Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Karl Fischer Titration:The Principle and Procedure of The Method
Karl Fischer Titration:The Principle and Procedure of The Method
00510013 Xu Kerui
1.Introduction
Karl Fischer Titration is a widely used method for determining the micro amount of
water in a variety of products. Since its invention by the German petroleum chemist
Karl Fischer in the 1930's, the iodometric titration method that bears his name has
become an increasingly popular analytical technique for quantifying water in a variety
of industries. During this time, Karl Fischer titration has evolved from an esoteric
novelty to a widely used instrumental method employed in Research & Development,
Production, and Quality Control. Karl Fischer titration has been included in most key
international Pharmacopeias, as well as in ISO 9000, SOPs, and ASTM guidelines. In
this paper the principle and procedure of Karl Fischer Titration will be primarily
discussed in detail.
The popularity of the Karl Fischer titration is due in large part to several critical
advantages that it holds over other methods of quantifying water, including:
1.High accuracy and precision
2.Selectivity for water
3.Small sample quantities required
4.Easy sample preparation
5.Short analysis duration
6.Nearly unlimited measuring range (1ppm to 100%)
7.Suitability for analyzing solids, liquids, and gases
8.Independence of presence of other volatiles
9.Suitability for automation
2.The principle of Karl Fischer Titration
2.1 Fundamental Reaction
The fundamental principle behind the Karl Fischer Titration is based on the Bunsen
Reaction between iodine and sulfur dioxide in an aqueous medium shown below:
I2+ SO2+2H2O . 2HI+ H2SO4
Karl Fischer discovered that this reaction could be modified to be used for the
determination of water in a non-aqueous system containing an excess of sulfer dioxide.
He used a primary alcohol (methanol) as the solvent, and a base (pyridine) as the
buffering agent. So the reagent changed into:
py ·I2+ py ·SO2+H2O+ py . 2py ·HI+ py ·SO3
2.2 The Function of Pyridine
In classical Karl Fischer Reaction pyridine is used as a basic reagent. And as a
ligand it can complex the I2 and SO2, which can lower the vapor pressure of both I2
and SO2, shifting the equilibrium further to the right of the reaction equation.
2.3The Function of Anhydrous Methanol
During the titration py ·SO3 can reacts with H2O ,which varies the stoichiometry
of H2O and I2 from 1:1 to 2:1:
py+·SO3– +H2O . C5H5NH +SO4H–
To prevent such side reaction, excessive anhydrous methanol is added as it can
react with py +·SO3–, which lower the concentration of py +·SO3–
CH3OH +py+·SO3–.C5H5N(H)SO4CH3
2.4 The advancement of Karl Fischer Reaction
Classical Karl Fischer reagent contained pyridine, a noxious carcinogen, as the base.
The reagents most frequently used today are pyridine-free and contain imidazole or
primary amines instead. And the reactive alcohol methanol can be replaced by
2-(2-Ethoxyethoxy)ethanol or another suitable alcohol. The reaction can be
summarized by this equation:
ROH+SO2+R’N.[R’NH]SO3R+H2O+I2+2R’N.2[R’NH]I+[R’NH]SO4R
In this reaction, the alcohol reacts with sulfur dioxide (SO2) and base to form an
intermediate alkyl sulfite salt, which is then oxidized by iodine to an alkyl sulfate salt.
This oxidization reaction consumes water.
3.Titration procedure
3.1 Preparation for titration
Before the titration being carried out, some preparing work should be done. Mostly
the pH of the sample solution, the standardization of KF reagent and the pre-treatment
of sample is concerned.
3.1.1 Select a proper pH range
Karl Fischer Titration is sensitive to the pH and the rate of the reaction depends on
the pH value of the solvent, or working medium. When pH is between 5 and 8,the
titration proceeds normally. However, when the pH is lower than 5, the titration speed
is very slow, On the other hand, when pH is higher than 8, titration rate is fast, but
only due to an interfering etherification side reaction which produce water, resulting
in an vanishing endpoint. Thus, the optimal pH range for the Karl Fischer Reaction is
from 5 to 8, and highly acidic or basic samples need to be buffered to bring the overall
pH into that range.
3.1.2 Standardization of KF reagent
Karl Fischer reagent decompose on standing. Because decomposition is particularly
rapid immediately after preparation , it is common practice to prepare the reagent a
day or two before it is to be used. Ordinarily, its strength must be standardized against
a standard solution of water in methanol or the solid sample of
(CHOH)2(COONa)2 ·2H2O.
It is obvious that great care must be exercised to keep atmospheric moisture from
contaminating the Karl Fischer reagent and the sample. All glassware must be
carefully dried before use, and the standard solution must be stored out of contact
with air. It is also necessary to minimize contact between the atmosphere and the
solution during the titration.
3.1.3 Pre-treatment of the titrand
As the property of titrand differs from one to another, Karl Fischer Titration can be
directly applied to only part of the materials to be titrated. For the rest there must be
some treatment brought into the method to eliminate the interfering factors. For
example, the hydrosulfide in the sample, causing a higher result of the titration by a
red-ox reaction with I2, must be removed in a addition reaction by adding alkene.
Under most circumstances, the interfering factors includes:
a. The sample itself, not water only, reacts with Karl Fischer reagent.
b. incomplete reaction, usually caused by incomplete extract of the water
in sample.
c. uncertain reaction.
3.2 Volumetric Karl Fischer Titration method
In volumetric Karl Fischer, iodine is added mechanically to a solvent containing the
sample by the titrator’s burette during the titration. Water is quantified on the basis of
the volume of Karl Fischer reagent consumed.
Volumetric is best suited for determination of water content in the range of 100
ppm to 100%.
There are two main types of Karl Fischer Titration reagent system.
a. In one-component volumetric KF, the titrating reagent (also known as a
CombiTitrant, or a Composite) contains all of the chemicals needed for the
Karl Fischer Reaction, namely iodine, sulfur dioxide, and the base, dissolved
in a suitable alcohol. Methanol is typically used as the working medium in
the titration cell. One-component volumetric reagents are easier to handle,
and are usually less expensive than two-component reagent.
b. In two-component volumetric KF, the titrating agent (usually known as the
Titrant) contains only iodine and methanol, while the Solvent containing the
other Karl Fischer Reaction component is used as the working medium in
the titration cell. Two-component reagents have better long-term stability
and faster titration time than one-component reagents, but are usually more
costly, and have lower solvent capacity.
A volumetric titrator is usually applied in practical work and it performs the
following three key functions:
1. It dispenses KF titrating reagent containing iodine into the cell using the
burette
2. It detects the endpoint of the titration using the double platinum pin indicator
electrode
3. It calculates the end result based on the volume of KF reagent dispensed using
the on-board microprocessor
3.3 Coulometric Karl Fischer Titration method
In coulometric Karl Fischer, iodine is generated electrochemically in situ during the
titration. Water is quantified on the basis of the total charge passed (Q), as measured
by current (amperes) and time (seconds), according to the following relationship:
Q = 1 C (Coulomb) = 1 A x 1 s where 1 mg H2O = 10.72 C
Coulometry is best suited for determination of water content in the range of 1 ppm to
5%.
