Here are  Back2Basics collections from today’s news items

B2B #1: From news – Why this week’s OPEC meeting matters for India

Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

1. OPEC  is an intergovernmental organization of 14 nations
2. The 14 countries accounted for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and 73 percent of the world’s “proven” oil reserves
3. OPEC’s stated mission is “to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets, in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers, and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry
4. The OPEC Conference is the supreme authority of the organization and consists of delegations normally headed by the oil ministers of member countries
5. The Conference ordinarily meets at the Vienna headquarters, at least twice a year and in additional extraordinary sessions when necessary

B2B #2: From news – In a first, WHO recommends quadrivalent influenza vaccine

Influenza

Influenza is a virus that actually has hundreds of different strains. The virus mutates frequently, but the strains are classified into one of three main categories—A, B, or C.

Influenza A is the group that most commonly causes illness in humans.

1. All influenza A viruses are further broken down into H and N subtypes. So, any influenza virus that is described as “H#N#” (such as H1N1) is an influenza A virus.
2. There are 16 H subtypes and nine N subtypes, but only three combinations have actually caused highly contagious illness in humans.
3. Other combinations have been found to infect other species (such as birds and pigs), but they have not caused widespread human infections.
4. The three combinations that cause almost all outbreaks of the flu in humans are H1N1, H2N2 and H3N2.
5. Even in these subtypes, the influenza virus can mutate and change each year. For this reason, influenza viruses are also named using:

• The host of origin (swine, chicken, etc., or no host if it is of human origin)
• The geographical location of origin (Hong Kong, Alberta, etc.)
• Strain number
• Year of discovery (or isolation)

Influenza B

1. Influenza B is less common but still causes outbreaks of seasonal flu.
2. One or two strains of influenza B are included in the seasonal flu vaccine every year to protect people from the strain(s) that researchers believe are most likely to cause illness during the upcoming flu season.
3. The quadrivalent flu vaccine contains two strains of influenza B but the traditional trivalent flu vaccine only contains one.
4. Influenza B is not broken down into subtypes like influenza A is, but it is broken down into individual strains.
5. Typically, two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B are included in the seasonal flu vaccine. Quadrivalent flu vaccines contain two strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B.
6. Influenza B can cause outbreaks of seasonal flu but they occur less frequently than outbreaks of influenza A.

Here’s a Factoid to brush up your concepts

Name : International Labor Organization (ILO)

Objective : Deal with labour issues, particularly international labour standards, social protection, and work opportunities for all

Members : 186 of the 193 member states of the United Nations plus the Cook Islands are members of the ILO The UN member states which are not members of the ILO are Andorra, Bhutan, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, and North Korea

Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland

Year Founded : Established in 1919