Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

‘More information now needed’ over Garda training college finances?

A Garda graduation ceremony at Templemore, Tipperary

  

A GARDA BOSS HAS SAID IT IS “TOO EARLY TO SAY” IF CRIMES WERE COMMITTED AMID FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES AT THE FORCE’S TRAINING COLLEGE.

John Barrett, Garda human resources director, told a parliamentary committee he was “alarmed” when he learned about the use and transfer of public money at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary.

An internal audit by the force uncovered a five million euro surplus in bank accounts and investment policies related to the college.

Concerns were flagged over the leasing out of land and some of the money being spent on entertaining and retirement gifts.

An internal investigation by an assistant commissioner as well as an audit by in-house officials into the findings is ongoing.

Before the Public Accounts Committee, Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan said no criminality had been detected to date in the ongoing investigations.

However, when a group of senior Garda managers flanking her were asked if they agreed, Mr Barrett insisted there remained “open issues” that needed to be resolved before criminality could be ruled out.

“I think it is too early to say on several fronts,” he said.

“The audit took in total 10 weeks, the matters being dealt with went back some considerable years.

“There are several matters that are now going to be followed up.

“I think we will be in a better position to report at that point.”

Mr Barrett said he was “neither agreeing or disagreeing” with Ms O’Sullivan, and added: “I’m saying there is more information required.”

The former US multinationals human resources boss said he discovered two internal reports, from 2008 and 2010, into the financial irregularities in June 2015.

He then drew up a summary of both reports and began asking questions about the control of the Garda college.

“I was alarmed,” he said, adding that in his experience such governance and “fundamental accounting” issues would have been dealt with much quicker in the private sector.

Mr Barrett said the answers he received were unsatisfactory.

Irish managers not up to speed with our digital revolution

KINGRAM RED DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION REPORT FINDS BUSINESSES LACK VISION FOR DIGITAL FUTURE

   

The KingramRed report on the state of digital transformation in Ireland 2017 found a majority of the participants still believed responsibility for going digital lay below CEO level with IT departments.  to LinkedIn

Businesses in Ireland are “struggling to transform to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital revolution”. That’s according to the 2017 KingramRed Digital Transformation Report. In the second report of its kind by the digital management consultancy, which included a wide range of Irish organisations across a variety of sectors, it was found “boards and senior management are not developing a vision of their digital future [and] leadership capabilities and awareness are not sufficiently developed in this area to drive direction and mitigate risks”.

Less than half of the organisations surveyed had established any formal vision for the future in terms of maintaining competitiveness in a digital world.

Only 53% even recognised there was any urgency to change.

Going digital?

The biggest take-home from the report, however, was that a significant majority of participants still believed responsibility for going digital lay below CEO level with IT departments. Over 60 per cent of those surveyed on management and board levels believed it was not a priority issue for the top levels – an oversight which has resulted in efforts to prepare for the looming digital transformation frequently becoming “dissipated in silos across organisations”.

The shortage of resources and skills is a serious challenge to driving forward with change

The report, which included input from Irish organisations working in finance, logistics, agriculture, food and beverage, measured companies’ awareness/use of current and emerging technologies such as AI, data analytics, robotics, algorithms and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Big data and analytics were far and away the most predominant technology already in use by organisations in Ireland, with “65 per cent already engaged and a further 20 per cent expecting to take advantage within two years”.

An early adoption plan

Robotics was one of the lowest technologies in terms of early adoption by firms, with “almost 30% per cent of organisations either actively investigating or imminently planning to assess robotic solutions”.

There was broad agreement in one area, though. Almost across the board, Irish businesses recognised the major challenge that insufficient digital skills and resources presented and identified the “shortage of skills and resources” as the greatest challenge to pursuing digital transformation.

According to the report, “the shortage of resources and skills is a serious challenge to driving forward with change. This tallies with the responses that, despite the fact that 72 per cent are investing in digital skills, only half of organisations believe that they have the skills and resources (both internally and externally) that they need to manage their digital initiatives.”

