Wheat, one of the most important food crops, is threatened by a blast disease pandemic. Here, we show that a clonal lineage of the wheat blast fungus recently spread to Asia and Africa following two ...independent introductions from South America. Through a combination of genome analyses and laboratory experiments, we show that the decade-old blast pandemic lineage can be controlled by the Rmg8 disease resistance gene and is sensitive to strobilurin fungicides. However, we also highlight the potential of the pandemic clone to evolve fungicide-insensitive variants and sexually recombine with African lineages. This underscores the urgent need for genomic surveillance to track and mitigate the spread of wheat blast outside of South America and to guide preemptive wheat breeding for blast resistance.
The Etiology, Risk Factors and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development (MAL-ED) cohort study site in Nepal is located in the ...Bhaktapur municipality, 15 km east of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. Bhaktapur, an ancient city famous for its traditional temples and buildings, is included on UNESCO's World Heritage List and is a major tourist attraction in Nepal. Nepal is a land-locked country located in South Asia between China and India with an area of 147 181 km 2 , ranging from sea-level plains to Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. The total population as of the 2011 census was 26.6 million, with an average annual population growth rate of 1.4. Nepal is one of the world's least developed countries and is ranked 157 of 186 in the 2013 Human Development Report; one-third of the Nepali population lives below the poverty line. The current under-5 mortality rate is 54 per 1000 live births, the infant mortality rate is 46 per 1000 live births, and the neonatal mortality rate is 33 per 1000 live births. Vaccine coverage for all Expanded Program on Immunization vaccines is >80%. Among children, the most common diseases contributing to significant morbidity and mortality are acute respiratory infection and dehydration from severe diarrhea. In this article, we report on the geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic features of the Bhaktapur MAL-ED site and describe the data that informed our cohort recruitment strategy.
Formal breeding strategies and processes focus on developing uniform and non-evolutionary populations. However, many farmers continue to cultivate heterogenous cultivars and populations. To ...understand the recognition of genetic diversity (heterogenous cultivars and populations) in policies and the fields, a literature survey along with field survey, interaction and field action research were carried out in 15 districts of Nepal. Existing policies demand varieties to go through DUS (distinctness, uniformity, stability) testing and be registered in National Seed Board (NSB) for commercial production and sale. This means all native landraces and other broad genetic-based genotypes cannot be marketed without registration. A formal agriculture system accelerates the cultivation of a single genotype in a large area, leading to a lack of pollinators and the loss of many genetic diversities.
Legal agricultural systems have focused mainly on modernizing agriculture through exotic resources, giving less priority to making native landraces and technologies globally competitive. In contrast, the informal seed system deals with polymorphic and evolutionary populations. Therefore, policies should consider the strategies that favor and increase genetic diversity, evolutionary population, site-specific genotypes and staple food, self-seed production system, ecological services, insects/birds/ microorganism-friendly systems, etc. Native agricultural genetic resources (AGRs) with broad genetic bases are essential for food, nutrition, health, environment, and business security. Therefore, native landraces of all six components of agrobiodiversity (namely crops, forages, livestock, aquatic genetic resources, insects, and microorganisms) should receive priority in research, development, extension, and education. Additionally, a favorable policy for the commercialization of such native landraces and/ or their products without registration should be established. Alternatively, a registration system should be developed for broad genetic base genotypes and heterogenous and evolutionary populations.
Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Every year millions of children suffer from viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs) ...ranging from mild to severe illnesses. Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is among the most frequent viruses responsible for RTIs. However, HMPV infections and their severity among children have not been explored yet in Nepal.
Therefore, the study was focused on HMPV infections and other potential viral etiologies or co-infections using multiplex PCR among children attending Kanti Children's Hospital and assessed the clinical characteristics of the infections as well as found the co-infections. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was designed and a convenience sampling method was used to enroll children of less than 15 years with flu-like symptoms from both outpatients and inpatients departments over three months of the study period.
HMPV infection (13.3%) was the most predominant infection among the different viral infections in children with ARIs in Kanti Children's Hospital. The HMPV was more prevalent in the age group less than three years (21.8%). Cough and fever were the most common clinical features present in all children infected with HMPV followed by rhinorrhea, sore throat, and wheezing. HMPV-positive children were diagnosed with pneumonia (42.9%), bronchiolitis (28.5%), upper respiratory tract infections (14.3%), and asthma (14.3%). The prevalence of HMPV was high in late winter (14.3%) followed by early spring (13.5%).
This study provides the baseline information on HMPV and associated co-infection with other respiratory viruses for the differential diagnosis based on molecular methods and also the comparison of clinical presentations among the different respiratory syndromes.
Products obtained from forests or other natural environments play a crucial role in sustaining the livelihoods of poor people in developing countries through income generation and the creation of ...employment opportunities. Although studies have been carried out to evaluate the dependence of local livelihoods on environmental products, quantify the linkage between poverty and biodiversity, and assess the impacts of resource depletion on household economics, most have been focused geographically on the tropics. Our study was conducted in the mountain village of Jumla, Nepal, to quantify the economic contribution of Chinese caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (yarsagumba) to local households. Income from yarsagumba accounted for up to 65% of the total household cash income, on average, and its contribution was highest in the poorest households. It contributed to reducing income inequality by 38%, and the income was utilized to purchase food and clothes, celebrate festivals, pay for medical treatment and children's education, and for savings. There was a mean annual decline of 25 pieces in the per capita harvest of yarsagumba during 2010–2014. However, the decline had no adverse impact on household income, as the price increased.
