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The population < 60 years of age is also affected by a significant disease burden from seasonal influenza. It carries a high economic burden, mainly driven by influenza-associated productivity losses in the working population. Conventional egg-based influenza vaccines may experience reduced effectiveness due to antigen adaptation in eggs. In contrast, cell-based influenza vaccines are less likely to be affected by antigenic adaptations to the host system and showed better effectiveness in individuals 4-64 years old over several seasons compared to conventional egg-based influenza vaccines under real-world conditions. Preferential use of cell-based influenza vaccines, as opposed to conventional egg-based vaccines, could reduce the burden of influenza-related symptoms on individuals and alleviate the economic impact on the German population < 60 years of age., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Seasonal influenza causes a significant burden of disease in the German population and is associated with high societal costs. Persons aged 60 years and older are particularly at risk due to immunosenescence and chronic disease and account for a large proportion of influenza-associated hospitalizations and deaths. Adjuvanted, high-dose, recombinant and cell-based influenza vaccines have been developed to improve the effectiveness compared with conventional vaccines. Recent observational studies show better effectiveness of adjuvanted vaccine over conventional vaccines and similar effectiveness to the high-dose vaccine in older adults. Some countries have already considered the new evidence in their vaccination recommendations for the current or earlier seasons. The availability of the vaccines for older adults should also be ensured in Germany to guarantee a high level of vaccination protection., Competing Interests: Die Durchführung der Publikation wurde finanziell von der Seqirus GmbH unterstützt. Dr. Markus Frühwein: – Vorträge/Beratung: Astra Zeneca, Bavarian, Nordic, Biontech, Janßen, GSK, Moderna, MSD, Pfizer, Sanofi, Seqirus, Takeda, Viatris. Prof. Dr. Jörg Schelling: – Beratungshonorare von AstraZeneca, Bavarian Nordic, der GSK Unternehmensgruppe, Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, BioNTech, Seqirus, Takeda, Viatris – Zahlungen oder Honorare für Vorlesungen, Präsentationen, Rednerbüros, Manuskripterstellung oder Bildungsveranstaltungen von GSK, Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, BioNTech, Seqirus, Takeda, Viatris – Unterstützung für die Teilnahme an Sitzungen und/oder Reisen von Sanofi Pasteur und Pfizer und Aktienbesitz von Valneva außerhalb der eingereichten Arbeit. Prof. Dr. Klaus Wahle: – Vortragstätigkeiten und Teilnahme an Advisory Boards im Auftrag bzw. für die Firmen SPMSD, Seqirus, Pfizer, GSK, Biontech. Dr. Dietmar Beier: – Advisory Board für Seqirus. Dr. Anja Kwetkat: – Forschungsunterstützung: Robert-Bosch-Stiftung – Forschungskolleg Geriatrie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH – Beratungs-/Gutachtertätigkeit: Projekt Grippeschutz – Seqirus, Advisory Board Prävention Herpes Zoster – GlaxoSmithKline GmbH & Co. KG, Advisory Board Sektorenübergreifendes Impfmanagement – Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Advisory Board Hochdosis Influenza Impfstoff – Sanofi-Pasteur, Advisory Board COVID-19 Impfstoff AZD1222 – AstraZeneca – Vortragstätigkeit: Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Fa. MSD, Fa. Novartis, Fa. Daiichi-Sankyo, Fa. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Fa. Sanofi-Pasteur – Ehrenämter: Sprecherin der AG Impfen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geriatrie e. V. (DGG e. V.), Mitglied DRG-Projektgruppe des Bundesverbandes Geriatrie e. V. (BVG e. V.). Prof. Dr. Tino Schwarz: – Honorare für Beratung und Vorträge: Biogen, Merck-Serono, GSK, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Seqirus, Synlab, AstraZeneca, Roche, MSD, va-Q-tec, Bavarian Nordic, Janssen-Cilag, Alexion, Takeda, Biontech, MSD, Moderna, (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Telematics in ambulatory care: Exploring the nurses' perspective Abstract., Background: In the context of demographic change, the use of information and communications technology in home care has the aim of ensuring the quality of nursing care in the future. The acceptance of telematic applications by all users is crucial in this regard., Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the subjective attitudes and intentions of nursing staff on telematic applications in home care., Methods: Based on the "Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology" (UTAUT), an online survey was conducted in which nursing staff as well as nursing students throughout Germany were surveyed. 371 questionnaires have been included in the analysis., Results: Nursing students as well as nurses stated inadequate information and insufficient technical competence. Referring to performance expectations, both groups hope for improving care process transparency and communication inside and outside sectors. For effort expectancy, higher costs, training efforts and technology dependency were named., Conclusions: The results show the relevance of the attitudes and demands of users for a successful implementation. In the future, training and further education should increasingly promote the technological competence of nursing staff.