Irish Life report 44% increase in profits for Q1 2017

  

Irish Life has reported a 44% increase in profits for the first quarter of 2017, contributing €54m to Canadian parent Great West Lifeco’s earnings in the quarter.

Profit in the first three months of this year was up from €37.5m in the same quarter in 2016.

The business was nationalised during the crash and sold on by the Government to Great West for €1.3bn in 2013.

Since then the business has seen continues growth, and paid up more than €210m in dividends to the new owners.

Last year Irish Life expanded into the health insurance market, it bought Aviva Health and took full control of GloHealth, where it had previously held a 49% stake.

David Harney, Chief Executive of Irish Life Group, said that Irish Life’s strong performance was due, in part, to the inclusion of Irish Life Health’s contribution for the first time in the quarter, and the continued success of the company’s multi-asset investment strategies (MAPS).

“We have seen increased investment across Irish Life’s pension, investment and savings plans as investors return to the market.

There is now over €9bn invested in our multi asset strategies including €2.5bn by retail investors. Over the last 12 months the number of individual investors has grown by over 40% to 46,000 and the total value invested in Irish Life MAPS has increased by 70%,” he said.

Brendan Drumm former HSE boss questions nuns’ ownership of maternity hospital

FORMER HSE BOSS ASKS WHY HIQA ARE ‘ALLOWING A BIZARRE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE’

  

Brendan Drumm, former chief executive of the HSE.

The former chief executive of the HSE Brendan Drumm has said there is no reason why nuns should want to own the planned new National Maternity Hospital.

The announcement that the new €300 million maternity hospital would be given to a Sisters of Charity-owned healthcare group met with public protest last month, and the resignation of Dr Peter Boylan from the board of Holles Street hospital.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the planned new hospital at the St Vincent’s Hospital campus in south Dublin would have full clinical independence.

“In terms of ownership of hospitals, I can see no reason whatsoever why the nuns would want to own a hospital,” Mr Drumm said. “Hospitals that are invested in by the public should be owned either by a nonprofit organisation or by the public itself.”

Mr Drumm also questioned the management structure at St Vincent’s Hospital. “How can we have two boards or two management structures responsible for the care given to a woman undergoing vaginal surgery in St Vincent Hospital? I don’t believe there’s any governance structure in the world that would say that’s optimal in terms of the care,” he said.

“I believe the women of Ireland should be marching in the streets asking why Hiqa and other agencies, who have very strong governance, seem to be allowing what is a bizarre governance structure that will have two boards running what is essentially a single hospital,” he said.

Mr Drumm was speaking at the launch of Managing the Myths of Healthcare: Bridging the Separations Between Care, Control and Community by Prof Henry Mintzberg at UCD Business School on Thursday night.

Parents this is how to tell your children you’re dealing with depression and anxiety?

     

Tracey Starr (Above centre picture) is a Canadian editor and writer, but first and foremost, she’s a mom to her five-year-old daughter.

WHEN IT COMES TO PARENTS REVEALING TO THEIR CHILDREN THEY’RE DEALING WITH DEPRESSION AND/OR ANXIETY, IT’S BEST TO KEEP IN MIND THE AGE OF THE CHILD.

Tracey Starr is a Canadian editor and writer, but first and foremost, she’s a mom to her five-year-old daughter. Starr is also a parent who suffers from depression and anxiety, and chooses to openly share with her daughter what she’s going through.

To Starr, her mental illness is something she lives with every day. She told Global News in a telephone interview that she first suffered from depression as a teenager in high school and was diagnosed with anxiety in her 30s.

“I put on a brave face every day since I could remember,” said Starr. “If I were to walk around crying or have a panic attack — those aren’t things that are well accepted or understood… a lot of people don’t even know, or wouldn’t even know, that I suffer depression or anxiety.”

