Category Health & Science

Condom on a Tree

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 02.06.2002 (Women’s Feature Service): In the remote Western Australian town of Fitzroy Crossing, an innovative scheme has helped in promoting safe sex amongst the Aboriginal community – hanging condoms on trees.

Working on the ‘community knows best’ principle, Nindilingarri Cultural Health Service (NCHS), a grassroots organization, began placing condoms in 300 cm-long PVC pipes and hanging them with wire hooks on river gum and eucalyptus trees – unique condom dispensers. The local people congregate for their evening drink and socializing under these trees. Eight containers were hung at Crossing Inn and another eight a few kilometres away – the two traditional meeting grounds for the community.

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Polio-like virus affecting Rainbow Lorikeets

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 30.07.2001 (WFS): A mysterious and devastating polio-like virus is affecting Rainbow Lorikeets in Australia. The bright hued, gregarious bird with a distinguishing blue head is unable to stand, fly or perch on contacting the disease.

Similar to Poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis in humans where a virus affects the nervous tissue, in the birds too, part of the nervous system is affected causing symptoms of paralysis.

With virtually nothing known about the `suspected viral polioencephalomyelitis’ in the birds, Dr Rosemary Booth, a veterinarian at the University of Queensland in Brisbane and Dr Karrie Rose, a pathologist at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney are carrying out intensive research to unravel the mysterious virus affecting the Rainbow Lorikeets.

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