Multicentric mast cell tumours in a newborn Fleckvieh-calf are described. The calf showed clearly pronounced lesions over the whole body. The lesions were multiple raised, cutaneous, greyisch-red and partially ulcerated. It died three hours after birth. Pathohistological examinations resulted in multiple mast cell tumours within the dermis. In addition multifocal to diffuse mast cell aggregations were observed in several internal organs including the lymph nodes and the bone marrow. No evidence for the presence of bovine leukemia virus was found by both investigating a lymph node homogenate of the calf and a blood sample of the mother cow. In this paper the pathomorphology of this rare disease is described, a possible cause is discussed and a short review of the available literature is presented.

Background: Idiopathic hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis (IHCP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown origin that is morphologically characterized by a local fibrotic thickening of the dura mater with a sterile lymphocytic infiltrate. Patients usually present with chronic headache, ataxia and cranial nerve palsies. Because of the great diversity of symptoms and the fact that IHCP can be associated with many other disorders, there is often a long time between the occurrence of clinical features and making the diagnosis. During this time symptoms can further increase. In addition, this is the third case report describing bone involvement in this disorder., Case Report: In May 2000, a 51-year-old woman presented with reduced visual acuity on both eyes, complete palsies of the fourth and sixth cranial nerve, a partial palsy of the third cranial nerve and numbness and pain concerning the area of the fifth cranial nerve on the left side, painful eye movement on the left side, headache, and numbness and palsies on the left side of her body. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a focal gadolinium-enhanced small thickening of the dura mater close to the left hemisphere and a homogeneous bone thickening in the same area close to the thickened dura mater. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed an elevated cell count (lymphocytic pleocytosis), routine blood counts and serum chemistry showed an elevated white blood count, an elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Therapy with corticosteroids resulted in a complete remission in November 2000 except for a persistent numbness of the left side of her face and body and reduced visual acuity on both sides. The following three years were characterized by repeated clinical deteriorations followed by a temporary increase of the daily steroid dose. Altogether, daily oral steroid therapy could slow down the progression of disease and improve the visual acuity when compared with the first examination., Conclusions: Chronic headache, ataxia and cranial nerve palsies in combination with inflammation and dural thickening should call to mind idiopathic hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis. In principle, every ophthalmological or neurological symptom can be associated with IHCP.

Enzootic bovine leukosis is caused by the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and has a world wide distribution in cattle. Due to the program for eradication of BLV-infections in Germany the BLV incidence in cattle declined and only few new cases seem to occur per year. On the other hand, BLV-infected cattle with low, transient or without BLV-antibody titers are difficult to identify as BLV-infected. These animals may be sources for new infections. It was the aim of this study to compare the suitability of agargel-immunodiffusion (AGID), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for diagnosis of BLV-infected cattle. We investigated a herd with 10 cows, where after a long period when the herd was negative suddenly a positive serological reaction appeared. In addition 64 animals from 6 federal states of different herds with doubtful serological reactions found in previous tests were included. In the herd with 10 cows we were able to detect BLV-infection in one animal 8 weeks earlier with PCR than with ELISA. Investigation of 56 adult cattle and 3 calves from different herds with both PCR and ELISA showed that 51 animals were positive in ELISA and 55 in PCR. Seven animal were positive in PCR and negative in ELISA. Three calves yielded negative results in PCR and positive results in ELISA. One cow which was positive in previous serological tests was negative in ELISA, AGID and PCR. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis demonstrated that the majority of the cattle was infected with the same BLV provirus variant. The four PCR variants used in this study yielded a similar sensitivity for BLV provirus detection. In conclusion, compared to the serological tests, PCR detects BLV-infection earlier in naturally infected cattle. The method is also a useful tool to exclude or confirm BLV-infection in cattle with doubtful serological results. PCR may be used to complement the serological tests in the diagnosis of BLV-infection.