There are two main types of coulometric KFT reagent systems:
a. In conventional, or fritted-cell, coulometric KF, a diaphragm – or frit –
separates the anode from the cathode that form the electrolytic cell known as
the generator electrode. The purpose of the frit is to prevent the iodine
generated at the anode from being reduced back to iodide at the cathode
instead of reacting with water.
b. In fritless-cell coulometric KF, an innovative cell design is used that through
a combination of factors, but without a frit, makes it nearly impossible for
iodine to reach the cathode and get reduced to iodide instead of reacting with
water.
The advantages of the fritless cell include:
• Uses only one reagent
o Lower reagent cost
• Titration cell much easier to clean
o Reduced downtime
o Lower maintenance cost
• Long-term drift (background) value more stable
o Can use reagent longer without refilling
• Refilling of electrolyte suitable for automation
o Reduced downtime
o Increased lab safety
Also there exists a coulometric titrator which performs the following three key
functions:
1. It generates iodine at the anode of the titration cell, instead of dispensing KF
reagent as in volumetric titration
2. It detects the endpoint of the titration using the double platinum pin indicator
electrode
3. It calculates the end result based on the total charge passed (Q), in Coulombs,
using the on-board microprocessor.
3.4 Acceptable Sample Size
In both KF methods, the amount of sample used depends on the anticipated water
content and the desired degree of accuracy. The following convenient reference table
shows the relation between water content and proper sample size:
References:
[1] Douglas A.Skoog,Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry.8th Ed.
[2]....-..(Karl-Fisher)............ ...(......
.... ..210008)
[3]AQUASTAR® Karl Fischer Titration Basics
Mozahedul islam
PAU Bd
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Drug Addiction & our country
In recent years Drug Addiction has significantly increased in Bangladesh. This agent of human devastation has spread its tentacles worldwide and also in our country. Every intelligent and humane person in the world society and international organisations such as the UN and WHO are alarmed by the present rate of addiction. In our country the regular seizures of stocks of heroin and other hard drugs by the police and narcotics department gives us an indication of the extent of addiction in our country. Nowadays nearly ten per cent of outpatients in our hospitals are cases of drug addiction involving heroin, ganja and phensidyl. These are generally youths and young men between 15-30 years of age and come from all strata of the society. But there are adolescents below 15 years of age and men and women over 30. Hospital surveys show that average age of drug addicts is 22. The addicts are students, professionals, businessmen, laborers, rickshawallahs and from other professions. Students are most affected and drugs have caused deterioration in standards of education and students have also given up going to schools and colleges. These addicts are turning to various criminal activities, in order to procure drugs.
In our country, heroin is mostly smoked within aluminum foil or cigarette paper, but in other countries this is injected. Intravenous injection of pethidine/ morphine and now tadigesic brand of riknomar penic. These are extremely dangerous drugs and increases addiction manifold. Injections through infected needles can cause diseases of the liver, brain, heart, lungs and spinal cord. Normal medication also interacts with heroin and cause many complications, which many addicts do now know about. Such interactions may also cause e death.
Heroin addiction lowers mental enthusiasm and efforts and physical ability The addict loses contact with normal society and becomes self and drug-centered. He engages in all types of activities to obtain money to buy drugs. A Heroin addict may need about Taka 500 worth of the drug a day. He neglects the needs of the family, and those are non-earning may sell off family assets. They also go out on the streets for mugging and dacoity
If you come to know that your son or daughter is a heroin addict, do not lose calm and temper. Try to take stock of the situation and seek medical attention immediately, without trying to forcibly rid your children of the habit.
Treatment : The main points in the treatment of drug addiction is to reduce use of substances, to increase public awareness and social resistance and treatment and rehabilitation of the drug addict in specialized institutions.
Once the heroin is removed from the human body, the patient and his/her family has to cooperate in a courses of long-term treatment prescribed by the specialist which include considerations of the patient's depression, social environment, recreation and other aspects. The preferred treatment mode is psychotherapy. The patient and his family must be convinced of the fact that giving up heroin is not the end of the treatment course, but just the end of the beginning of the treatment. Long-term follow-up treatment is the only cure to this terrifying problem. The patients who cannot or do not undergo follow-up treatment, may again revert to addiction.
Treatment of addiction in our country is still not in a hopeful stage. Some unqualified and unscrupulous people are engaged in making money out of this affliction with mushrooming organizations and signboards, which confuse the patients. Such institutions do not have doctors. Others falsely advertise the availability of services and doctors form abroad. Such doctors even if available cannot be very effective, unless they are truly knowledgeable about our social, cultural and economic environment.
Its is time that experienced and qualified doctors and health professionals come to the aid of the addict in our society, and give genuine and prolonged treatment and care.
What are Drugs ?
Generally speaking drugs are substances that affect the physical and mental condition of persons significantly and adversely Any substance that can lead to addiction, misuse and dependence is a drug. Addiction level of drugs increase with each day of use. If drugs are not available, the patient shows critical withdrawal symptoms when immediate medical care is needed to prevent physical and mental deterioration, even death.Drug Addiction Symptoms:
- The addict develops a craving for the drug, and he spends all his efforts procuring it.
- Drug tolerance in users leads to increased dosage of drugs needed to provide the same degree of enjoyment and kick.
- Without drugs the addict loses his mental and physical abilities to work and enjoy life which is termed as psychological dependence and physical dependence.
Reasons for Drug Addiction
In brief the reasons determined through research, include :- Curiosity and excitement through use
- Despair and frustration among the youth
- Some patients are addicts because they try to follow the western culture of drugs and enjoyment of life.
- All drug addicts in our country are afraid of social stigma more than the threat from the law.
The Dangers and Destruction Caused by Drugs
Drug addiction beings on rapid erosion of educational and cultural, moral and family values. The addicts lose their professional and educational capabilities, self-dignity, and get involved in serious or petty criminal activities. The sole aim in life of an addict becomes the procurement and use of drugs. Other aims and objectives in life are thrown by the roadside. Besides, dread diseases such as Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS can easily attack drug addicts through use of injectible drugs.In our country, heroin is mostly smoked within aluminum foil or cigarette paper, but in other countries this is injected. Intravenous injection of pethidine/ morphine and now tadigesic brand of riknomar penic. These are extremely dangerous drugs and increases addiction manifold. Injections through infected needles can cause diseases of the liver, brain, heart, lungs and spinal cord. Normal medication also interacts with heroin and cause many complications, which many addicts do now know about. Such interactions may also cause e death.
Heroin addiction lowers mental enthusiasm and efforts and physical ability The addict loses contact with normal society and becomes self and drug-centered. He engages in all types of activities to obtain money to buy drugs. A Heroin addict may need about Taka 500 worth of the drug a day. He neglects the needs of the family, and those are non-earning may sell off family assets. They also go out on the streets for mugging and dacoity
Words of Caution for the Parents
Children are the beloved of the parents. Suspicions of one's child engaged in immoral and criminal activities are a source of the utmost heartache for the parents. Yet for this very reason, children must be kept under close observation. Behavioral and emotional changes are common in the adolescent and young men. But long-standing changes and rapid shifts in mood needs specialist doctor's attention and investigation. Heroin addicts live in a dream world, unconnected with realism and the environment around them. They lose concentration, live alone, and are irritated by interference and contact with non-addicts or other addicts. They rub their eyes and legs, and lose appetite rapidly.If you come to know that your son or daughter is a heroin addict, do not lose calm and temper. Try to take stock of the situation and seek medical attention immediately, without trying to forcibly rid your children of the habit.
