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.

Illegal horse trade across the US-Mexico border are raising fresh concerns among US officials and ranchers as the country tries to contain the spread of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that can cause severe and possibly fatal wounds in animals.

According to Reuters, horses and other animals are continuing to cross the border outside regulated channels, bypassing veterinary inspections designed to detect diseases and parasites.

There is no confirmed link between individual smuggled horses and specific screwworm cases, but experts warn that uncontrolled animal movement creates a gap.

What Is New World Screwworm?

Unlike ordinary maggots that generally feed on dead tissue, screwworm larvae feed on living tissue, creating wounds that can become severe as more larvae develop. The parasite can infest cattle, horses, pets and wildlife and, more rarely, humans. An untreated infestation can cause serious tissue damage and death.

The US had previously eradicated the parasite through a decades-long campaign involving the release of sterilised male flies. But New World screwworm has been moving northward through Mexico and is now threatening US livestock again.

Also read: Wegovy & Zepbound Are Not Approved By US FDA For Children Under 12: So Why Are Prescriptions Rising?

Smuggled Horses Are A Concern

Animals entering the US through legal channels undergo veterinary checks and must meet health requirements. Smuggled animals can bypass those safeguards.

Reuters reported that authorities in Presidio County, Texas, have intercepted more than 50 smuggled horses over two years. Some were reportedly moved through remote areas along the Texas-Mexico border, making them difficult to monitor.

That matters because an infected animal can potentially carry screwworm larvae or adult flies into new areas.

USDA officials have described animal trafficking as a biosecurity concern. However, authorities have not established that illegally transported horses are responsible for particular screwworm infections in the US.

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Why Is The US Worried About Screwworm Again?

The parasite was previously eliminated from the US, making its recent return a major agricultural concern.

The USDA says New World screwworm is a devastating pest capable of causing serious, often deadly damage to livestock. It can also affect pets, wildlife and, in rare circumstances, people.

The economic consequences include potential damage from a major Texas outbreak at up to $1.8 billion, reflecting losses to livestock and related industries.

The threat comes as the US is also navigating the difficult balance between controlling screwworm and maintaining livestock trade with Mexico.

In August, the US began a phased reopening of Mexican cattle imports after a more than year-long suspension linked to the screwworm threat. Mexico has simultaneously been releasing sterile flies and other containment efforts along its northern border.

How Is The US Trying To Stop It?

One of the main tools is the sterile insect technique. Large numbers of male screwworm flies are sterilised and released into affected areas. When they mate with wild females, they produce no viable offspring, helping reduce the population.

As of September 4, the agency said the current risk to animals and people in the US remained very low, and stressed that screwworm is not a food-safety issue. But illegal animal trade complicates those efforts.

The use of GLP-1 medications weight-loss medications among children under 12 in the US has risen in recent years, according to a new study. This has raised questions about how these drugs should be used in younger children and what is known about their long-term effects.

Researchers studied health records from more than 3.5 million children aged 8 to 11 with obesity and found that prescriptions for GLP-1 medications increased more than 300-fold between 2019 and June 2026.

Prescriptions Have Increased Dramatically

In 2019, only about 0.03% of children in the study group had been prescribed a GLP-1 drug. By June 2026, that figure had risen to 9.3%.

The medications included drugs like Wegovy and Saxenda, made by Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly's Zepbound.

The researchers used data from Epic Cosmos, a large electronic health-record database covering patients across the US. Epic was not involved in the study.

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Most Children Had Severe Obesity Or Other Health Problems

The rise does not appear to represent routine prescribing for children who are simply above a healthy weight.

Among children receiving GLP-1 medications, 94% had severe obesity, while about 65% had obesity-related health conditions, including high blood pressure or sleep apnea.

Childhood obesity can increase the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular problems. Hence, along with lifestyle changes, doctors are increasingly looking for treatments.

GLP-1 Drugs Are Not FDA-Approved For Under-12s

One of the major concerns surrounding the findings is that the GLP-1 medications included in the study are not formally FDA-approved for weight management in children younger than 12.