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), 20 per cent of Canadians will experience some sort of mental illness in their lifetime.

In a recent Ipsos poll, 41 per cent of Canadians born between the years of 1961 to 1981, also known as Generation X, are at “high risk” when it comes to their mental health, while 24 per cent of Baby Boomers — those born between the years of 1946 to 1964 — are at high risk.

Depression and anxiety are also things that Starr talks to her daughter about, in order to not only be honest and open with her, but most importantly, to create a dialogue when it comes to mental illness.

“If she sees me sad, she’ll ask why I’m crying,” said Starr. “And I’ll say, ‘Sometimes it’s hard for mommy to relax and put a smile on my face but I’m doing my best like I ask for you to do your best.’”

Starr also said when she talks to her five-year-old about her mental illness, she doesn’t use the word “depression” to explain what she has.

“It’s not that I don’t want to or that I’m afraid. It’s not about shame because I never ever want her to feel shame about anything. It’s more about saying it in a narrative that she’ll understand so she won’t feel frightened.”

This method Starr chooses to use to talk to her daughter about anxiety and depression is one doctors agree is the best way for parents to approach their children about the situation.

Dr. Jillian Roberts, a registered psychologist who specializes in children and adolescents, said the age of the child and their circumstances should play a big factor into how parents tell their child what they’re going through.

“A mature child who doesn’t have any major stresses could handle more information than a child who is slow to develop when it comes to maturity, or going through a crisis of their own,” said Roberts.

Roberts also says that the younger the child is, the less a parent should share. For example, a child who is in preschool or younger, wouldn’t often need to know the condition the parent is going through.

“This is a time to shelter stress, as much as possible, from your child. Parents must seek treatment and surround themselves with as much support as they possibly can,” said Roberts.

Whereas, if your child is in the middle of elementary school, they could handle a bit more information.

“You could explain that you do not ‘feel well in your mind’ or ‘in your heart.’ It will still be very important to reassure your children, stress that this is not their fault in any whatsoever, and explain that you are getting the best help available.”

Reassuring her child, said Starr, is something she does.

“I say, ‘Mommy loves you, mommy is fine. Mommy just needs a moment but everything will be ok,” said Starr. “I say that to make sure she knows everything will be ok; I need to be her example. I don’t want to frighten her — I want to educate her.”

Dr. Shimi Kang, an adult and youth psychiatrist as well as a parenting author, said using an analogy of a physical illness is also another great method to explain to children about mental illness.

For example, you could tell your child that Johnny’s asthma gets worse in the wintertime, just like how mommy and/or daddy feels better or worse during certain circumstances.

“Kids are very in tune with their parents,” said Kang to Global News. “With older kids, they may see something is wrong and have concerns. Give children some power and talk about what they’ve noticed themselves.

“[The child might say] they’ve noticed you crying a lot more or that you’re angry, and then you can say, ‘Wow, you’re right. I’ve been diagnosed with depression.’”

Kang also said it’s very important for parents to try and be confident in themselves.

“You’re the parent: it’s your job to teach your kids. If they don’t understand, don’t take it personally. Just teach them. Just like math — teach them about it.”

Dr. Oren Amitay, a Toronto-based registered psychologist, said another way to talk to your children is by using celebrities — someone kids may idolize or look up to.

“You could say, ‘So and so’ had it as well. Show them powerful people have it as well.”

Amitay also said it’s a great way for parents to be a role model to their children.

“This is a great life lesson: when you’re knocked down, show them you’re going to get back up somehow,” said Amitay. “Too many parents try to shield it. But kids internalize most things. If mommy can’t get out of bed, or daddy doesn’t smile, then the kids are going to say, ‘What’s wrong with me?’”

Amitay stressed it’s important for parents to remind their child that mental illness isn’t happening because of them.

“Reassure the child so they don’t take it upon themselves.”

