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Tag: Heritage

New estimates highlight need to step up the response to hepatitis D

Lyon, France, 29 April 2020 – In a study published in the Journal of Hepatology,¹ Professor Anna Maria Geretti and Dr Alexander Stockdale from the University of Liverpool (United Kingdom), in collaboration with researchers
from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), estimate that worldwide, hepatitis D virus (HDV) affects nearly 5% of people who have a chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and that HDV
co-infection could explain about 1 in 5 cases of liver disease and liver cancer in people with HBV infection..

To map the epidemiology of HDV infection in the world, Professor Geretti and Dr Stockdale joined forces with the WHO Global Hepatitis Programme and IARC, alongside investigators in Germany, Malawi, and the United Kingdom. “Infection with HDV occurs
in about 1 in 22 cases of chronic HBV infection in the world,” Dr Stockdale says. “More high-quality data are needed, but we have identified several geographical hotspots of high prevalence of HDV infection: in Mongolia, the Republic of
Moldova, and countries in Western and Middle Africa.”

“Although it is less common than hepatitis B, hepatitis D is a serious disease that often affects underprivileged and vulnerable populations,” says Dr Meg Doherty, Director of the WHO Global Hepatitis Programme. Those who are more likely to
have HBV and HDV co-infection include people who inject drugs and people with hepatitis C virus or HIV infection. The risk of co-infection also appears to be higher in recipients of haemodialysis, men who have sex with men, and commercial sex workers.
Dr Doherty points out, “This information helps in identifying the groups with HBV among whom we should be looking for HDV.”

HDV (formerly known as the Delta agent) is a small virus – one of the smallest that is known to cause disease in humans – and can replicate only in the presence of HBV, from which HDV borrows some of its structures. Compared with people with
HBV infection alone, those who have a chronic infection with both HBV and HDV have a much higher risk of developing disease in the form of cirrhosis and liver cancer. “HDV is a significant contributor to severe liver disease and liver cancer,”
says IARC scientist Dr Catherine de Martel. “The findings from this study inform our work on the association between viral infections and cancer, which is focused on developing improved prevention strategies.”

Professor Geretti concludes, “HDV has long been neglected, because for decades the prevalence of infection remained uncertain and effective treatment was lacking. Mapping the epidemiology of the infection is just the first step. More efforts are
needed to reduce the global burden of chronic hepatitis B and develop medicines that are safe and effective against hepatitis D and are affordable enough to be deployed on a large scale to those who are most in need.”

¹ Stockdale AJ, Kreuels B, Henrion MYR, Giorgi E, Kyomuhangi I, de Martel C, Hutin Y, Geretti AM (2020). The global prevalence of hepatitis D virus infection: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Hepatol. Published online 23 April 2020;
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2020.04.008

For more information, please contact

Véronique Terrasse, Communications Group, at +33 (0)6 45 28 49 52 or terrassev@iarc.fr or IARC Communications, at com@iarc.fr

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization. Its mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for
cancer control. The Agency is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and disseminates scientific information through publications, meetings, courses, and fellowships. If you wish your name to be removed from our press release emailing
list, please write to com@iarc.fr.

About University of Liverpool

Founded in 1881 as the original ‘red brick’, the University of Liverpool is one of the UK’s leading research-intensive higher education institutions. Consistently ranked in the top 200 universities worldwide, we are a member of the prestigious
Russell Group and have a global reach and influence that reflects our academic heritage as one of the country’s largest civic institutions. For more information please visit us at www.liverpool.ac.uk

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May 9, 2020
Penang rickshaw peddlers to receive three-month aid payout

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will issue full payments for April to June to rickshaw peddlers affected by the Covid-19 outbreak next month.

State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said each rickshaw peddler would receive a sum of RM500, which included an allowance of RM300 and a one-off cash assistance of RM200.

“I have communicated with various sectors to understand the needs of the various parties and I have also conveyed the needs and recommendations to the state government to get the best help for them.

“The payout is expected to benefit about 318 peddlers,“ he said in a statement today.

The state government previously allocated RM100 a month to peddlers in the state to help those with no fixed income.

Yeoh said a total of 1,367 tour guides registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture would also receive a one-off cash assistance worth RM500 each.

“10,000 e-hailing drivers in Penang will also receive RM300 one-off assistance while 2,248 taxi drivers will benefit from an initial incentive payment of RM300 with an additional RM200 one-off.