A typical infection with bovine leukemia virus (BLV) induces a permanent antibody (Ab) response with high titers against BLV-antigens. In the last few years atypical courses of infection with low or transient BLV-Ab-titers or even lack of any detectable BLV-Ab-titers in animals with BLV-provirus integration have been described. This makes it difficult to eliminate BLV infection from herds using serological assays only. Whether or not polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a useful tool to complement serological Ab-assays in BLV-eradication in herds was clarified in three ways: (i) different DNA-quick-preparations of blood were examined in nested PCR, (ii) cows of a BLV infected herd that was involved in a national eradication program were investigated for 6 months und (iii) BLV-provirus-variants occurring in this herd were differentiated. The results show, that even by using PCR it was not possible to detect all infected animals all the time and that eradication of BLV from this herd was not completed in this short time. The PCR is useful for the investigation of herds and more sensitive than ELISA. PCR using LTR-primers (34 positive cattle) was more sensitive than PCR with env-primers (30 positive cattle). Using PCR 34 BLV infected cattle were detected of which only 21 reacted in ELISA. Restriction enzyme analysis or sequence analysis of PCR-amplificates allowed the detection of virus variants and conclusions about the way of infection. PCR should be used for BLV-eradication in cattle herds with low BLV-incidence, for the investigation of new outbreaks or tumor cases in long term BLV free herds and for investigation of breeding cattle.

During the hunting season from 1991/1992 blood samples were collected from wild boar shot in the Federal States of Sachsen-Anhalt (482 samples) and Brandenburg (177 samples) which corresponds to 2.1 and 0.4% of the total hunting bag. All sera were screened in a complex trapping blocking (CTB) ELISA for antibodies against hog cholera virus (HCV) and in an indirect ELISA for antibodies against Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV). Additionally the sera were tested for neutralizing antibodies against HCV strain ALFORT/187, bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) strains NADL and 1138/69, and against an ADV field isolate. In case of questionable results sera were tested against HCV strain "BERGEN", HCV vaccine strain "RIEMS" and three HCV field isolates from wild boar. The serological testing for antibodies against "porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus" (PRRSV) was carried out in indirect immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (IPMA). Four sera (Sachsen-Anhalt) reacted positive in CTB-ELISA. Seven sera yielded neutralizing antibodies against HCV but only one of the "non-negative" samples scored positive in both techniques, ELISA and VNT. Two sera (Brandenburg) had low neutralizing antibody titres against Alfort/197 but scored negative in CTB-ELISA. Screening for antibodies against ADV of 640 sera led to 13 positive sera including 5 positive findings in both ELISA and VNT. Antibodies against PRRSV were detected in two sera which were collected Sachsen-Anhalt. Estimations resulted in a prevalence of about 5% for antibodies against HCV.

A highly specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against envelope protein gp51 and effectively bonding the antigen (Ag) on account of its high affinity from an unpurified Ag preparation was chosen for use in a double-sandwich enzyme immuno-assay (EIA) for diagnosis of bovine leukaemia virus (BLV). The epitopes recognised in bovine sera by the gp51-specific antibodies were at the same time properly exposed. Some parameters of major importance to testing were optimised (Ab and Ag quantities, dilution of bovine sera for testing). Preliminary testing of the double-sandwich EIA on selected bovine sera and comparison with both the immunodiffusion test and anti-BLV EIA confirmed its good diagnostic specificity and sensitivity. Hence, this double-sandwich EIA, developed by means of an mAB against gp51, on account of the possibility to use as Ag culture supernatant of the FLC cell line, is a sensitive, low-cost alternative to the anti-BLV EIA Dessau MTP which had so far been used. The double-sandwich EIA is recommended for use in final sanitation for its high analytical and diagnostic sensitivity.