In all cases, Roberts, Kang and Amitay spoke about mental illness being just as important as a physical illness, and that parents should seek support, whether from family, friends or their community, about what they’re dealing with in order to get the help they need, and to de-stigmatize mental illness.

“There needs to be more medical services,” said Roberts. “There’s a long wait list to see a specialist and sometimes, parents might be in a crisis — they can’t wait eight months to see someone.”

Starr said her advice to parents is just taking it one day at a time.

“I know it sounds silly but I always say, ‘Take baby steps. Be kind and gentle with yourself,’” said Starr. “I make sure my daughter is safe, happy, loved and surrounded by positivity and happiness. She’s my priority.”

SpaceX is to launch first homegrown satellite this year, and plans broadband network in 2019

  

SPACEX PLANS TO LAUNCH ITS OWN SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKETS, LIKE THE ONE SHOWN HERE LIFTING OFF FROM NASA’S LAUNCH COMPLEX 39A IN FLORIDA.

SpaceX has laid out its latest schedule for the satellite broadband service it’s developing in the Seattle area, starting with the launch of a prototype satellite by the end of this year.

The ambitious plan foresees beginning the launch of operational satellites into low Earth orbit aboard Falcon 9 rockets in 2019, with the constellation reaching its full complement of 4,425 satellites by 2024.

That constellation would provide high-speed internet access to billions of people around the globe, beaming data via the Ku and Ka transmission bands to SpaceX’s laptop-sized user terminals. Another 7,500 satellites operating in the V-band could be added later to boost the network’s capabilities.

This week’s update came in testimony provided to the Senate Commerce Committee by Patricia Cooper, SpaceX’s vice president for satellite government affairs.

“SpaceX plans to bring high-speed, reliable and affordable broadband service to consumers in the U.S. and around the world, including areas underserved or currently unserved by existing networks,” Cooper said in her written testimony.

SpaceX’s Redmond office is the center for its satellite operations. (GeekWire photo by Kevin Lisota)

Her statement signals that SpaceX’s satellite development center in Redmond, Wash., is likely to be ramping up in the months ahead – which meshes with the company’s expansion of its Redmond facilities.

Although SpaceX hasn’t provided employment figures for the Redmond operation, the company’s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, has said the figure could eventually rise to 1,000. SpaceX’s website currently lists more than 60 open positions in Redmond.

Cooper said this year’s first launch of a prototype satellite would be followed early next year with a second prototype launch, followed by a demonstration period before the start of the operational launch campaign in 2019.

Each 850-pound satellite would measure about 13 by 6 by 4 feet, with 19-foot-long solar arrays, according to SpaceX’s filing with the Federal Communications Commission. Operating lifetime is estimated at five to seven years per satellite.

The relatively low orbits designated for the satellite constellation – ranging from 690 to 823 miles in altitude – would provide relatively low latency for the flow of data, which has been a significant drawback for satellite broadband.

In her testimony, Cooper urged the senators to support the FCC’s efforts to modernize its regulations for satellite systems.

For example, she noted that current FCC rules require a licensee to launch all the satellites in its constellation within six years of receiving a license. “These systems should be allowed to grow more like cellular networks, where additional assets and updated technology are deployed over time to meet increased demand,” Cooper said.

Cooper also said next-generation satellite systems should be included in any legislation aimed at beefing up the nation’s infrastructure. The Trump administration has called for a $1 trillion public-private infrastructure initiative.

SpaceX isn’t the only venture planning to put satellites in low Earth orbit to provide widescale high-speed internet access. OneWeb, a consortium with backing from Airbus, Virgin Galactic and other partners, aims to start launching satellites within the next two years.

Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, said in March that it would send up OneWeb’s satellites on its yet-to-be-built New Glenn rocket starting in 2021.

The Boeing Co. has also drawn up plans for a satellite internet system, and last month Bloomberg reported that Boeing has discussed the project with Apple. TMF Associates’ Tim Farrar went further, quoting insiders as saying that Apple was funding Boeing’s V-band satellite development effort.

