. However, talk of where the highly contagious virus started and how it had transmitted to humans was “speculation”. “Nobody knows yet where the source of the virus is, but CVRL is of course interested to solve the whole mystery. We will keep working with international researchers, this is our duty as scientists…we have to find out more about it, but nobody should be afraid at the moment to use camel products.” While some of the people who had contracted Mers had had direct contact with camels, including the Emirati man who died after treating a sick camel, most had pre-existing diseases such as diabetes or cancer. The scientists’ have been backed up by the World Health Organisation, which states on its website most human cases did not have a history of direct contact with camels. “It is unlikely that transmission of the Mers-CoV to people occurs through direct exposure to an infected camel, as very few of the cases have reported a camel exposure.” The WHO stated the route of transmission to humans may be indirect, and recommended people avoid contact with “obviously sick” animals, including camels. “Animal products processed appropriately through cooking or pasteurisation are safe for consumption but should also be handled with care.” His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, sponsors all work conducted at CVRL. Continue reading
Smitten more by drugs than bugs
Smitten more by drugs than bugs Afkar Abdullah / 13 August 2013 Come summer, bed bugs, cockroaches, ants, rodents and all sorts of unwanted guests decide to come calling, testing the nerves of people. While some residents ignore them and do not get bugged by them, the majority want to ‘finish them off’ instead of spending sleepless nights, but know not who will and how and when they can do it. For, master survivors as they are, it is not easy to ‘finish them off’ and they keep resurfacing a few months after each laborious pest control exercise. At times, one feels the whole world is conspiring to save these creatures as one could be prosecuted for manslaughter or negligence if the exercise goes horribly wrong as in the case of Iraqi girl Farah Ebrahim who died of pesticide poisoning in Sharjah on July 1 this year. Now, it has become a tussle between two types of fear: the fear of pests bugging us day in, day out and the fear of consequences like deaths of people, especially since the field of pest control has become a wilderness these days with illegal firms and individuals offering the service using chemicals which are hazardous and banned. Faced with pertinent questions about their role after a string of deaths and illnesses of people because of pest control over the years not only in the emirate but in other emirates as well, Sharjah authorities have intensified efforts to prevent pesticide poisoning and inform the public of their efforts. Speaking to Khaleej Times , Riyadh Al Alian, Deputy Director-General of the Sharjah Municipality, said 60 companies have been certified by the municipality to provide pest control services in the emirate. People must not hire the services of others. These companies, accredited and licensed by the municipality, are authorised to use only certain types of pesticides after ensuring that their employees are familiar with the methods of use and their dangers to human lives and environment. The municipality ensures these by enforcing certain regulations and standards on the pest control firms and by regular checks, he said. He added that all pesticides permitted for use are registered with the Ministry of Environment and Water. Restricted pesticides are used with permission and under certain conditions. However, unlicensed individuals use banned pesticides despite the best efforts to prevent their entry into the country, said Al Alian. These often lead to poisoning like the death of the Iraqi girl and the hospitalisation of her mother and brother after inhaling fumes of aluminium phosphide used in another flat in their building. What residents can do “I know all residents are worried because of the repetition of this type of accidents and many residents call the municipality and ask what is the municipality doing to prevent the entry of prohibited chemicals and exposing the people to harm. “The answer to this question is that there’s a list of companies licensed by the municipality to practise pest control. These companies are not using chemicals that are banned and restricted. The people must ask for the municipality licence before hiring a company to do pest control in their houses to avoid harm,” said Al Alian. People can also make sure that the company is using the permitted chemicals (See the table). If they find any banned chemicals, call the police who will seize the chemicals and prosecute the culprits, he added. And in case of suspected pesticide poisoning, immediately call the police and the paramedics. Dr Saqr Al Mualla, Executive Director of Al Qasimi Hospital, said, “Our team of professionals is frequently being updated on the cases and we are well prepared. We would like to stress that it is very important for those being affected by pesticides to immediately call the paramedics and police. The longer the patient waits, the higher the effects of these chemicals that can result in death.” Police efforts The police, meanwhile, said they are making all efforts, in coordination with the municipality and other authorities concerned and the public, to detect the places where prohibited chemicals which are used as pesticides are stored, a top officer said. Finding them and confirming the nature of the chemicals require a lot of research and inspections. The police also coordinate with the Customs authorities to prevent the entry of such chemicals into the country, though some still make an appearance. During recent inspections, the police found out that a lot of unlicensed and fake pest control companies were distributing business cards at flats in residential buildings offering the services. Their employees are illegals and absconders. Following the recently issued decree by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and the Ruler of Sharjah, prohibiting distribution of posters and advertisements in the public and private areas, the police have intensified surveillance in all areas to curb such