Symptoms of Heroin Addiction
- Your shy child may become aggressive about money. Keep your son/daughter under observation.
- If you suspect anything, examine their rooms in their absence. Burnt paper, empty cigarette packets, oily scraps of paper are some signs.
- Rapid weight loss of your child . Avoidance of any reply to your queries about weight loss . Get answers from them and keep under observation
- Uncertain temper, loss of appetite, lack of sleep, hand tremors.
- Regular onset of fever at a fixed time. Watery eyes.
Treatment : The main points in the treatment of drug addiction is to reduce use of substances, to increase public awareness and social resistance and treatment and rehabilitation of the drug addict in specialized institutions.
Resistance to Drug Use
- Dissemination of Information: The target group has to be made aware and fully informed about drugs, its misuse and horrifying consequences. Educational institution, student and youth organizations should be involved in group discussion and meetings, with advocacy and awareness programmes through posters, slogans, radio and TV programme and various mass communication agenda, including the print media. Community leaders, politicians, sport and movie personalities can take active part in the campaign against drug addiction. Organizations to resist drug addiction must be built up by the students and youths
- Alternative Programmes: The inherent strengths of the youth in society have to be put to constructive work. Monotony, idleness, unemployment cause despair and frustration in the patient, and to seek solace elsewhere the target group look to drugs for comfort and to forget the trouble and tension of everyday life. Monotony and frustration may be eliminated through sports and games, physical training and competitive games, social work which make the youth adjust to the environment. Student life exposes the youth to many social pressures which leads to despair and tensions and the need for drugs to forget the stresses of modern life. Counseling of students on mental and physical health and tackling of various problem at school and college is required. Medical care is extremely and urgently necessary for the addicts. Withdrawal symptoms hinder the giving up of the habit. The first step in treatment is to stop drugs and treat for the withdrawal symptoms. Various physical symptoms of withdrawal have to be treated at this stage. Stopping the taking of heroin has to be under the supervision of a specialist. To get the patient to agree to treatment for addiction is the first step in the treatment. The patient will try to make excuses to avoid treatment. Sometime the patient stops taking requisite medication. The giving up of heroin without specialist advice is a waste of time, energy and money.
Once the heroin is removed from the human body, the patient and his/her family has to cooperate in a courses of long-term treatment prescribed by the specialist which include considerations of the patient's depression, social environment, recreation and other aspects. The preferred treatment mode is psychotherapy. The patient and his family must be convinced of the fact that giving up heroin is not the end of the treatment course, but just the end of the beginning of the treatment. Long-term follow-up treatment is the only cure to this terrifying problem. The patients who cannot or do not undergo follow-up treatment, may again revert to addiction.
The Role of Religious Values
Many addicts can become re-addicted. Many of their religious and moral values are not strong enough. Drug treatment and rehabilitation centers may be attached to mosques and other places of worship. Induction of religious values is a significant part of the treatment. The whole course of treatment of drug addiction revolves around the restoration of social, community and religious values in the patient. Addicts are many a time found to be oblivious about religious imperatives and rituals.Conclusion:
The main elements in combating Drug addiction include measures to control availability and use of drugs, treatment of withdrawal symptoms, and restoration of social moral and religious values. To prevent re-addiction in patients, innovative treatment containing medical, social and religious aspects have to be put in place. Easy availability of treatment will ensure the elimination of this socially and physically dreaded disease.Treatment of addiction in our country is still not in a hopeful stage. Some unqualified and unscrupulous people are engaged in making money out of this affliction with mushrooming organizations and signboards, which confuse the patients. Such institutions do not have doctors. Others falsely advertise the availability of services and doctors form abroad. Such doctors even if available cannot be very effective, unless they are truly knowledgeable about our social, cultural and economic environment.
Its is time that experienced and qualified doctors and health professionals come to the aid of the addict in our society, and give genuine and prolonged treatment and care.
Bangladesh in the eye of US
BangladeshI. Summary
Because of its geographic location in the midst of major drug-producing and exporting countries, Bangladesh is used by trafficking organizations as a transit point. Seizures of heroin, phensidyl (a codeine-based, highly-addictive cough syrup produced in India), and pathedine (an injectable opiate with medical application as an anesthesia) point to growing narcotics abuse in Bangladesh. Phensidyl is popular because of its low price and widespread availability. While unconfirmed reports circulate of opium and cannabis cultivation along the border with Burma and cannabis cultivation in the southern delta region, there is no evidence that Bangladesh is a significant producer or exporter of narcotics. The Bangladesh government (BDG) officials charged with controlling and preventing illegal substance trafficking lack training, equipment, continuity of leadership and other resources to successfully detect and interdict the flow of drugs. Moreover, there is minimal coordination among these agencies. Corruption at all levels of government, and in particular law enforcement, also hampers the country’s drug interdiction efforts. Bangladesh is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country
There are unsubstantiated allegations of opium and cannabis production in the Bandarban District along the Burmese border and cannabis production in the southern silt-island ("char") region. The country’s porous borders make Bangladesh an attractive transfer point for drugs transiting the region. There are no reports of production, trading or transit of precursor chemicals in Bangladesh.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005
Policy Initiatives. The Department of Narcotics Control’s (DNC) counternarcotics policy initiatives and program activities are seriously hampered by the ineffectiveness of the National Narcotics Control Board (NNCB), the highest governmental counternarcotics policy agency, to fulfill the objectives of the Narcotics Control Act (NCA). Article 5 of the NCA directs the Board to formulate policies and monitor the production, supply, and use of illegal drugs in Bangladesh. The 19-member NNCB, made up of 11 ministers, seven appointed members, and the DNC Director General, is charged to meet quarterly, but only a single meeting was held in 2005, the first since 2003. There is still no master plan for combating drug trafficking and abuse in Bangladesh. The BDG and USG signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) in September 2002 to provide equipment and forensic technical assistance to the DNC and its central chemical laboratory. This training and technical assistance was largely completed in 2005. The LOA also provided for training, conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, for law enforcement personnel involved in counternarcotics activities. An amendment to the LOA providing for an increase in funds for training and equipment was signed in 2004. Other initiatives under consideration include the modernization of law enforcement training facilities in Bangladesh and further development of anticorruption programs within the government.
Accomplishments. The Department of Narcotics Control is the BDG agency most responsible for counternarcotics efforts in Bangladesh. It is housed within the Ministry of Home Affairs and is currently under the leadership of an acting Director General who has been in office for less than a year. The organization is chronically under-funded, understaffed, under-trained, and suffers from frequent personnel turnover. In 20052005, the BDG completed construction of the first drug treatment and rehabilitation facility—a 250-bed hospital funded entirely by the BDG. A 2005 law introduced quality of care requirements governing staffing and facilities for addiction treatment centers. The BDG also targeted demand reduction, increasing counternarcotics public service messages.