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Ireland prepared to send troops to help France, says Enda Kenny

Government willing to send soldiers to replace French forces in Mali or Lebanon

   

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he had been briefed this morning by the national security committee.

The Government is prepared to send additional Irish troops to Mali or Lebanon in order to relieve French soldiers who will be sent to fight Islamic State, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has indicated.

Mr Kenny said the French ambassador to Ireland has told him France is already stretched in its military commitments as it prepares to intensify its efforts against Islamic State in Syria.

Speaking on Thursday at an Action Plan for Jobs press conference, Mr Kenny said no formal request had come from France to the Irish Government requesting aid.

However, Mr Kenny indicated the Government is prepared to send a small number of Defence Forces personnel to Mali or Lebanon to relieve their French counterparts.

“We have said that, within our conditions and our circumstances, we will assist in whatever way we can here, though probably the numbers will be small,” Mr Kenny said.

French president Francois Hollande has said his country is at war with IS and the French government this week invoked a mutual defence clause within the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty.

“When I signed the book of condolences at the French embassy the other day, the French ambassador did mention this to me that France is now very stretched,” the Taoiseach said.

“At the meeting of (EU) ministers for defence during the week, the French defence minister invoked the relevant article from the European treaties looking for help.

“It’s a matter for every country as to their own national security and defence position, how they might assist in that regard.

We have been working with the French in Mali, 10 members of the Defence Forces out there doing particular duties. “Now, a formal request has not come in from France yet. It may come through the Minister for Defence, it may be dealing with extra personnel that the French may withdraw from south Lebanon or Mali or whatever.

“The point the French make is that the French president has declared that France is at war in respect of these incidents in Syria. The French defence forces are stretched in quite a number of countries and they may make a request for assistance in that regard.

Obviously, there is a process by which Ireland being a neutral country would offer assistance in particular forms and we would consider that when it comes.”

Mr Kenny also said the national security committee – which includes Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan and the Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett – briefed him, Tánaiste Joan Burton and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald this morning.

“The Tánaiste and I and the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Defence had a briefing this morning from the national security committee, including the Garda Commissioner and the chief of staff of the Defence Forces,” Mr Kenny said.

“The situation insofar as Ireland has concerned has not changed since the Paris attacks. An incident is possible but not likely.”

Atlantic Philanthropies gives €138m grant to tackle dementia

Trinity College Dublin and University of California to share largest allocation to date.

    

Atlantic Philanthropies founder Chuck Feeney (right) with president and chief executive Christopher Oechsli.

Atlantic Philanthropies is to give €138 million – its largest grant to date – to Trinity College Dublin and University of California San Francisco to help tackle the looming dementia epidemic. Almost 50,000 people are living with dementia in Ireland, a number which is projected to double every 20 years if there is no effective intervention.

The new initiative will involve training hundreds of health professionals to carry out dementia research, deliver healthcare and change policies and practices around treatment of the disease. Details are due to be formally announced later today at an event attended by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Professor of psychology at Trinity College Dublin Ian Robertson said dementia amounted to a “public health emergency” comparable to the Aids epidemic of the 1980s.

“That led to a big social movement which required all sorts of social advocacy, political will and biomedical research which resulted in Aids becoming a largely treatable condition. “Now we face an even greater problem with dementia,” he added. “There are 48 million people with the disease. That’s set to double every 20 years – and we don’t have any treatment for it.”

The Trinity team will be headed by Prof Robertson and by ProfBrian Lawlor, who specialises in old-age psychiatry.

Latest research indicates that up to 30 per cent of new dementia cases may be preventable through changes in diet, exercise, mental stimulation and tackling risk factors such as diabetes and heart disease. Prof Robertson said a new “global brain health institute” would accelerate the application of science in this area, as well as drawing in additional funding for new research.

In all, some 600 health professionals, or “fellows”, will be trained over the next 15 years to help change policies and practices in the field. It is hoped they will then return to their home countries to become leaders in developing dementia-related healthcare programmes.

