Every year, World Toilet Day is observed to raise awareness about the global sanitation crisis and encourage action to solve it. The goal set by the United Nation is to achieve safe toilets for all by 2023, as a part of their Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN also states that 3.5 billion people live without proper sanitation and many children also lose their lives due to poor sanitation and unsafe water. This is why World Toilet Day is observed to raise awareness on this issue.

Theme

This year, the theme for World Toilet Day 2024 is "Toilets - A Place for Peace'. This focuses on the growing threat to sanitation that is caused by conflict, climate change, disaster and neglect. When there is a threat to using toilets, it can lead to many health risks.

Not using toilets for too long may lead to Urinary Tract Infection or UTI. For many who do not have access to clean toilets do not drink enough liquid or hold pee for too long. Doctors suggest that holding in pee for too long can cause bacteria to multiply and lead to UTI. By not drinking enough water, your bladder fails to tell the body to pee often, and can cause the bacteria to spread through the urinary tract, which can lead to infection.

Symptoms of UTI:

• Burning or stinging feeling while urinating
• Pain in pelvis or lower abdomen
• Constant urge to empty the bladder
• Strong or foul smelling urine
• Consistently dark urine
• Blood in urine

Holding in pee for too long can also cause your bladder to stretch, making it difficult or even impossible for the bladder to contract and release pee normally. It can also damage your pelvic floor muscles or could lead to kidney stones.

World Toilet Day History And Significance

To prevent such conditions, it is important that everyone has access to clean and safe toilets. In terms of history, the day was established in 2001, by the World Toilet Organization (WTO), which was founded by Jack Sim. However, it was officially recognised by the UN in 2013. The Government of Singapore worked with WTO to create the first UN resolution called Sanitation for All.

India too promotes safe and hygiene toilet through its Swachh Bharat Yojna.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a prevention advisory against West Nile virus as the transmission season has begun early and more intensely. As of June 30, the virus has been detected in at least 23 states, with most in Arizona, making this season the widest geographic spread this early in the season in a decade.

West Nile Virus: CDC Issues Warning Against Mosquito Bites

At least 48 confirmed cases of West Nile virus were reported in the US. 38 of them are neuroinvasive (severe) cases, making it the strongest season in two decades.

Arizona has recorded the highest number of infections, particularly in Maricopa County, where 32 cases and four deaths have been reported. The first case of 2026 emerged in California’s Long Beach.

Authorities have warned, saying that senior citizens and people with weakened immune systems remain at the highest risk.

The CDC has issued a prevention advisory to control West Nile virus. It includes:

• Use mosquito repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

• Wear long sleeves and long pants.

• Remove stagnant water around the house to remove mosquito breeding sites.

• Repair damaged window and door screens.

• Seek medical care if you have a high fever, severe headache, confusion, neck stiffness, or muscle weakness, especially if it develops after mosquito exposure.

Also read: Scientific Breakthrough: US Scientists Create First Synthetic Cell That Eats and Reproduces

About West Nile Virus

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that belongs to the flavivirus family, the same group that includes the viruses causing Dengue fever, Zika virus disease, Yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis.

It is primarily spread through the bite of an infected Culex mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected after feeding on infected birds, which are the virus's first host. About 80% infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms. About 20% develop West Nile fever.

Its common symptoms include:

• Fever

• Headache

• Body and muscle aches

• Fatigue or weakness

• Joint pain

• Nausea or vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Skin rash on the trunk or back

• Swollen lymph nodes

The disease could become serious in a few infected people who may develop its neuroinvasive disease. In this situation, the virus affects the brain, spinal cord, or surrounding tissues. Severe complications include encephalitis (brain inflammation), meningitis, and acute flaccid paralysis.

Also read: The Lancet: Young Adults With Obesity Face Higher Heart Risk; Statins Benefit Older Adults

The symptoms of severe West Nile virus include most of the commons ones as well as:

• Neck stiffness

• Confusion or disorientation

• Tremors

• Loss of coordination

• Vision problems

• Seizures

• Paralysis

• Coma (rare cases)

Why The West Nile Virus Season Is Early This Year?

Prolonged Warmer Climate

Mosquito populations usually do not thrive in cold weather. A warmer winter in several parts of the U.S. meant more mosquito populations survived into spring, leading to early breeding and virus transmission.

Warm Temperatures Accelerate Mosquito Breeding

Warm spring weather speeds up mosquito breeding. The virus becomes active enough to reach infectious levels in warmer mosquitoes, shortening the time between when a mosquito becomes infected and when it can spread the virus to humans.

Stagnant Water

In most regions, warm weather is followed by periods of rain, creating ideal habitats for mosquitoes to breed.

Climate Change Extend Mosquito Seasons

Longer mosquito seasons are usually due to a milder-than-average warm climate. Warm temperatures also help the mosquito population to expand in newer regions. This leads to faster viral development and more cases of infection.

Ugandan health authorities have confirmed an isolated case of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in a young child who died from the highly infectious viral hemorrhagic fever.

The case comes as Uganda is already battling an outbreak of Ebola virus disease, another viral hemorrhagic fever.

According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the Marburg infection was detected during surveillance for the ongoing Ebola outbreak, Reuters reported.

Health officials said no contacts of the child have developed symptoms, and there are currently no active Marburg cases in the East African nation.

While a spokesperson for Uganda's Ministry of Health said they were unaware of a Marburg outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed it was notified of the case on June 30.