Exposure to aflatoxin, a mycotoxin common in many foods, has been associated with child growth impairment in sub-Saharan Africa. To improve our understanding of growth impairment in relation to ...aflatoxin and other risk factors, we assessed biospecimens collected in Nepalese children at 15, 24, and 36 months of age for aflatoxin exposure. Children (N = 85) enrolled in the Bhaktapur, Nepal MAL-ED study encompassed the cohort analysed in this study. Exposure was assessed through a plasma biomarker of aflatoxin exposure: the AFB1-lysine adduct. The aflatoxin exposures in the study participants were compared to anthropometrics at each time period (length-for-age LAZ, weight-for-age WAZ, and weight-for-length WLZ z-scores), growth trajectories over time, age, and breastfeeding status. Results demonstrated chronic aflatoxin exposure in this cohort of children, with a geometric mean of 3.62 pg AFB1-lysine/mg albumin. However, the chronic aflatoxin exposure in this cohort was not significantly associated with anthropometric z-scores, growth trajectories, age, or feeding status, based on the available time points to assess aflatoxin exposure. Low mean levels of aflatoxin exposure and infrequent occurrence of stunting, wasting, or underweight z-score values in this cohort are possible contributing factors to a lack of evidence for an association. Further research is needed to examine whether a threshold dose of aflatoxin exists that could induce child growth impairment.
Caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) makes an economically important contribution to livelihoods of the local people in the Himalaya. Its extraordinarily high market price as an aphrodisiac, ...and pressure in the natural habitats due to overharvesting and climate change, have attracted local and global media attentions. Despite the wide media coverage on various social and environmental aspects of the caterpillar fungus, a consolidated analysis of the news and featured articles about the different dimensions of the caterpillar fungus is lacking. In this paper, we assess how the Nepalese print media have portrayed the social, economic, governance, and biological dimensions of caterpillar fungus conservation and management. We conducted a thematic analysis of newspaper articles published for fourteen years from 2008–2021 in seven national daily newspapers in Nepal. We used an inductive method to extract the keywords from the printed newspapers, resulting in 3,777 keywords from 681 news items belonging to eight thematic areas. Based on the similarities and differences in the keywords, the news items were categorized into eight themes: impacts of caterpillar fungus harvesting (28% news coverage), trade of caterpillar fungus (16%), general information about the fungus (15%), harvesting of the fungus (14%), governance mechanisms (14%), challenges to the harvesters (6%), policy gaps (4%), and institutional and policy responses (3%). We found that Nepalese media highlighted the socio-economic and environmental impacts of caterpillar fungus harvesting but presented less information about the government response to its conservation, gaps in knowledge and governance mechanisms necessary to conserve the fungus. The thematic analysis of media reporting can help in devising long term conservation and management policies of the caterpillar fungus, particularly focussing on the issues frequently reported by the national media.
Caterpillar fungus, Conservation, Nepal, Newspaper, Media, Thematic analysis.
Objective To estimate the abilities of weight and length velocities vs attained growth measures to predict stunting, wasting, and underweight at age 2 years. Study design We analyzed data from a ...community-based cohort study (The Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development study MAL-ED study) in Bhaktapur, Nepal. A total of 240 randomly selected children were enrolled at birth and followed up monthly up to age 24 months. Linear and logistic regression models were used to predict malnutrition at 2 years of age with growth velocity z scores at 0-3, 0-6, 3-6, 6-9, 6-12, and 9-12 months (using the World Health Organization Growth Standards) or attained growth at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months as predictors. Results At age 2 years, 4% of the children were wasted, 13% underweight, and 21% stunted. Children who were malnourished at age 2 years had lower mean growth z scores already at birth and throughout the study period. Anthropometric indicators in infancy were significant predictors for growth at the age of 2 years during most periods and at most ages in infancy. Weight-for-age z score, length-for-age z score, and weight-for-length z score at age 12 months had excellent areas under the curve (91-95) to predict the value of the same indicator at age 24 months. Maximum area under the curve values for weight and length velocity were somewhat lower (70-84). Conclusions Growth measured at one time point in infancy was better correlated with undernutrition at age 2 years than growth velocity.
Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and metallo beta-lactamase (MBL) production in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli are the commonest modes of drug resistance among these commonly ...isolated bacteria from clinical specimens. So the main purpose of our study was to determine the burden of ESBL and MBL production in E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolated from clinical samples. Further, the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of E. coli and K. pneumoniae were also determined.
A cross-sectional study was conducted at Om Hospital and Research Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal by using the E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolated from different clinical samples (urine, pus, body fluids, sputum, blood) from May 2015 to December 2015. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion technique. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase production was detected by combined disc method using ceftazidime and ceftazidime/clavulanic acid discs and cefotaxime and cefotaxime/clavulanic acid discs. Similarly, metallo beta-lactamase production was detected by combined disc assay using imipenem and imipenem/ethylenediaminetetracetate discs. Bacteria showing resistance to at least three different classes of antibiotics were considered multidrug resistant (MDR).
Of total 1568 different clinical samples processed, 268 (17.1%) samples were culture positive. Among which, E. coli and K. pneumoniae were isolated from 138 (51.5%) and 39 (14.6%) samples respectively. Of the total isolates 61 (34.5%) were ESBL producers and 7 (4%) isolates were found to be MBL producers. High rates of ESBL production (35.9%) was noted among the clinical isolates from outpatients, however no MBL producing strains were isolated from outpatients. Among 138 E. coli and 39 K. pneumoniae, 73 (52.9%) E. coli and 23 (59%) K. pneumoniae were multidrug resistant. The lowest rates of resistance was seen toward imipenem followed by piperacillin/tazobactam, amikacin and cefoperazone/sulbactam.
High rate of ESBL production was found in the E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolated from outpatients suggesting the dissemination of ESBL producing isolates in community. This is very serious issue and can't be neglected. Regular monitoring of rates of ESBL and MBL production along with multidrug resistance among clinical isolates is very necessary.
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