Neuroscience

A separate “scholars programme” will focus on training journalists, managers and filmmakers to teach others about the preventable causes of cognitive impairment. Training for both programmes will be multi-disciplinary, including geriatrics, cognitive neuroscience, public policy, health economics, health law and communications.

Christopher Oechsli, Atlantic Philanthropies president and chief executive, said: “Our goal is to create a generation of leaders around the world who have the knowledge, skills and drive to change both the practice of dementia care and the public health and societal forces that affect brain health.”

Atlantic Philanthropies is due to wind down its operations by the end of the decade following three decades of grant-making around the world. The organisation, founded by billionaire Chuck Feeney, has granted more than $6 billion worldwide, with about €1.25 billion going to projects in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Dr Patrick Prendergast, president and provost of Trinity said the latest announcement would bring benefits to people around the world, create jobs in Ireland and deepen expertise in neuroscience and ageing.

“The sum donated is huge but so, too, is the problem we are trying to solve. There is hardly a family anywhere that has not experienced dementia in some shape or form,” he said.

Prof Bruce Miller of University of California San Franciso said the scale of funding and training in the dementia initiative could help change the course of this disease and protect vulnerable people around the world.

“We want to train leaders, not just in medicine and public policy, but also social science, journalism, law, business and the arts, who can teach others about the preventable causes of cognitive impairment, which disproportionately affect the poor,” he said.

Up to 15% of Irish homes have no access to broadband services – report

   

Respondents say, compared to two years ago, they are paying around €7 less per month for mobile phone bills

Up to 15% of Irish homes do not have access to broadband services and fewer younger people are watching live scheduled TV programming, according to a new survey focusing on our relationship with technology.

The study, commissioned by ComReg and carried out by RedC, also suggests that consumers are paying less for TV, broadband and mobile services when compared with 2013.

Over three quarters (76%) of homes across the country have access to fixed broadband.

This figure rises to 89% for Dublin homes, while just 66% of homes in rural Ireland have broadband access.

The research indicates that although 96% of homes have access to TV services, 9% of households use Netflix and spend an average of seven hours per week viewing the video streaming service.

Moreover, 14% of online paid-for TV service users said they have stopped watching live TV.

The data also suggests that traditional TV viewing has declined among younger audiences, with 6% of 18-24 year olds having no TV subscription (compared with 2% across age groups).

Sky is most popular provider of TV services in the country, with a 49% market share. UPC is next with 23%, while Saorview has risen to third spot at 19%.

With regard to mobile phone usage, the ComReg research shows the ownership rate for a mobile phone among Irish people stands at 97%.

Women and those aged between 18 and 24 are the most likely to use social media and instant messaging on mobile phones, while 12% of respondents who use these services said they have stopped sending traditional text messages as a result.

Vodafone has the largest market share among mobile service providers at 42%, followed by Three (28%), and Eir (23%).

Respondents say, compared to two years ago, they are paying around €7 less per month for mobile phone bills.

Fewer than half (46%) of people aged between 18 and 24 now use landlines at home, while 88% of those over the age of 65 still have a home landline.

From the 1,039 interviews conducted for the study, the vast majority of respondents (70%) purchase TV, phone, and broadband services in bundles. This rate falls to just 49% in rural areas.

Those buying TV, phone, and broadband services in a bundle claim they are now paying €4 less per month than they were in 2013.

The number of bundles sold that cover broadband, TV and phone has doubled since 2013, from 16% to 33%.

ComReg also commissioned similar research for Irish SMEs, with the results showing that 68% of firms use social media for business purposes, while Facebook is the most popular site.

Of the 500 companies surveyed by RedC, 55% of them use the social network to engage with potential customers.

Superbugs breach final antibiotic line of defence

E.coli strain showing resistance to colistin isolated from intensively farmed pig in China 

   

Superbugs are thought to have spread from animals & have smashed through the last line in antibiotic defences and now pose a global threat, scientists say.