Law Enforcement Efforts. Law enforcement units engaged in counternarcotics operations include the police, the DNC, the border defense forces known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), customs, the navy, the coast guard, and local magistrates. Bangladesh’s borders are generally considered porous. Elements of the BDR, responsible for land border security within twelve-miles of the boarder, are widely believed to abet the smuggling of goods, including narcotics, into Bangladesh. Customs, the navy, the coast guard and the DNC are under-funded, poorly equipped and staffed, and lack training. Customs officials also lack arrest authority. At ports of entry where customs officials are not stationed with police units, the Customs officers themselves have no capacity to detain suspected traffickers. Instead, they can only seize the contraband items found. There is no DNC presence at the country’s second largest airport, in Chittagong, which has direct flights to Burma and Thailand. To date, no random searches of crews, ships, boats, vehicles, or containers are being performed at the country’s largest seaport in Chittagong. These oversights significantly undermine overall BDG counternarcotics efforts.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), established in 2004, targets organized criminal activity, including narcotics offenses. Increased narcotics seizures, principally attributed to the RAB, have resulted in higher street prices for popular diverted legal opiates like phensidyl and pathedine. Seizures in 2005 included 3,000 bottles of phensidyl. There is no centralized record of narcotics seizures by law enforcement agencies. The most current figures available are compiled by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). These records vary significantly from the DNC data included in the 2005 report. These data indicate that drug quantities seized by Bangladesh authorities from January through July 2005 are as follows: 36.8 kilograms of heroin; 3.3 metric tons of marijuana; 7387.5 liters of phensidyl; and 1,902 ampoules of pathedine injection. It is important to note that these statistics do not reflect all seizures made by all agencies in Bangladesh, but they are reflective of general trends in Bangladesh. In developing countries, data is simply unreliable in detail, but even when incomplete, frequently reflective of reliable trends.
Corruption. Corruption is endemic at all levels of society and government in Bangladesh. An Anti-Corruption Commission ("ACC") was officially formed in November 2004 with a mandate to investigate corruption and file cases against government officials. The ACC has been hampered by disputes over staffing and organization and has yet to operate effectively or demonstrate the ability to act independently. The BDG does not, as a matter of government policy, encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of drugs or controlled substances or launder proceeds from their transactions. No senior official has been identified as engaging in, encouraging, or facilitating the production or distribution of drugs or controlled substances. Nevertheless, many long-term observers believe that authorities involved in jobs that have an affect on the drug trade facilitate the smuggling of narcotics, and corrupt officials can be found throughout the chain of command. While there is no "proof" as such for this belief, it is based on the pervasiveness of the culture of corruption and the evidence that narcotics are indeed moving in Bangladesh and surrounding area. If caught, prosecuted, and convicted, most officials receive a reprimand at best and termination from government service at worst. Adjudicating authorities do not take these cases seriously.
Agreements and Treaties. Bangladesh is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention, and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. Bangladesh has a memorandum of understanding on narcotics cooperation with Iran, an extradition treaty with Thailand, and is negotiating a bilateral narcotics agreement with India. Bangladesh participates in information sharing with the government of Burma, and is a signatory to the 1990 SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Cultivation/Production. The DNC strongly denies unsubstantiated reports from several NGO and local government officials that opium production takes place in the Bandarban district along the border with Burma. The DNC reports, however, that it has destroyed a few "small" poppy crops in the hill tracts near Chittagong and in the northwest it says were cultivated for seeds cooking spices for local consumption. The DNC also reports limited amounts of cannabis are cultivated for local consumption in the hill tracts in the North, in the southern silt islands, and in the northeastern region. The DNC, working with law enforcement agencies, reportedly destroys any cannabis crops it discovers
Drug Flow/Transit. Bangladesh is situated between the Golden Crescent to the west and the Golden Triangle to the east. Porous boarders, weak law enforcement institutions, and widespread corruption at all levels of government leave Bangladesh vulnerable to smuggling of opium based pharmaceuticals and other medicinal drugs from India and white (injectable) heroin from Burma.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). There is no consensus estimate of the number of drug addicts in Bangladesh. A recent DNC study estimated the addict population at two million and growing, while BDG estimates put the figure as low as 250,000. Media and anecdotal reports suggest that drug abuse, while previously a problem among the ultra-poor, is becoming a major problem among the wealthy and well-educated young, and increasingly among educated, well-off young women, some of whom are turning to prostitution to support their habits. The BDG sponsors rudimentary educational programs aimed at youth in schools and mosques, and has modestly increased funding for these programs in 2005, although there is no clear indication of their impact. NGOs have expressed concerns about the quality of these messages. The BDG currently runs outpatient and detoxification centers in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and Rajshahi. These are not treatment centers and thus have limited success addressing the underlying addiction. The BDG opened the first 250 bed drug treatment and rehabilitation facility in 2005. There are other, nongovernmental centers with a variety of treatment therapies available. Unfortunately, most of these are quite expensive by Bangladeshi standards and therefore beyond the reach of most drug addicts. There is, however, a drug addicts’ rehabilitation organization, APON, that operates five long-term residential rehabilitation centers, including the first center in Bangladesh for the rehabilitation of female drug-users, which opened in 2005. These are the only such facilities in Bangladesh.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs
Policy Initiatives. The USG continues to support Bangladesh’s counternarcotics efforts through various commodities and training assistance programs. Equipment and law enforcement courses were provided in 2005, primarily to the police, but also to DNC laboratory technicians and officers, and members of the BDR, under the authority of a 2002 LOA implemented through INL by USDOJ officers. U.S. technical assistance in 2005 identified significant management issues at a DNC lab, which the DNC has addressed. Long years of neglect had left the office filing system in disorder, and chemical supplies needed to be replaced, since many chemicals had expired. Once U.S. advisor pointed out these difficulties, and worked with BDG staff, the issues were gradually resolved. Other initiatives under consideration include the modernization of law enforcement training facilities in Bangladesh and further development of anticorruption programs within the government, and training to assist counternarcotics enforcement efforts and develop their newly formed coast guard.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to provide law enforcement training for BDG officials and work with the BDG to construct a comprehensive strategic plan to develop, professionalize, and institutionalize Bangladesh counternarcotics efforts. This will include working with the BDG to stem drug trafficking before it reaches Bangladesh, primarily by improving maritime security but also by improving land border patrolling.
Because of its geographic location in the midst of major drug-producing and exporting countries, Bangladesh is used by trafficking organizations as a transit point. Seizures of heroin, phensidyl (a codeine-based, highly-addictive cough syrup produced in India), and pathedine (an injectable opiate with medical application as an anesthesia) point to growing narcotics abuse in Bangladesh. Phensidyl is popular because of its low price and widespread availability. While unconfirmed reports circulate of opium and cannabis cultivation along the border with Burma and cannabis cultivation in the southern delta region, there is no evidence that Bangladesh is a significant producer or exporter of narcotics. The Bangladesh government (BDG) officials charged with controlling and preventing illegal substance trafficking lack training, equipment, continuity of leadership and other resources to successfully detect and interdict the flow of drugs. Moreover, there is minimal coordination among these agencies. Corruption at all levels of government, and in particular law enforcement, also hampers the country’s drug interdiction efforts. Bangladesh is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country
There are unsubstantiated allegations of opium and cannabis production in the Bandarban District along the Burmese border and cannabis production in the southern silt-island ("char") region. The country’s porous borders make Bangladesh an attractive transfer point for drugs transiting the region. There are no reports of production, trading or transit of precursor chemicals in Bangladesh.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005
Policy Initiatives. The Department of Narcotics Control’s (DNC) counternarcotics policy initiatives and program activities are seriously hampered by the ineffectiveness of the National Narcotics Control Board (NNCB), the highest governmental counternarcotics policy agency, to fulfill the objectives of the Narcotics Control Act (NCA). Article 5 of the NCA directs the Board to formulate policies and monitor the production, supply, and use of illegal drugs in Bangladesh. The 19-member NNCB, made up of 11 ministers, seven appointed members, and the DNC Director General, is charged to meet quarterly, but only a single meeting was held in 2005, the first since 2003. There is still no master plan for combating drug trafficking and abuse in Bangladesh. The BDG and USG signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) in September 2002 to provide equipment and forensic technical assistance to the DNC and its central chemical laboratory. This training and technical assistance was largely completed in 2005. The LOA also provided for training, conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, for law enforcement personnel involved in counternarcotics activities. An amendment to the LOA providing for an increase in funds for training and equipment was signed in 2004. Other initiatives under consideration include the modernization of law enforcement training facilities in Bangladesh and further development of anticorruption programs within the government.