“All of these assistance is part of the Penang People’s Aid Package announced by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow yesterday. I will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the people and sectors that need the most help will benefit, ” he said.

Yesterday, Chow announced a RM75 million People’s Aid Package to be distributed to 15 target groups involving over 400,000 recipients who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. – Bernama

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March 26, 2020
Bodies of treasure hunters buried at Gunung Jerai foothill found

GURUN: The bodies of two men digging for treasure at the foot of Gunung Jerai have been found today after they were buried under 15m of earth in a landslide yesterday afternoon.

Kedah Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Senior Assistant Commissioner Sayani Saidon said the body of Roslan Saidin, 52, was spotted at 10.49am and recovered at 11.36am.

“The body of the second victim (Md Noor Shaari, 68) was found at 12.53pm and was retrieved at 1.01pm, while the entire operation was over at 1.15pm,“ she told reporters after a search and rescue operation at the scene of the incident, here today.

She said even though the two victims were found one to two metres apart, it took a while to excavate as the second body was buried deeper.

“We did not experience any difficulties during the operation due to the favourable weather conditions and the locations of the victims were detected by a tracker dog unit.

“Two excavators were used in this operation and before digging to find the victims, we have to stabilise the soil structure first,“ Sayani said.

In the 6pm Sunday incident, the victims were said to have been covered by falling earth due to a ground movement while excavating in 12m deep pit to find the treasure allegedly stored at the foothills of the mountain.

Kuala Muda district police chief Assistant Commissioner Adzli Abu Shah said the issue was serious and advised the public not to be fooled by the rumours.

“It is learned that there were looting of heritage properties at the location and I urge the public not to be involved in such unlawful activities.

“Furthermore, according to the National Heritage Department (JWN), the activity is an offence under Section 86 of the National Heritage Act which provides for a fine of up to RM50,000 or jailed up to five years,“ he said.

He said the authorities however classified the case as sudden death and the bodies of the victims were sent to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star for post-mortem.

He said the excavated area would also be rehabilitated to ensure safety at the location. – Bernama

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March 23, 2020
Rich and Varied Heritage

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India is always remembered as a land of diverse cultures. The geographic position, climate and the extent of exposure to foreign cultures have totally influenced the traditions and culture of the different regions at different periods. The greatness of Indian culture has been in adopting the best from all the invaders and intermingling their customs and styles with the existing and this is visible in all aspects of culture.

Indian culture have always been attached to the great river systems, the watersheds of the Indus and Ganges, the Deccan plateau and South India.

Secular India is home to Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other innumerable religious traditions. Hinduism is the dominant religious faith followed by the majority of the population. Colorful traditional festivals are almost 400 that have been happening for centuries. Not a single day passes by without a festival in one region or the other. It is an occasion for men to put on a new traditional costumes and jewelery.

Traditional wears like the silk saris, cholis have fascinated many a traveler over the centuries. Men in villages are still more comfortable in traditional attire like kurtas, lungis, dhotis and pyjamas.

Indian literature, Indian poetry, Indian epic poetry Ramayana and Mahabharata, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture- everything is depicted and interpreted through religion and philosophy.

Well known classical styles of dancing on the Indian stage are Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Odissi, Kathak, and Manipuri. Folk dances also contribute to the plethora of Indian dances. The common root of all classical dance forms can be traced to Natyasastra, ascribed to Sage Bharata who is believed to have lived between the 1st and 2nd Century AD

18 Indian languages with 1600 regional dialects are spoken and the linguistic lines are drawn by State boundaries Besides Hindi and English, the other popular languages are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Oriya, Telugu and Urdu

Indian Cuisine skill lies in the subtle blending of a variety of spices to make various delicious recipes. These spices are used as home medicines too.

A typical North-Indian meal would consist of wheat. Rice is the staple diet in South Indian food. Coconut and oil are essential ingredients in all the meal. A meal is rounded off with betel leaf which holds an assortment of digestive part.

Women are the mirrors of culture of a society. Indian women are becoming increasingly visible and successful in the professional and public sphere. Whether it is Barkha Dutt, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, they have all heralded the arrival of Indian women professionals.

Latest outsourcing of technological agility, quality, flexibility, cost control, time-to-market and competitive advantage have made India well known in the business world.

India exports software to 95 countries around the world, outsource high quality brain-power 82% of the US companies ranked India as their first choice for software outsourcing.

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Source by Shobana Sridhar

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January 28, 2020