1) Marburg virus disease: it is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic fever. It was earlier known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever.
- Marburg, like Ebola, is a filovirus; and both diseases are clinically similar.
- Rousettus fruit bats are considered the natural hosts for the Marburg virus.
- According to WHO, African green monkeys imported from Uganda were the source of the first human infection.
- The disease has an average fatality rate of around 50%. There is no approved antiviral treatment or vaccine for MVD as of now.
- This outbreak is only the second time that the disease has been detected in West Africa.
2) Fiberisation: The process of connecting radio towers with each other via optical fibre cables is called fiberisation. To transition into 5G, India needs at least 16 times more fibre.
- It helps provide full utilisation of network capacity, and carry large amounts of data once 5G services are rolled out.
- It will also aid in providing additional bandwidth and stronger backhaul support.
- The backhaul is a component of the larger transport that is responsible for carrying data across the network. As a result, fibre backhaul remains an important part of transport across all telecoms
3) Snow leopard: Scientific Name: Panthera uncia.
- Habitat: Cold High Mountains.These are found in 12 countries including China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia & Mongolia.
- China has the world’s largest snow leopard population.
- Threats: Increased conflict due to expansion of human settlement & livestock grazing, Poaching for trade in body parts and fur, Climate change & shrinkage in habitat.
- IUCN: Vulnerable
- Schedule I: Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
4) Wentian: The 23-tonne Wentian (“Quest for the Heavens”) laboratory module was launched on the back of China’s most powerful rocket, the Long March 5B.
- The Wentian lab module, 17.9 metres (59 feet) long, will be where astronauts can carry out scientific experiments, along with the other lab module yet to be launched – Mengtian (“Dreaming of the Heavens”).
- It will also serve as short-term living quarters for astronauts during crew rotations on the station, designed for long-term accommodation of just three astronauts.
5) Public Health Emergency of International Concern: A PHEIC is defined in the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) as, “an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response”. This definition implies a situation that is:
- Serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected;,Carries implications for public health beyond the affected State’s national border; and May require immediate international action
- The WHO has declared 6 global emergencies in the past decade, including the Ebola epidemic. Monkeypox has been declared as a PHEIC.
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