However, doctors can prescribe medicines off-label when they believe there is a medical reason to do so. Clinical guidelines can also support the use of obesity medications in certain circumstances involving younger children.

The study therefore does not necessarily mean that doctors are prescribing these drugs indiscriminately. Instead, it shows how rapidly their use has expanded among children with obesity.

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Long-Term Safety

Dr Babak Orandi of NYU Langone Health, one of the researchers, highlighted the importance of long-term monitoring as these medications become more widely used in younger children.

He said that while the absolute numbers of children under 12 receiving GLP-1 treatment is still low, the study shows that GLP-1 use ‌is ⁠accelerating rapidly among that age group. Orandi also said that long-term safety monitoring is needed to ensure the drugs remain safe and effective for children.

Additionally, children from higher-income households were 55% more likely to be prescribed the drugs than lower-income communities. This suggested emerging disparities ⁠in access, according to the study published in the journal Pediatrics.

"Physicians and health policymakers alike have a responsibility to ensure ... these valuable and sometimes costly treatments become available to more than those who have ⁠access to health insurance and can afford to visit pediatric clinics," said Allan Massie, co-author of the study and associate professor of surgery at NYU Grossman School ⁠of Medicine.

So even if these medicines prove to be useful for treating severe childhood obesity, access may depend partly on a family's ability to obtain the medicine, insurance coverage and treatment.

GLP-1 drugs can cause side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation. But questions around prolonged use during childhood extend beyond short-term side effects, including how treatment may affect growth, development and nutritional health over time.

A compound best known for its psychedelic effects may have potential in protecting cancer patients from nerve damage caused by chemotherapy.

Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that psilocybin, the active psychedelic compound in 'magic mushrooms,' prevented peripheral neuropathy induced by chemotherapy in several preclinical models. The findings were published in Science recently.

Chemotherapy Can Leave Patients With Lasting Nerve Damage

It can cause burning or shooting pain, numbness, tingling, increased sensitivity to cold and loss of sensation, especially in the limbs. In some cases, the nerve damage can persist long after chemotherapy ends and may even become irreversible.

Currently, there are not a lot of options for preventing this type of nerve injury, making researchers explore other approaches that could protect nerves before chemotherapy causes damage.

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Two Doses Before Chemotherapy Protected Nerves

In the new study, researchers tested psilocybin in multiple models involving chemotherapy drugs including cisplatin, paclitaxel and docetaxel.

They found that as few as two doses of psilocybin given before chemotherapy prevented several signs of peripheral neuropathy.

Treated models retained normal touch sensation, showed less sensitivity to cold and maintained sensory nerve endings, even after repeated chemotherapy sessions.

The researchers also found no evidence that psilocybin interfered with chemotherapy's ability to attack tumours in these models.

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How Could Psilocybin Protect Nerves?

According to the researchers, the answer may lie in the way nerve cells transport mitochondria, the components responsible for producing cellular energy.

Chemotherapy can disrupt this transport system, leaving nerve endings without enough energy and making them vulnerable to damage.

Psilocybin appeared to preserve mitochondrial movement through a pathway involving the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. When researchers blocked this pathway, the protective effect disappeared.

Additionally, a non-hallucinogenic compound that activates the same receptor produced similar nerve-protective effects in the models. This suggests that the potential benefit may not depend on psilocybin's psychedelic experience itself.

Dr Moran Amit, the study's co-lead, said, "There is an urgent need for treatments that can prevent nerve injury without interfering with life-saving chemotherapy. He said the findings offer insight into protecting nerves before damage becomes persistent."

Can Cancer Patients Take Psilocybin Yet?

The study was conducted using laboratory and animal models, so it is not yet known whether the same protective effect will occur in people who are undergoing chemotherapy.

Researchers are now moving toward a Phase II clinical trial, known as NeuroGuard, to test whether psilocybin can prevent or reduce CIPN in people receiving chemotherapy for breast, colorectal or head and neck cancers. The trial is listed by the US National Cancer Institute as an approved Phase II study.

The trial will also examine whether preventing nerve damage could help patients tolerate their cancer treatment better and maintain quality of life.