practice. More than 70 illegals practising distributing flyers and business cards in residential and commercial buildings were rounded up, the officer said. Individuals and companies that run such businesses of hire their services will be fined by the municipality and the police are authorised to prosecute them, he warned. Tough penalties The officer said the penalties for this type of violation are listed in the Federal Decree No. 41 for year 1992. This law lists the prohibited pesticides and provides that the trading, storing, possession, transportation and offering of these prohibited pesticides are forbidden. The breach of the law will attract a penalty of not more than six months’ imprisonment plus fines ranging from Dh20,000 to Dh100,000 If the breach of the law caused the death of a human being or health injury, Articles 342 and 343 of the penal code shall apply as under “mistakenly causing the death of a human being”, the penalty for which shall be imprisonment for not less than a year to not more than seven years and/or fine which would be around Dh10,000. – afkarali@khaleejtimes.com Norms for firms Following the last two cases of pesticide poisoning, the Sharjah Municipality has recently tightened the licensing procedures for companies offering pest control services. Under these, the company must first get a preliminary licence from the Economic Department for a period of three months, after which a Municipal Review will be conducted by the Department of Solid Waste. For this, the company must have a pest control engineer who has any of the following qualifications: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Health, Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering, Bachelor of Chemical Engineering or a certificate to prove an equivalent qualification. The engineer will be subjected to a test. If the person passes the test, the company is given permission by the municipality to practise “anti-insect activity”. In the absence of such an engineer with the company, the company is given a temporary permit for a period of four months with the payment of an insurance amount, till it appoints a qualified engineer. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com List of permitted pesticides Pesticide Name Use/effects Icon Thermal fogging to combat flying insects (Flies like mosquitoes and Alhamosh sand flies) Vectron Tetra cipzapi Sprinkled to kill crawling insects and larvae and collect flying insects Proteocap Aquahelfos ABTE 500 EC Anti-mosquito larvae Mosquito dunks Growth regulator SOLFAC UL Sprayed to control flying insects Detral Suber GokiLath LF Snake out To expel snakes Racumin Powder Rodent control in the palm trees, sewage and other places NocuRat Wax Blocks Siege PRO Used against ants SOLFAC10% w/w passt Quick Bayt To fight flies Atlast Maxforce GEL To fight German cockroaches Continue reading
It’s a pricey affair
It’s a pricey affair Staff Reporter / 13 August 2013 Students in the UAE continue to opt for engineering and business programmes, new research confirms — though the UAE is the most expensive place to attend university in emerging economies. According to the research by HSBC Bank, business and engineering are the two most popular degrees amongst university students in the UAE. The research was done in eight key markets around the world and it examined the most popular university courses, the cost of studying and comparisons between different social and economic factors driving these choices. It revealed that students in new or emerging markets were much more likely to study vocational subjects at university than their counterparts in developed countries. The UAE, in particular, has among the highest proportions of individuals choosing vocational subjects, with 84 per cent of students in the country’s top ten courses selecting Business, Engineering, Law, Medical & Health Sciences and IT to study. In the UK, USA and Canada, the trend is opposite with more students opting for non-vocational courses, including humanities and social sciences with fewer than 60 per cent choosing vocational courses. Economic activities in each country appeared to affect the choice of programmes opted for. Students in the UAE tend to enroll in courses that lead to specific in-demand jobs in the country, which is seen as an important route to good careers and financial prosperity over the course of a lifetime. With infrastructure and construction spending to reach more than Dh480 billion by 2016, nearly double the amount in 2011, students are looking to be part of the UAE’s ongoing growth, which is driving interest in Business and Engineering courses. One of the key insights highlighted by the research is that while the cost of Higher Education is higher in developed countries, notably 81 per cent of GDP per person in countries such as Canada, there is less emphasis on studying courses that lead to a greater “return on investment” in terms of long-term job prospects. Students in economies such as the UK, USA and Canada are being drawn to courses that support their ageing demographic populations, such as Medicine, Nursing and Social Sciences. In contrast, students in emerging economies such as the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong are more interested in courses that develop skills to meet the growing needs of boom sectors such as Engineering. In the UAE, the cost of studying is equivalent to 51 per cent of GDP per person and an average of $27,375 per year including university fees and living expenses — the highest amongst the emerging economies. When considering the costs of education in the country, students look to reap the benefits of a degree that provides a greater “return on investment” in terms of graduate employment. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited’s head of retail banking and wealth management in the UAE Rick Crossman said: “As higher education increasingly becomes one of the most important investments people can make in their lifetimes, either for themselves or their children, they have to realise the importance of being financially prepared for this goal. This is particularly pertinent in the UAE where we see a greater focus on vocational degrees, which require significant investment.” – muaz@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