Accomplishments. The Department of Narcotics Control is the BDG agency most responsible for counternarcotics efforts in Bangladesh. It is housed within the Ministry of Home Affairs and is currently under the leadership of an acting Director General who has been in office for less than a year. The organization is chronically under-funded, understaffed, under-trained, and suffers from frequent personnel turnover. In 20052005, the BDG completed construction of the first drug treatment and rehabilitation facility—a 250-bed hospital funded entirely by the BDG. A 2005 law introduced quality of care requirements governing staffing and facilities for addiction treatment centers. The BDG also targeted demand reduction, increasing counternarcotics public service messages.
Law Enforcement Efforts. Law enforcement units engaged in counternarcotics operations include the police, the DNC, the border defense forces known as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), customs, the navy, the coast guard, and local magistrates. Bangladesh’s borders are generally considered porous. Elements of the BDR, responsible for land border security within twelve-miles of the boarder, are widely believed to abet the smuggling of goods, including narcotics, into Bangladesh. Customs, the navy, the coast guard and the DNC are under-funded, poorly equipped and staffed, and lack training. Customs officials also lack arrest authority. At ports of entry where customs officials are not stationed with police units, the Customs officers themselves have no capacity to detain suspected traffickers. Instead, they can only seize the contraband items found. There is no DNC presence at the country’s second largest airport, in Chittagong, which has direct flights to Burma and Thailand. To date, no random searches of crews, ships, boats, vehicles, or containers are being performed at the country’s largest seaport in Chittagong. These oversights significantly undermine overall BDG counternarcotics efforts.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), established in 2004, targets organized criminal activity, including narcotics offenses. Increased narcotics seizures, principally attributed to the RAB, have resulted in higher street prices for popular diverted legal opiates like phensidyl and pathedine. Seizures in 2005 included 3,000 bottles of phensidyl. There is no centralized record of narcotics seizures by law enforcement agencies. The most current figures available are compiled by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). These records vary significantly from the DNC data included in the 2005 report. These data indicate that drug quantities seized by Bangladesh authorities from January through July 2005 are as follows: 36.8 kilograms of heroin; 3.3 metric tons of marijuana; 7387.5 liters of phensidyl; and 1,902 ampoules of pathedine injection. It is important to note that these statistics do not reflect all seizures made by all agencies in Bangladesh, but they are reflective of general trends in Bangladesh. In developing countries, data is simply unreliable in detail, but even when incomplete, frequently reflective of reliable trends.
Corruption. Corruption is endemic at all levels of society and government in Bangladesh. An Anti-Corruption Commission ("ACC") was officially formed in November 2004 with a mandate to investigate corruption and file cases against government officials. The ACC has been hampered by disputes over staffing and organization and has yet to operate effectively or demonstrate the ability to act independently. The BDG does not, as a matter of government policy, encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of drugs or controlled substances or launder proceeds from their transactions. No senior official has been identified as engaging in, encouraging, or facilitating the production or distribution of drugs or controlled substances. Nevertheless, many long-term observers believe that authorities involved in jobs that have an affect on the drug trade facilitate the smuggling of narcotics, and corrupt officials can be found throughout the chain of command. While there is no "proof" as such for this belief, it is based on the pervasiveness of the culture of corruption and the evidence that narcotics are indeed moving in Bangladesh and surrounding area. If caught, prosecuted, and convicted, most officials receive a reprimand at best and termination from government service at worst. Adjudicating authorities do not take these cases seriously.
Agreements and Treaties. Bangladesh is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention, and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. Bangladesh has a memorandum of understanding on narcotics cooperation with Iran, an extradition treaty with Thailand, and is negotiating a bilateral narcotics agreement with India. Bangladesh participates in information sharing with the government of Burma, and is a signatory to the 1990 SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Cultivation/Production. The DNC strongly denies unsubstantiated reports from several NGO and local government officials that opium production takes place in the Bandarban district along the border with Burma. The DNC reports, however, that it has destroyed a few "small" poppy crops in the hill tracts near Chittagong and in the northwest it says were cultivated for seeds cooking spices for local consumption. The DNC also reports limited amounts of cannabis are cultivated for local consumption in the hill tracts in the North, in the southern silt islands, and in the northeastern region. The DNC, working with law enforcement agencies, reportedly destroys any cannabis crops it discovers
Drug Flow/Transit. Bangladesh is situated between the Golden Crescent to the west and the Golden Triangle to the east. Porous boarders, weak law enforcement institutions, and widespread corruption at all levels of government leave Bangladesh vulnerable to smuggling of opium based pharmaceuticals and other medicinal drugs from India and white (injectable) heroin from Burma.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). There is no consensus estimate of the number of drug addicts in Bangladesh. A recent DNC study estimated the addict population at two million and growing, while BDG estimates put the figure as low as 250,000. Media and anecdotal reports suggest that drug abuse, while previously a problem among the ultra-poor, is becoming a major problem among the wealthy and well-educated young, and increasingly among educated, well-off young women, some of whom are turning to prostitution to support their habits. The BDG sponsors rudimentary educational programs aimed at youth in schools and mosques, and has modestly increased funding for these programs in 2005, although there is no clear indication of their impact. NGOs have expressed concerns about the quality of these messages. The BDG currently runs outpatient and detoxification centers in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and Rajshahi. These are not treatment centers and thus have limited success addressing the underlying addiction. The BDG opened the first 250 bed drug treatment and rehabilitation facility in 2005. There are other, nongovernmental centers with a variety of treatment therapies available. Unfortunately, most of these are quite expensive by Bangladeshi standards and therefore beyond the reach of most drug addicts. There is, however, a drug addicts’ rehabilitation organization, APON, that operates five long-term residential rehabilitation centers, including the first center in Bangladesh for the rehabilitation of female drug-users, which opened in 2005. These are the only such facilities in Bangladesh.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs
Policy Initiatives. The USG continues to support Bangladesh’s counternarcotics efforts through various commodities and training assistance programs. Equipment and law enforcement courses were provided in 2005, primarily to the police, but also to DNC laboratory technicians and officers, and members of the BDR, under the authority of a 2002 LOA implemented through INL by USDOJ officers. U.S. technical assistance in 2005 identified significant management issues at a DNC lab, which the DNC has addressed. Long years of neglect had left the office filing system in disorder, and chemical supplies needed to be replaced, since many chemicals had expired. Once U.S. advisor pointed out these difficulties, and worked with BDG staff, the issues were gradually resolved. Other initiatives under consideration include the modernization of law enforcement training facilities in Bangladesh and further development of anticorruption programs within the government, and training to assist counternarcotics enforcement efforts and develop their newly formed coast guard.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to provide law enforcement training for BDG officials and work with the BDG to construct a comprehensive strategic plan to develop, professionalize, and institutionalize Bangladesh counternarcotics efforts. This will include working with the BDG to stem drug trafficking before it reaches Bangladesh, primarily by improving maritime security but also by improving land border patrolling.
