UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 30-11-2024

Bar-Tailed Godwits

Recently, the naturalist spotted a 5 bar-tailed godwits at Pulicat lake in Andhar Pradesh.

• Scientific Name – Limosa lapponica.
• It is a small bird with long, sharp beaks.
• Appearance – It is a large long-legged wader, predominantly brown above, pale below, with a long tapering and slightly upturned bi-coloured bill, pink at the base and black towards the tip.

• Size – Males are smaller with shorter bills than females.
  • Male – 39 cm
  • Female – 41 cm
• Wingspan – 70-80cm.
• Call – It is onomatopoeic, which means it sounds similar to their name going ‘godwit, godwit’.
• Habitat – Marine and Intertidal, Wetland, Grassland, Mudflats, shores, tundra.
• Distribution – Widespread in summer across northern Europe and Asia.
• Diet – Mainly shellfish, marine snails and worms and shrimps.
• Breeding – It is in the Arctic of Scandinavia and Siberia.
• Conservation Status – IUCN – Near Threatened.
• Other Similar species
  • Hudsonian godwit
  • Marbled Godwit
  • Whimbrel
  • Terek Sandpiper

References

1. The Hindu| Bar-Tailed Godwits
2. RSPB| Bar-Tailed Godwits
3. NZBO| Bar-Tailed Godwits

Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV)

Recently, a suspected case of Japanese Encephalitis Virus was reported in Bindapur, New Delhi.

• JEV – It is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that belongs to the same genus as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and West Nile viruses.
• It is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito especially a mosquitoes called Culex tritaeniorhynchus.
• This virus infection resulted in febrile illness, including meningitis or encephalitis.
• First case – Reported on 1871 in Japan.
• Symptoms – It doesn’t have any symptoms or have only mild symptoms in most of the people.
  • Initial – Includes fever, headache, Seizures, gastrointestinal pain and vomiting.
  • Severe – High fever, headache, neck stiffness, disorientation, weakness, coma, seizures, spastic paralysis and ultimately death.
• Signs – The time from infection until illness onset is typically 5–15 days.
• Transmission – It circulates in the environment between mosquitoes and other animals, namely wading birds and pigs.
• Humans infected with the virus when mosquitoes feed on other infected animals and then bite people.
• It is not transmitted from person-to-person, except rarely by blood transfusion.
• Region – In temperate areas of Asia, transmitted mainly during the warm season.
• In tropics and subtropics, transmission intensifies during the rainy season.
• Risk Factors – Majorly occur to children below 15 years of age.
  • Less than 1% - Develop neurologic illness.
  • 20–30% - Die due to inflammation in the brain.
  • 30%-50% - Suffer permanent cognitive, behavioural illness such as seizures, hearing or vision loss, speech, language, memory, and communication problems or weakness of the limbs.
• Treatment - There is no antiviral treatment.
• It is focused on relieving severe signs and supporting the patients to overcome the infection.
• Vaccine - It is available to prevent disease.
• Rest, fluids, and counter pain medicine relieve some symptoms.

24 countries in the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions have endemic JEV transmission, exposing more than 3 billion people to risks of infection.

References

1. The Indian Express| Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV)
2. WHO| Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV)
3. CDC| Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV)

Gelephu Mindfulness City

The Prime Minister recently inaugurated the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) with Bhutan for the upcoming Gelephu Mindfulness City project.

• Gelephu Mindfulness City – It is an innovative urban development project that integrates economic growth with mindfulness, holistic living, and sustainability.
• Located on – The Indian border, about 30 km to the east of Sarpang in Bhutan.
• It is the biggest “co-operative project” in Bhutan.
• It is being developed as a “Zero Carbon” city.
• Government – It is a special administrative region in Bhutan, envisioned by the Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
• It have its own government and the independence to have its own lawmaking, as well as an independent judiciary.
• Area – It is a massive city spread over 2,500 square km.
• 2 protected areas
  • National Park.
  • Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Its forests and biological corridors are teeming with wildlife.
• Land – It is beautiful and pristine, which is a biological hot spot with abundant potential for clean energy.
• Features - It is around a series of inhabitable bridges.
  • It is a low-rise city which will have its own university, health care facilities for both western and traditional medicine.
  • Its rivers have the potential to generate 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts of electricity through renewable energy.
  • It plans to build a hydroelectric power project and a hydroponic greenhouse.
• Benefits – It is designed to be a hub of knowledge, technology, and finance, grounded in the values of mindfulness, sustainability and harmony.
• It is the place where people can live with harmony with others from all over the world.
• It is to improve the lives of Bhutanese people and take to the next level.

References

1. The Hindu| Gelephu Mindfulness City
2. GMC| Gelephu Mindfulness City
3. NDTV| Gelephu Mindfulness City