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Bananas Could Go Extinct Due To Fungus Outbreak, Scientists Say

"Nobody is even close to solving the problem," said Dan Koeppel, author of the book "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World."Getty Images/iStockphoto

This pandemic could spell farm-ageddon for the global banana market.

While there are over 1,000 species of the crescent-shaped fruit, 47% of all bananas consumed by people are of the Cavendish strain.

Here's hoping they don't become so rare that a

single banana sells for $120,000, a la the work by avant-garde Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.

This potential extirpation is somewhat ironic given that the species was bred for, among other factors, its resistance to disease.

After another popular variety of the fruit called Gros Michel was wiped out by tropical race 1 (TR4's predecessor) in the early 20th century, the Cavendish variety soared due to its immunity to race 1, eventually becoming the most widely exported strain.

Fortunately, experts believe they can prevent Cavendish from going the way of Gros Michel before it's too late.

"We have at least a decade before the impact is drastic," declared Dale. "I would say with certainty that there will be a solution before the export market for Cavendish is severely affected."

Possible solutions include genetically modified versions that are resistant to TR4, fruit grafting — transplanting tissues between plants to imbue them with different characteristics such as disease resilience.

Meanwhile, some scientists in Taiwan are experimenting with exposing Cavendish seedlings to TR4 to make them resistant, like a banana vaccine.

However, Koeppel argued that these are temporary fixes rather than long-term solutions as the aforementioned measures wouldn't inoculate bananas against a new disease strain — as was the case with the Cavendish.

Koeppel said solving the problem would involve mass producing and hawking multiple banana varieties because genetic diversity makes the fruit less vulnerable to disease.

"The answer is going to be the end of monoculture," the scientist declared. "The answer is variety."

Poland, EU's Biggest Poultry Producer, Reports Bird Flu Outbreak

Test tubes labelled "Bird Flu" and eggs are seen in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

PARIS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Poland, the European Union's largest poultry producer, has reported an outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus among poultry in the northern part of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday.

The spread of bird flu has raised concerns among governments and the poultry industry after it ravaged flocks around the world over the past few years, disrupting supply, fuelling food prices and raising the risk of human transmission.

The outbreak was found in a backyard with 80 domestic birds, the Paris-based body said, citing information from Poland's health authorities.

Bird flu usually strikes during the autumn and winter. It is transmitted via the faeces of infected migrating wild birds or by direct contact with contaminated feed, clothing and equipment.

Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, editing by Gus Trompiz and Deborah Kyvrikosaios

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Washington Having Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak In 20 Years

Tuberculosis (TB) most commonly affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body such ... [+] as the kidneys, spine, and brain. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Getty Images

TB or not TB. Since the beginning of 2021, doctors and public health officials in the state of Washington may have been asking this type of question much more often. And that not be good. The state had 199 reported cases of TB, which is short for tuberculosis, in 2021 and has already had 70 reported cases just four months into 2022. In fact, according to a Washington State Department of Health announcement on April 28, the state has been having its largest TB outbreak in the last 20 years.

Last year's TB total represented a 22% jump from the year prior. Reported TB cases had actually decreased in 2020 compared to 2019. However, before you say, "yay, 2020," keep in mind that 2020 was when a little thing called the Covid-19 pandemic had gotten started. This meant that many TB prevention services and clinics may have been closed or understaffed. Plus, many folks may have avoided health care settings. As a result, those infected with the TB-causing bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis may have gone undiagnosed and thus have spread the bacteria without even knowing it. That, in turn, could have pushed the number of new cases up and up, in the words of Coldplay.

The announcement quoted Washington's Chief Science Officer Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, MD, MPH, as saying, "It's been 20 years since we saw a cluster of TB cases like this. The pandemic has likely contributed to the rise in cases and the outbreak in at least one correctional facility."

Also included in the announcement was a statement from Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) Chief Medical Officer MaryAnn Curl, MD: "Testing of staff, and our incarcerated population at Stafford Creek Correction Center continues, which is how these cases were found. We'll continue to communicate with staff, their incarcerated population and their families as appropriate."

One key will be to not "air" on the side of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. You can catch the bacteria by inhaling air contaminated by an infectious person who is coughing or sneezing. TB is not as contagious as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). So prolonged close contact is typically required for transmission to occur. Nevertheless, someone with active TB needs to stay isolated, and people should wear N95 face masks when in the same room as the person.

TB most often becomes a lung story with the bacteria wreaking havoc in your lungs. However, Mycobacterium tuberculosis can also go to and damage other parts of your body such as your kidneys, spine, and brain. Usually, it takes about three to nine weeks from the initial infection to the appearance of a lesion in the lung or a person's TB skin test to turn positive. Not everyone who gets infected will necessarily develop active TB and become ill right off the bat. Some people will have latent TB infections (LTBI) instead where the bacteria is hanging out in your body but you aren't infectious and don't display any symptoms. However, latent infections can eventually turn into active TB disease when not treated properly. When you don't treat active TB appropriately, you can die from the disease. And death from TB would be not good

Common symptoms of active TB include a bad cough that lasts three weeks or longer, chest pain, and coughing up blood. You may also feel weak, lose your appetite and weight, or suffer night sweats. Symptoms alone are not enough to determine whether you have TB since such symptoms can have other causes. For example, bronchitis, lung cancer, bronchiectasis, other types of pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are some of the other things that can cause hemoptysis, which is the medical term for coughing up blood. Similarly, a variety of others issues can lead to excessive sweating at night such as alcohol use, anxiety, autoimmune disorders, other types of infections, lymphoma, hyperthyroidism, and wearing 14 sweaters to bed. Diagnosis of a TB infection requires either a skin or blood test. Diagnosis of a active TB lung infection involves checking your sputum or lung secretions for presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Treatment for LTBI entails some combination of isoniazid, rifapentine, and rifampin for somewhere between three months and nine months depending on which of these medications are used. Treatment of active TB can take four, six, or nine months depending on what regimen of medication are used. These medications aren't like pizza. Once you start them, you shouldn't leave leftovers. It's important to finish any regimen that you begin. Otherwise, you may not get rid of all the Mycobacterium tuberculosis and even worse could drive the development of antibiotic resistant strains of TB.

The keys to controlling this outbreak will be testing all close contacts of people infected with TB as well as those who are at risk for exposure such as people who live or work at homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and parts of the world where TB is more common. And then quickly isolating those who may have active TB, and treating everyone who's infected. That may be easier said than done since the words "public health" and "swimming with resources" aren't often seen together. Instead, you're probably a whole lot more likely to see words such as "public health" and "which decade is that FAX machine from" together.

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