Fighting AIDS and drug use in Bangladesh
Fighting AIDS and drug use in Bangladesh, one needle at a time
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| © UNICEF/2006/Nettleton |
| Mosammat Sabera Yasmin, an influential peer educator in Bangladesh, shares her own family's problems with drugs to help raise community awareness of HIV and AIDS. |
RAJSHAHI, Bangladesh, 25 August 2006 – Carrying a large umbrella to shield herself from the hot sun, Mosammat Sabera Yasmin walks along a narrow alley in a poor neighbourhood in this western Bangladeshi city. The young woman is visiting the house of a heroin addict who has just returned from rehab.
The recovering man’s wife prepares food as Ms. Yasmin checks on how the family is coping and talks about how to reduce the risk of getting infected with HIV, which has been spreading among injecting drug users in this area.
She knows firsthand what it’s like to live in this kind of family. Her own parents’ involvement with drugs has tainted Ms. Yasmin with a social stigma.
“As my father was a victim of drug addiction, I had some idea of what really happens to such people – what problem the family has to face, how the children suffer, how it affects their social reputation,” she said. “So when I talk to people, I tell them that I also come from an affected family.”
Injecting drug users have few places to turn, and they are one of the groups most at risk of contracting and spreading HIV.
Rebuilding lives
Rickshaw driver Mohammad Dulal has been addicted to heroin for most of the last 13 years. His habit cost him his job and put an enormous strain on his family. Like most addicts, he often uses shared needles. He is trying to quit his habit at a rehab center in Rajshahi but says he cannot shake his cravings for the drug.
“In the past, if we found a drug user in our locality, we used to beat him up,” said Mr. Dulal. “But today I myself am taking drugs. I have to blame myself for this.”
A few blocks away, dozens of former drug users are hoping to see better success at a detox center run by the non-governmental organization PROVA. They will spend three months here, learning to regain their self-esteem and build the confidence to move on in life without drugs.
PROVA is one of about 90 NGOs getting support from the HIV/AIDS Prevention Project, a $12 million programme funded by the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development. UNICEF manages $5 million of this fund, directing NGOs to focus on prevention and awareness in high-risk groups, including injecting drug users, commercial sex workers and migrant workers.
Ignorance and stigma
Estimates of the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh range from 2,500 to 15,000, a wide gulf most likely resulting from the strong sense of shame Bangladeshi society attaches to the disease.
Peer educators like Ms. Yasmin are key to fighting ignorance and the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS here.
“I feel good that I can talk to people about the consequence of taking drugs and lead people towards the right path,” she said. “I asked people whether they wanted the same fate as my father. I told them that they should not suffer like him. Gradually, one after another began to realize the importance of our counselling.”
Save Us We Are Bangladeshi
Global health is greatly affected by factors such as pollution, changes in global and regional climate, water resource quality, food growing capacity, and ecosystem health. Poor human health in turn affects the capacity of the global population to deal with environmental changes and adapt to them. Therefore, global health plays a central role in the central role in the Earth Institute’s work to understand the adverse effects of development and to find a path that leads to a sustainable future.
Everyday we encounter chemicals, physical agents, and other substances in the air, water and soil around us, as well as in the flood we eat. Research shows a connection between our environment and our health, but we still have a long way to go in understanding what links the two. We need better information and more sophisticated tools to understand the causes of these diseases if we are to prevent.
The origin of the plastic most likely came from the ocean surface abundant with plastic pollution. This plastic pollution has grown steadily over the years. The plastic back in 1980 was mostly of polyethylene which primarily comes from plastic bags and plastic bottles. The plastic is carried around the ocean via wind and ocean currents. If these picture speak anything of meaning to you, i hope the message is clear. Do your part and pick up a piece of liter if you see some. Also a great way to help out is by participating in local stream and river cleanups in your area.
This message is also being made to say that seabirds are not the only species affected here. Numerous species are affected, and something needs to done to clean up the plastic vortex. Atleast 267 species including whales, fish, turtles, seals, sea lions and seabirds have ingested or become entangled in the debris. The sad truth is that unless something is done t clean up the mess, many more marine life species will continue to die or face unnecessary trauma. The human way of life has taken a roll on the earth. The carelessness that humans have lived by for thousands of years can no longer sustain on this planet without serious consequenses.
Water polluiton comes from a number of unique sources. Combining these points of pollution with the increase in global population in a continuously decreasing amount of clean water for plant and animal lifeon earth and increasing amount of polluted water. It is widely known that water covers almost three-quarters of the earth surface. However the large amount of pollutants than fill our water ways each year are largely unknown, such as industrial waste, urban stormwater, agricaultural runoff, various household chemicals and even nuclear waste.Industry has been responsible for chemical pollution by dumping toxic wste into river. The many sources of pollutions , along with the overpuming rivers and groundwater have caused water quality to decline nationwide. Agricultural run off has caused chemical pollution that damages the delicates aquatic ecosystems.
Air pollution
Air poluiton may be defined as the introduction into the atmosphere of any material that brings about a negative effect on plants,animals, or people. The effect can vary from lowered visibility at the grand canyon to serve pollution outbreaks which may force city residents to stay indoors.Air pollution is a very big problem in our country. A large part of air pollution comes from cars. The Environmental protection agency says, ” The most polluting activity an average person does everyday is drive their car”. Most people probably aren’t aware that they are polluting the environment. May be if everyone knew how serious this polluting problem is, then they would find ways to reduce the pollution.
This picture was taken from my apartment.On the road the dustbin is took place.Government even do not care about all this ridiculous matter.People throwing garbage here and there.Its such a threat to our environment.because its polluting the air in several ways and making our environment unhealthy. Even though sometimes government provide specipic place to put garbage but what happen-people ignore it.we should not throw all this staffs here and there to protect our environment from air pollution.
Garbage disposal
Soil pollution comprises the pollution of soils with materials, mousty chemicals, that are out of place or are present at concentrations higher than normal which may have adverse effect on humans or other organisms. It is difficult to define soil pollution exactly because different opinions exists on how to characterize a pollutant, while some consider the use of pesticides acceptable if their effect does not exceed the result, others do not consider any use of pesticides or even chemical fertilizers acceptable. however soil pollution is also caused by means other than the direct addiction of xenobiotic( man made ) chemicals such as agricultural runoff waters, industrial waste materials, acidic precipitates and radioactive fallout.soil pollution can lead to water pollution if toxic chemicals leach into groundwater, or if contaminated runoff reaches strems, lakes or oceans. Soil also naturally acontributes to air pollution by releasing voltile compounds into the atmosphere.
