The first case of a dog being infected with monkeypox via humans

• Following the news, the United States public health agency, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, has updated its prevention recommendations on infected persons having pets at home.
• The infected dog showed symptoms such as lesions on the skin, specifically “mucocutaneous lesions, including abdomen pustules and a thin anal ulceration”.
• It is unclear right now if dogs can further spread the disease to other dogs or humans.

West Nile virus reported in two people in New York City

• West Nile Virus (WNV) can cause neurological disease and death in people. WNV is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and West Asia.
• WNV is maintained in nature in a cycle involving transmission between birds and mosquitoes. Humans, horses and other mammals can be infected.
• West Nile Virus (WNV) is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.

Mudhol hounds to be a part of Prime Minister’s security

• The dogs already serve with the Indian armed forces and some paramilitary forces and could become the first indigenous breed to be part of the SPG.
• The Mudhol hounds are believed to have been bred first by Raja Malojirao Ghorpade of the erstwhile Deccan kingdom of Mudhol.
• Known for their hunting and guarding skills, the characteristically lanky Mudhol hounds get their name from the erstwhile kingdom of Mudhol (in present-day Bagalkot), whose rulers first began to breed them. The dogs are fast runners, with excellent stamina and agility, and have a sharp vision and a keen sense of smell.

Scientists are planning to ''resurrect'' the extinct Tasmanian Tiger

• The ambitious project aims to reintroduce the animal to its native place Tasmania to revive the region’s lost ecological balance.
• Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus), the only animal in the Thylacinidae family to survive in modern times, was a marsupial mammal that raises young ones in a pouch.
• Even though the species earned its nickname Tasmanian Tiger because of the stripes along its back, it was a slow-paced carnivorous that usually hunted alone or in pairs at night.
• The sharply clawed animal had a dog-like head and ate kangaroos, other marsupials, small rodents, and birds.
• Once widespread in the grass and woodlands of continental Australia extending north to New Guinea and south to Tasmania, the animal’s fate changed after the European Colonisation of Australia.
• The animals were reported to have eaten poultry of farmers, and were killed following official authorisation.

Megalodon: A giant transoceanic predator that lived 23 million to 2.6 million years ago

• According to the new study published in the journal Science Advances, the Megalodon could “completely ingest, and in as few as five bites,” a prey as big as the killer whale.
• According to the study, the Megalodon was bigger than a school bus at around 50 feet from nose to tail. In comparison, the great white sharks of the present can grow to a maximum length of around 15 feet.
• Using their digital model, the researchers have suggested that the giant transoceanic predator would have weighed around 70 tonnes — or as much as 10 elephants.
• Megalodons roamed the oceans an estimated 23 million to 2.6 million years ago.

Employees'' State Insurance to expand its services in all 744 districts by December

• Announcing this at the Employees'' State Insurance Corporation''s Chintan Shivir at Surajkund in Haryana, Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, this expansion will take into consideration the increased beneficiary base, post implementation of Social Security Code.
• Yadav said, Centers of Excellence for Occupational Health will be set up to promote indigenous research on occupational diseases in India.
• He informed that Employees'' State Insurance will explore developing Health Facilities and Medical Colleges in Aspirational districts of the country.

Aqua Bazar Online Marketplace App for Fish Farmers Launched by Fisheries Minister

• On this occasion, he also launched an online marketplace feature - ''Aqua Bazar'' app.
• The app will help the fish farmers and stakeholders to source the inputs such as fish seed, feed and medicines and services required for fish culture. It will connect various stakeholders involved in aquaculture sector.
• He said, for the first time under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, government has taken up promotion of startups by the entrepreneurs to achieve the targeted fish production.

Govt prepares draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 to consolidate, amend the laws relating to ports

• The draft bill seeks to repeal and replace the existing the Indian Ports Act, 1908. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has issued Draft Indian Ports Bill, 2022 for Stakeholder Consultation.
• The proposed bill will homogenize and streamline the development of the maritime sector, along with, promoting ease of doing business by eliminating unnecessary delays, disagreements and defining responsibilities.
• It will incorporate State Maritime Boards in the national framework.
• India has a 7,500 kilometre long coastline, 14,500 kilometer of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes.
• About 95 per cent of India’s trade by volume and 65 per cent by value is done through maritime transport facilitated by ports.

PM Modi To Address "Har Ghar Jal Utsav" In Goa Virtually

• Goa is the first State to achieve 100 per cent Har Ghar Jal certification.
• Goa has become the first Har Ghar Jal certified State and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are the first Union Territory in the country.
• In this state and UT, people from all the villages have declared their village as Har Ghar Jal through a resolution passed by the Gram Sabha.
• All two lakh 63 thousand rural households of Goa and over 85 thousand of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have access to safe drinking water through tap connection.