Researchers identified a gene that makes infectious bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E.coli) highly resistant to polymyxins, the last group of antibiotics left after all others have failed.

The discovery in China, described as “extremely worrying” by one scientist, suggests the gene can easily be transferred to bacteria with the potential to cause epidemics.

Besides E. coli they include the pneumonia bug Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can trigger serious lung, blood and surgical infections.

An E.coli strain showing resistance to the polymyxin drug colistin was isolated from an intensively farmed pig in Shanghai during routine testing.

Scientists found the bug was able to transfer its immunity to the drug to other strains via the mobile gene mcr-1. This led to further tests of bacterial samples collected from pigs at slaughter in four Chinese provinces, and pork and chicken sold in 30 open markets and 27 supermarkets across Guangzhou province between 2011 and 2014.

Bacteria from infected patients at two hospitals in Guangdongand Zhejiang provinces were also tested.

A high prevalence of the resistance gene was found in E. coli bugs isolated from animals and raw meat samples. The gene was also identified in 16 E.coli and K. pneumoniae samples taken from 1,322 hospitalised patients.

Alarmingly, the proportion of samples testing positive for the super-resistance gene increased from year to year, said the scientists.

Lead researcher Professor Jian-Hua Liu, from the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, said: “These are extremely worrying results. The polymyxins (colistin and polymyxin B) were the last class of antibiotics in which resistance was incapable of spreading from cell to cell. Until now, colistin resistance resulted from chromosomal mutations, making the resistance mechanism unstable and incapable of spreading to other bacteria.

“Our results reveal the emergence of the first polymyxin resistance gene that is readily passed between common bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klesbsiella pneumoniae, suggesting that the progression from extensive drug resistance to pan-drug resistance is inevitable.”

It was likely that polymyxin resistance via mcr-1 originated in animals before spreading to humans, said the scientists writing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

Increasingly heavy use of colistin by Chinese farmers may have helped E.coli to acquire the gene, they added.

Worldwide, the demand for colistin in agriculture was expected to reach almost 12,000 tonnes per year by the end of this year, rising to 16,500 tonnes by 2021.

The scientists wrote: “The emergence of mcr-1 heralds the breach of the last group of antibiotics. Although currently confined to China, mcr-1 is likely to emulate other resistance genes… and spread worldwide. There is a critical need to re-evaluate the use of polymyxins in animals and for very close international monitoring and surveillance of mcr-1 in human and veterinary medicine.”

The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has launched an immediate risk assessment of colistin use in animal feed additives.

British experts called the discovery “disturbing” and “alarming”.

Dr David Burch, veterinary surgeon and an independent member of the Ruma (Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture) Alliance, said: “The report of a new resistance gene (mcr-1) against polymixins (colistin) found in Escherichia coli from pigs in China, which can be potentially plasmid transferred between bacterial species and potentially to man via meat, is indeed disturbing and disappointing.”

He pointed out that China’s pig farming industry is the largest in the world, more than twice the size of Europe’s. The use of generic antimicrobial drugs in animals is not normally under veterinary control in China.

The risk of the resistance gene spreading was heightened by increased trade and tourism bridging China and the West, said Dr Burch.

Professor Nigel Brown, president of the Microbiology Society, said: “This discovery that resistance to colistin can be transferred between bacteria is alarming.

“Although resistance to this important and widely-used polymyxin group of antibiotics has previously been shown, it was generally caused by mutation in individual organisms. Now that it has been demonstrated that resistance can be transferred between bacteria and across bacterial species, another line of defence against infection is in danger of being breached.

“We need careful surveillance to track the potential global spread of this resistance, and investment in research to discover new drugs with different modes of action.”

Climate change is ‘single biggest threat’ to polar bear survival

   

‘High probability’ of a 30% decline in polar bear numbers by 2050 due to retreating sea ice, IUCN study finds

In Canadian towns such as Churchill, polar bears have already come into conflict with humans as the ice season in Hudson Bay shortens.