Vehicle pollution
Of course air pollution is mothing new and from earliest times various pollutants have posed such a threat to public health that policy makers have been forced to intervence. It consider the scientific evidence that is available on the health effects of vehicle pollution. The large majority of today’s cars and trucks travel bu using internal combustion engines that burn gasoline or other fossil fuels. The process of burning gasoline to power cars and trucks contributes to air pollution by releasing a variety of emissions into the atmosphere. Emissions that are released directly into the atmosphere from the tailpipes of cars and trucks are are the primary source of vehicularl pollution. but motor vehicles also pollute air during the processes of manufacturing, refueling, and from the emissions associated with oil refining and disturbtion of the fuel they burn.
Burning garbage
burning-garbage
Did you know? when you burb garbage in a stove,in a barrel or in a camp fire,you r creating poisions the form of large variety of toxic chemicals that are released into the air.These fall back to the earth as particals or in rain drops and contaminate the water,plants and soil and accumulate in fat of animals and fish.These toxics effectively find their way up to the food chain,into the food we eat and poisoin our bodies causing serious health concern for our children and ourselves.
Global Roundtable On Climate Change
The path to climate sustainability, a joint statement made by the Global Roundtable on climate change in 2007 describes a pathway for climate change policy. The joint statement highlights the urgency for global action to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. This statement was released on february 20, 2007 and has been endorsed by 108 companies from around the world and by 138 individual leaders from business, civil society, government and research institutions. While highlighting the importance of increased efficiency they also note the need to use non fossil- fuel energy sources and to deploy technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide. The statement highlights why success is possible and how success may be reached. The signatories call for concerted action of governments, the private sector, trade unions, and other sectors of civil society. There is a strong emphasis on the global scope of the problem, such that all countries must be party to the accord, with commitments to actions reflecting the levels of economic development.Advocates For The West
Advocates For The West
We cherish the open spaces and freedom of the West, and want to ensure that our western heritage – its wildlife, wild places and wild rivers – are preserved for future generations.
Based in Boise, Idaho, our team of top-notch lawyers and scientists works with conservation groups and activists across the West to demand that federal and state agencies manage our public lands and wildlife properly – and to hold them accountable when they violate environmental laws or ignore science.
Wolves, bighorn sheep, salmon and steelhead, greater sage-grouse, pygmy rabbits, bull trout, grizzly bears, pronghorn antelope – these are just a few of the keystone species we fight to protect. And we work to maintain healthy landscapes – from the northern Rockies to the Sierras and Cascades, and the vast Sagebrush Sea in between them – that these and so many other species need to survive.Among the pressing threats we address is domestic livestock grazing on the public lands, which degrades streams, erodes soils, and fragments wildlife habitat – yet is not economically viable and provides less than 2% of our nation’s beef. We also oppose clearcutting of old growth forests; rampant off-road vehicle abuse; damming of our wild rivers; and irresponsible energy development and mining on public lands.
Global climate change also poses a serious threat to the American West, and to the birds, fish, and animals that live here. With climate change, the West is getting hotter and drier – meaning more fires and more weed invasions, and less water for humans and wildlife.
Advocates for the West is keenly aware of these challenges, and is pushing our public land managers to change old ways – which are now outdated and harmful to the land – to deal with the future by adopting new policies that follow science.
We have a long track record of success – as illustrated in the Chronology Of Success found in the Newsletter section of this website – and we continue to bring larger and more cases. The Cases section of this website presents more detailed discussion of our cases, which you can search according to type of case, location, or other criteria.
The Impact of HIV/AIDS
Over the past 27 years, nearly 25 million people have died from AIDS. HIV/AIDS causes debilitating illness and premature death in people during their prime years of life and has devastated families and communities. Further, HIV/AIDS has complicated efforts to fight poverty, improve health, and promote development by:
- Diminishing a person’s ability to support, work and provide for his or her family. At the same time, treatment and health-care costs related to HIV/AIDS consume household incomes. The combined effect of reduced income and increased costs impoverishes individuals and households.
- Deepening socioeconomic and gender disparities. Women are at high risk of infection and have few options for providing for their families. Children affected by HIV/AIDS, due to their own infection or parental illness or death, are less likely to receive an education, as they leave school to care for ailing parents and younger siblings.
- Straining the resources of communities – hospitals, social services, schools and businesses. Health care workers, teachers, and business and government leaders have been lost to HIV/AIDS. The impact of diminished productivity is felt on a national scale.
- In 2008, globally, about 2 million people died of AIDS, 33.4 million were living with HIV and 2.7 million people were newly infected with the virus.
- HIV infections and AIDS deaths are unevenly distributed geographically and the nature of the epidemics vary by region. Epidemics are abating in some countries and burgeoning in others. More than 90 percent of people with HIV are living in the developing world.
- There is growing recognition that the virus does not discriminate by age, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status – everyone is susceptible. However, certain groups are at particular risk of HIV, including men who have sex with men (MSM), injecting drug users (IDUs), and commercial sex workers (CSWs).
- The impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls has been particularly devastating. Women and girls now comprise 50 percent of those aged 15 and older living with HIV.
- The impact of HIV/AIDS on children and young people is a severe and growing problem. In 2008, 430,000 children under age 15 were infected with HIV and 280,000 died of AIDS. In addition, about 15 million children have lost one or both parents due to the disease.
- There are effective prevention and treatment interventions, as well as research efforts to develop new approaches, medications and vaccines.
- The sixth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) focuses on stopping and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.
- Global funding is increasing, but global need is growing even faster – widening the funding gap. Services and funding are disproportionately available in developed countries.
E.Coli Outbreak
The German E.coli outbreak that has demanded the lives of 19 people so far, and hospitalized more than 1700, has all the elements of a cover-up. I am not saying that it is, but merely pointing out the obvious. Initially, German authorities acted “in conformity with the German laws” announcing Spain as the source of the deadly outbreak.
As the story progressed, Spain was cleared through laboratory tests, and Germany, once again, shifted the responsibility, this time to the whole European Union, that will pay damage to Spain’s farmers for their losses.
All media reports show Germany racing to track down the source of the pathogen, and somehow, after all the tests performed on organic cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, researchers are still unable to pinpoint the food source of the disease. Are they probably looking at the wrong foods? The E.coli outbreak, which has infected people in 12 countries, all of whom had been traveling in northern Germany, is said to be the deadliest in modern history. Incidentally, the outbreak is caused by a new strain, according to Chinese and German scientists working together with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Many of those infected with this new E.coli strain have developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially deadly complication attacking the kidneys.
While still unable to pinpoint the source of the outbreak, Germans are looking for a scape-goat, and they apparently found one in a restaurant in Luebeck, where 17 of the thousands E.coli infected patients enjoyed a meal. For the small restaurant in Luebeck, such allegations can be a business killer. Moreover, none of the employees of the restaurant have been infected, and all are eating the same food they serve their customers. Last, but not least, most of the customers reported ill have had meals at other restaurants around Luebeck – there is no proof that any of these restaurants is a source. Health experts were also investigating whether the disease spread at a festival in Hamburg that was visited by 1.5 million people – a more probable source, by all logic.
While researchers are looking for E.coli on vegetables, the source could be a shipment of frozen meats from Mexico, or elsewhere. If – and this is just a theory – these got in touch with vegetables in storage, no wonder that researchers cannot pinpoint the food source: they are looking in the wrong places.
In the meanwhile, German hospitals in the north are struggling with patients. “The situation in the hospitals is intense,” minister Daniel Bahr told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
“All the hospitals in the region are pushing their limits,” said a spokesman for the Regio Clinics, the largest private hospital in the state of Schleswig-Holstein that surrounds Hamburg. “We can handle it but some of our patients have to be sent to other hospitals, especially those with HUS or needing dialysis.”