"WHO has requested further information and is supporting the local response, including case investigation, active case finding, contact tracing and community engagement," a WHO spokesperson said.

Child Death Raises Questions

Also read: Scientific Breakthrough: US Scientists Create First Synthetic Cell That Eats and Reproduces

According to Africa CDC, the case was identified in Kyegegwa district in western Uganda in a 1½-year-old child who later died.

"Africa CDC is engaging the Government of Uganda through official public health channels on reports concerning Marburg virus disease. At this stage, we cannot confirm reports of any additional case," Africa CDC spokesperson Saran Koly said.

"Africa CDC stands ready to support verification, risk assessment and response readiness as needed."

Uganda last reported a Marburg outbreak in 2017 and has experience of managing three previous outbreaks. However, responding to a potential Marburg outbreak while simultaneously battling Ebola could complicate public health efforts.

So far, Uganda has reported a total of 20 cases of the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, including two deaths. Of these, 15 cases were imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Marburg Infection In Child 'Unusual'

The child's age has prompted questions about how the infection occurred. Abraar Karan, a global health physician and researcher at Stanford University, said infection in a toddler is unusual.

"Quite unusual -- I would suspect transmission from someone else, but there are some less-likely scenarios in which spillover could still have happened directly to a toddler," he wrote in a post on X.

Read More: WHO Issues First Clinical Care Guidelines On Ebola And Marburg Disease

What Is Marburg Virus Disease?

Marburg virus disease belongs to the same virus family as Ebola and can cause severe hemorrhagic fever. It was first recognized in 1967. MVD has a high case fatality rate ranging from 32 per cent to 88 per cent. It is transmitted to humans after a spill-over event from a wildlife reservoir such as Rousettus aegyptiacus fruit bats or their feces or contact with infected primates

Once a person is infected, the virus spreads through direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids or contaminated materials of an infected person.

Common Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms usually begin suddenly and include:

• High fever
• Severe headache
• Muscle pain
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Extreme weakness

In severe cases, patients may develop internal and external bleeding, organ failure and shock, which can be fatal.

How Can Marburg Virus Be Prevented?

There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for Marburg virus disease, although several vaccines and therapies are under development. Early supportive care can improve survival.

Health authorities recommend:

• Avoid direct contact with the blood and bodily fluids of infected people.
• Avoid handling the bodies of people who died from Marburg virus disease.
• Avoid close contact with bats and wild animals, and do not handle bushmeat.

What sounds like science fiction is now a scientific reality. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created the world's first synthetic cell built entirely from non-living chemical components that can eat, grow and reproduce—the defining characteristics of life.

The lab-made cell, named SpudCell, completes an entire life cycle and could help scientists better understand how life works while opening new possibilities in medicine, biotechnology and manufacturing.

"We've replicated in chemistry what only used to be possible in biology: the complete set of behaviors of a cell," said Associate Professor Kate Adamala. "It proves that the most fundamental functions of life... do not need a mysterious, magical spark."

The findings have been published as a preprint and have not yet been peer-reviewed.

"We have demonstrated key milestones towards construction of synthetic life: a complete cell cycle, including growth and division, and selection, in minimal cells with known identity of all components. This can serve as a chassis for further optimization of synthetic cells undergoing Darwinian evolution, advancing the field towards robust artificial life," the researchers wrote.

What Is SpudCell?

SpudCell is a synthetic cell assembled entirely from purified, non-living chemical components rather than modified living cells.

It contains:

• 36 purified enzymes
• A 90,000-base-pair genome spread across nine DNA molecules
• A lipid membrane

What Can SpudCell Do?

Replicate a Cell's Life Cycle

SpudCell can perform the essential functions of living cells, including:

• Feeding and acquiring resources
• Growing
• Replicating its genome
• Dividing
• Passing on genetically encoded traits

Unlike natural cells, SpudCell divides without a cytoskeleton. Instead, membrane-binding proteins build up on its surface until mechanical stress causes the membrane to split.

Researchers also engineered a faster-growing version of the cell. Within five generations, it outcompeted the original, demonstrating selection and evolution-like behaviour in a fully synthetic chemical system.

SpudCell: Why Is It Significant?

Scientists previously estimated that the smallest possible genome for a living cell would be around 113 kilobase pairs (kbp). SpudCell functions with just 90 kbp, making it one of the simplest known cell-like systems.

Its modular DNA design also allows researchers to program different cellular functions independently, making future synthetic cells easier to engineer.

SpudCell: Potential Applications

Researchers stated that synthetic cells could eventually perform chemical reactions beyond the reach of conventional industrial processes.

Possible applications include:

• Designing highly precise medicines
• Developing new drug molecules using amino acids not found in nature
• Producing advanced materials through biological manufacturing

"We could see materials that are grown, rather than synthesized... SpudCell provides, for the first time, a truly engineerable platform," the authors said.

SpudCell: Next steps

The researchers noted that in next steps they aim to combine the cell's multiple DNA molecules into a single stable genome, add more molecular machinery and develop common engineering standards before synthetic cells can be widely used.

"This work is just the beginning," Adamala said. "We are showing it's possible to engineer the basic functions of the cell."

Experts Urge Caution

While calling the work remarkable, Professor John Dupré of the University of Exeter questioned whether synthetic cells would outperform genetically modified bacteria in producing drugs, food, fuel and other materials.

He also argued that synthetic cells lack an important feature of living organisms—their relationships with other life forms.

"What is missing... is the relational aspect of life, which has become clear in the growing realization that life is almost universally symbiotic," he said.