Global warming is now the single most important threat to the survival of the polar bear with retreating sea ice set to decimate populations, according to a new study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

It found a “high probability” that the planet’s 26,000 polar bears will suffer a 30% decline in population by 2050 due to the loss of their habitat, which is disappearing at a faster rate than predicted by climate models.

“There is a high risk of extinction and the threat is serious,” said Dena Cator of the IUCN’s species survival commission. “You could consider polar bears to be a canary in the coal mine. They are an iconic and beautiful species that is extremely important to indigenous communities. But changes to their sea ice habitat are already being seen as a result of climate change.”

The animals, already classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, depend on seasonal sea ice, which they use as a platform to hunt ring seals and bearded seals after their summer fast.

But the extent of sea ice at its lowest point each year, in September, has shrunk at a rate of 14% per decade from 1979 to 2011, with the fourth-lowest extent recorded this year.

Annual ice-free periods of five months or more will spread hunger among polar bears, the IUCN said, pushing the species over a “tipping point”, with widespread reproductive failure and starvation in some areas.

Latest projections indicate that swaths of the Arctic could be ice-free for five months of the year or more by mid-century. Three of the 19 sub-population groups of polar bears studied are already in decline, in Baffin Bay, Kane Basin and the Southern Beaufort Sea.

But warming temperatures could also increase diseases among the polar bear’s traditional prey, further reinforcing the negative spiral. Pollution, human encroachment, and resource exploitation such as oil drilling only add to this dynamic.

In Canadian towns such as Churchill, polar bears have already come into conflict with humans, as the ice season in the western Hudson Bay has fallen by about one day per year over the last three decades.

Polar bears fight for survival as sea ice melts – video

“Human-bear conflict strategies are really coming into play in Churchill,” Cator said. “Polar bears are opportunists, like other bears. They look for what they can eat. When there is no sea ice, they will scavenge anything from whale carcasses to small animals or human rubbish.”

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Because the charismatic bears sit at the top of polar food chains, their decline could be devastating for local ecosystems, which could become unbalanced and chaotic.

It could also affect indigenous communities which have traditionally hunted the animals for food and fur. In some mythologies, where polar bears are revered as wise, powerful and almost human, the sense of loss is acute.

“In living memory, my people have never experienced the extinction of any animals in Greenland, so losing the polar bear would be very sad,” said Bjarne Lyberth, a biologist for KMAPK, the hunters and fishers’ association of Greenland.

Some communities in east Greenland still speak of mythical giant polar bears living on sea ice far from human civilisation, Lyberth said. But Greenland is poor – only 2% of the frozen country is arable – and KMPAK lobbies for an extension of polar bear hunting permits.

Bear skins are a status symbol in northern Greenland, and frequently used for clothing. In 2012, Greenland contributed 138 kills to the world’s annual cull of 700-800 polar bears.

An underwater view of a polar bear ( Ursus maritimus) swimming near Harbour Islands in Hudson Bay. Photograph: Paul Souders/Corbis

Lyberth was wary of the IUCN’s assessment – which he had not seen – even though it surveyed all 19 polar bear populations in the most comprehensive science-based assessment yet undertaken.

“No hunter that I know can see any decline in the polar bear populations,” he said. “They are observing more polar bears in east Greenland. Twenty years ago, hunters had to travel hundreds of kilometres to find polar bears. Now they come to the town of Ittoqqortoormiit.”

Charlotte Moshøj, a wildlife biologist who has studied the region attributed this to global warming already underway. “There aren’t more bears,” she told the Arctic Journal. “There is less habitat.”

Last September, the five polar bear range states – Greenland, Canada, the US, Russia and Norway – agreed a Polar action plan, which the IUCN describes as “the first global conservation strategy to strive for the long-term persistence of polar bears in the wild”.