As the story progressed, Spain was cleared through laboratory tests, and Germany, once again, shifted the responsibility, this time to the whole European Union, that will pay damage to Spain’s farmers for their losses.
All media reports show Germany racing to track down the source of the pathogen, and somehow, after all the tests performed on organic cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, researchers are still unable to pinpoint the food source of the disease. Are they probably looking at the wrong foods? The E.coli outbreak, which has infected people in 12 countries, all of whom had been traveling in northern Germany, is said to be the deadliest in modern history. Incidentally, the outbreak is caused by a new strain, according to Chinese and German scientists working together with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Many of those infected with this new E.coli strain have developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially deadly complication attacking the kidneys.
While still unable to pinpoint the source of the outbreak, Germans are looking for a scape-goat, and they apparently found one in a restaurant in Luebeck, where 17 of the thousands E.coli infected patients enjoyed a meal. For the small restaurant in Luebeck, such allegations can be a business killer. Moreover, none of the employees of the restaurant have been infected, and all are eating the same food they serve their customers. Last, but not least, most of the customers reported ill have had meals at other restaurants around Luebeck – there is no proof that any of these restaurants is a source. Health experts were also investigating whether the disease spread at a festival in Hamburg that was visited by 1.5 million people – a more probable source, by all logic.
While researchers are looking for E.coli on vegetables, the source could be a shipment of frozen meats from Mexico, or elsewhere. If – and this is just a theory – these got in touch with vegetables in storage, no wonder that researchers cannot pinpoint the food source: they are looking in the wrong places.
In the meanwhile, German hospitals in the north are struggling with patients. “The situation in the hospitals is intense,” minister Daniel Bahr told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
“All the hospitals in the region are pushing their limits,” said a spokesman for the Regio Clinics, the largest private hospital in the state of Schleswig-Holstein that surrounds Hamburg. “We can handle it but some of our patients have to be sent to other hospitals, especially those with HUS or needing dialysis.”
An infected patient lies in his bed in an isolation area of a Hamburg hospital Thursday. Photograph by: Fabian Bimmer, Reuters.
E Coli — Germany Outbreak 2011
Beginning in late May 2011, an outbreak of food-borne infections with a rare strain of the E. coli bacteria in Germany killed at least 17 people, sickened more than 1,500 and set off alarms that reverberated across Europe.
Public health officials expressed concern because a startlingly high proportion of those infected suffered from a potentially lethal complication attacking the kidneys, called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can provoke comas, seizures and stroke. Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of food-borne disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said the rate of cases of acute kidney failure in the outbreak was unprecedented. “That makes this an extraordinarily large and severe event,” he said.
While most of the infections were among people who had traveled to northern Germany, the authorities acknowledged that the outbreak had spread to virtually every corner of the country.
The origins of the outbreak, which has killed at least 17 people — 16 in Germany and a Swede who visited there recently — remains mysterious.
An official for the World Health Organization said the strain was a previously unknown mutant of two E. coli bacteria with lethal genes that could explain the broad extent of the outbreak.
Scientists are at a loss to explain why this little-known organism, identified as E. coli 0104:H4, has proved so virulent. There are many types of E. coli, most of which are harmless. But a small number have come under increasing scrutiny as dangerous pathogens. These all produce a poison known as shiga toxin and generally have the ability to cling to a person’s intestinal wall, allowing them to release the poison in large enough amounts to make people sick.
Suspicion first fell on cucumbers imported to Germany from Spain. Tests later showed that the E. coli on the cucumbers was not the virulent strain involved in the outbreak, but Spanish food exports suffered.
On June 2, Russia extended a ban on fresh vegetable imports, initially imposed on produce from Spain and Germany, to encompass all of the European Union, triggering a sharp response from European officials who called the move “disproportionate.”
Britain’s Health Protection Agency confirmed that day that the number of cases in Britain had risen from three to seven, with the bacteria found in people who had recently traveled to Germany. There had been no cases of secondary infection, the agency said.
Public health officials expressed concern because a startlingly high proportion of those infected suffered from a potentially lethal complication attacking the kidneys, called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can provoke comas, seizures and stroke. Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of food-borne disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said the rate of cases of acute kidney failure in the outbreak was unprecedented. “That makes this an extraordinarily large and severe event,” he said.
While most of the infections were among people who had traveled to northern Germany, the authorities acknowledged that the outbreak had spread to virtually every corner of the country.
The origins of the outbreak, which has killed at least 17 people — 16 in Germany and a Swede who visited there recently — remains mysterious.
An official for the World Health Organization said the strain was a previously unknown mutant of two E. coli bacteria with lethal genes that could explain the broad extent of the outbreak.
Scientists are at a loss to explain why this little-known organism, identified as E. coli 0104:H4, has proved so virulent. There are many types of E. coli, most of which are harmless. But a small number have come under increasing scrutiny as dangerous pathogens. These all produce a poison known as shiga toxin and generally have the ability to cling to a person’s intestinal wall, allowing them to release the poison in large enough amounts to make people sick.
Suspicion first fell on cucumbers imported to Germany from Spain. Tests later showed that the E. coli on the cucumbers was not the virulent strain involved in the outbreak, but Spanish food exports suffered.
On June 2, Russia extended a ban on fresh vegetable imports, initially imposed on produce from Spain and Germany, to encompass all of the European Union, triggering a sharp response from European officials who called the move “disproportionate.”
Britain’s Health Protection Agency confirmed that day that the number of cases in Britain had risen from three to seven, with the bacteria found in people who had recently traveled to Germany. There had been no cases of secondary infection, the agency said.
Superbug Bacteria News
A new strain of bacteria which is resistant to almost all antibiotics has been found in drinking water and water pools outside the Indian capital city of New Delhi.
"The fact that this [superbug] has emerged is worrisome, but forecasting what it will do is very difficult," said Guenael Rodier, director of communicable diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO).
The new drug-resistance gene, NDM-1 -- which has been named after New Delhi -- is widely circulating in the environment and could potentially spread to the rest of the world, experts noted.
"In India, this transmission represents a serious problem -- 650 million citizens do not have access to a flush toilet and even more probably do not have access to clean water," the authors of the report have stated.
New Delhi's serious lack of proper sanitation and limited access to clean water supplies, along with over-use of antibacterial medications and soaps exacerbate the bacteria's drug resistance.
A researcher claimed that given its spread through New Delhi's water supply about half a million people are carrying this bacterial strain in their gut. Indian officials, however, dismiss the claim after randomly sampling about 2,000 women all of whom showed no signs of the infection.
"The potential for wider international spread ... is real and should not be ignored," said microbiologist Mohd Shahid of India's Aligarh Muslim University.
Since it was first identified in 2008, the bacteria strain has popped up in a number of countries, including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and Sweden.
Researchers believe the superbug could be spread by foreigners visiting India.
Bacteria with the NDM-1 gene can only be treated with highly toxic and expensive antibiotics, yet the gene can be transferred between various other types of bacteria, including those that cause cholera and dysentery.
The ‘Ordeal Bean’
The ‘Ordeal Bean’
“The Calabar negroes call the seed eséré, and use it as an ordeal for the purpose of deciding the guilt or innocence of persons accused of crimes.”
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