Two antigenic extracts, prepared by different methods, were tried on 317 serum samples in the microscope-slide agglutination, sedimentation and tube agglutination tests. In comparison with the haematological findings, both antigens and all the tests gave a proportion of non-specific positive results, which made it impossible to obtain specific results. Various ways of reducing the proportion of non-specific reactions were tried, without success.

The anticoagulant Chelaplex III in aqueous solution with two new stabilizers (methenamine and tannin) was tested for the preservation of blood samples, together with another combination composed of oxalic acid and methenamine solution. The eventual aim was to test their suitability for use with blood specimens dried in the tube, but this was not done in the present experiments. It was shown that a combination of 5% oxalic acid with 36% methenamine was at least as good as the conventional Chelaplex III-formaldehyde combination for inhibiting coagulation, and it was relatively cheap.

The use of organophosphorus preparations in the treatment of ectoparasites and endoparasites of pigs is discussed. Treatment of 43 store pigs with preparations produced in the German Democratic Republic by washing and by the pour-on method resulted in considerable inactivation of acetylcholinesterase, which implies good systemic action. Overdosage increased this effect, but without producing signs of toxicity. The oral dosages for pigs cited in the literature were confirmed. Repeated treatment was recommended for the best results, as pigs rapidly break down the preparations. It is necessary to take into account adverse effects of oral administration on palatability of the ration and on weight gain. Addition of a preparation to a batch of food for a group of pigs is likely to be less successful than individual dosing, which is the best method for sows.

An optimal magnesium supply of dairy cows during pasture period is still a pressing problem in our farms and husbandry. Experiences are described concerning the application of different magnesium concentrated preparations in cases of grass tetany in 1970 to 1975 in the district of Potsdam. In 224 cows with magnesium concentrations values in the serum below 1.8 mg/100 ml a 25% MgSO4-solution, Parevert and Vers. A, a test solution of VEB Tierarzneimittelwerk Leipzig are used as a metaphylactic treatment. Losses by grass tetany could be reduced after application of the named preparations. Also in cases of low dosage a further, at least temporary drop of magnesium values in the serum could be prevented. Metaphylactic measures are recommended for andangered herds.

Behaviour of Mg and Ca content in the blood serum of 28 cattle with grass tetany and hypocalcaemia was evaluated at short time intervals after infusion of 500 ml of a solution A (containing 12 g Mg-adipat and 5 g Ca-gluconate/100 ml aqua dest.) and a solution B (containing 12 g Mg-adipate and 12 g Ca-gluconate/100 ml) respectively. After treatment with the last-named solutions there was evident a considerable increase of Mg-values in the blood serum for a longer period (up to 6 h), also in the case of distinct hypomagnesaemia while Ca-values of the circulating blood declined more quickly. Efficacy of treatment was the better the earlier infusion was performed after occurence of clinical signs. Application of solution B for treatment of grass tetany and paresis with tetany like symptoms is recommended for several reasons. Necessity of assurance the Mg and Ca supply after infusion is emphasized.

Four anticoagulants in current use were compared in blood samples used to prepare dried specimens. The most suitable was a mixture of one part of heparin solution (5000 IU strength) and four parts of distilled water. Blood samples treated in this way must be process at the laboratory within 16 hours. Specimens dried in tubes could be stored for a long time, and this was the best way of dealing with samples from individual or export cattle.

The use of organophosphorus preparations for the control of ectoparasites and endoparasites of sheep, particularly systemic application, is discussed. Experiments on 13 groups of sheep with five preparations produced in the German Democratic Republic in various formulations and concentrations showed that external application had good contact activity, but little was absorbed. Acetylcholinesterase activity was not inhibited, except by pour-on application of doses several times the normal dose. The preparations were arranged in order of cholinesterase inhibition. In contrast to cattle, diminished cholinesterase activity was unreliable as in indicator of systemic toxicity of organophosphorus preparations in sheep.