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Appropriate disposal of dead farming animals is required to guarantee effective disease control while protecting the environment. In crisis situations, alternatives to rendering can be used, including on-farm burial. The objectives of this study were to: (i) describe the burial and monitoring protocols used on poultry farms in France in response to major avian influenza outbreaks; (ii) assess the effectiveness of the burial protocol, in terms of both technical and biosecurity aspects, and microbiological, physical and chemical changes of the buried materials and the environment over time; (iii) provide recommendations for future burial and follow-up protocols. Five on-farm burial sites were monitored between March 2022 and March 2023, with at least four visits per farm. In addition to visual observations, soil, leachate, air and drilling water samples were collected, as well as boot swabs on/near the pit or on carcasses. For all five farms, microbiological analyses were performed to detect avian influenza virus (AIV), Clostridium botulinum and Salmonella spp. At one site, sampled drilling water was analysed to describe its physical and chemical properties. Visual anomalies were found at the sites over time, such as subsidence of the pits, presence of traces of wild and domestic animals, and rising to the surface of pieces of carcasses and feathers. AIV RNA was detected at all burial sites and in 4 % (8/201) of the collected samples. Viral genome was found up to nine months after burial on one farm. Clostridium botulinum was detected in 16 % (19/117) of the samples, whereas all samples tested negative for Salmonella spp. (0/109) at all sites and at all sampling points. All drilling water samples were compliant with drinking water standards. Our assessments demonstrated how the burial pits changed over time and the need to monitor them regularly so that corrective measures can be taken, if needed. In conclusion, our study can be used as a baseline for preparing better burial and follow-up protocols for future crisis situations. We recommend to standardise trench size and depth, to add mounding soil to the top of the pit and to set up a fence around. Proper pre-planning in peacetime will make it easier to meet the challenges associated with the management of repeated, high-frequency crises or crises of a new nature., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

In 2021, France faced large avian influenza outbreaks, like in 2016 and 2017. Controlling these outbreaks required the preventive depopulation of a large number of duck farms. A previous study in 2017 showed that the quality of decontamination of trucks and transport crates used for depopulation was often insufficient. A new study was then set up to evaluate cleaning and disinfection (C&D) of trucks and crates used for duck depopulation and whether practices had changed since 2017. Three methods were used to assess decontamination: 1) detection of avian influenza virus (AIV) genome, 2) visual inspection of cleanliness, and 3) microbial counts, considering that 2 and 3 are commonly used in abattoirs. Another objective of the study was to evaluate the correlation between results obtained with the 3 methods. In 5 abattoirs, 8 trucks and their crates were sampled by swabbing to detect AIV genome by rRT-PCR before and after decontamination. Visual cleanliness scores and coliform counts were also determined on crates after C&D. Trucks and crates were decontaminated according to the abattoirs' protocols. Before C&D, 3 quarters of crates (59/79) and 7 of 8 trucks were positive for AIV genome. C&D procedures were reinforced in 2021 compared to 2017; use of detergent solution and warm water were more common. Nevertheless, 28% of the crates were positive for AIV genome after C&D, despite the fact that cleaning scores and microbiological counts were satisfactory for 84% and 91% of the crates, respectively. No correlation was observed between results for AIV genome detection and results from visual control or from coliform counts. Abattoirs are encouraged to use environmental sampling coupled with AIV genome detection to monitor the quality of cleaning and disinfection of trucks and crates during AI outbreaks. Reinforcement of biosecurity measures at abattoirs is still needed to avoid residual contamination of the equipment and cross-contamination during the decontamination process., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Outcome of patients with mutation of the FLT3 tyrosine kinase domain (FLT3-TKD) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains controversial., Patients and Methods: Herein, we present a retrospective study of 126 newly diagnosed patients with AML performed in 2 French centers., Results: FLT3-TKD mutations represented 12.7% of patients, whereas FLT3-internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation was observed in 20.6% of AML cases and 1.6% of patients harbored both anomalies. At diagnosis, FLT3-TKD and FLT3-ITD were associated with higher peripheral leukocytes count and a higher blast count in bone marrow (P < 10 -4 ). Mutations of the NPM1 gene were frequently associated to FLT3-TKD (68.7%) and FLT3-ITD (61.5%) mutations compared with FLT3 wild type (WT) patients (P < 10 -4 ). Patients with both FLT3-TKD and NPM1 mutations (n = 12; 9.5%) showed a favorable outcome. Interestingly, mutations in NPM1 gene lost their favorable prognostic when not associated with FLT3-TKD both in univariate and multivariate analyses., Conclusion: Our data suggest that FLT3-TKD mutations should be routinely determined at the time of diagnosis. In association with NPM1 mutations, patients should follow the therapeutic schedule of favorable-risk patients with AML., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Actinomycosis is a rare disease favored by disruption of the mucosal barrier. In order to investigate the impact of immunosuppression on outcome we analyzed the most severe cases observed in patients hospitalized in three tertiary care centers., Methods: We reviewed all cases of proven invasive actinomycosis occurring over a 12-year period (1997 to 2009) in three teaching hospitals in the Paris area., Results: Thirty-three patients (16 male) were identified as having an invasive actinomycosis requiring hospitalization. The diagnosis was made by microbiological identification in 26 patients, pathological examination in eight patients, and by both methods in one. Twenty patients (61%) were immunocompromised. Actinomycosis localization was abdominal or pelvic in 17 patients, thoracic in 11, cervicofacial in three, and neurological in two. Twenty patients (61%) underwent surgery. All strains were susceptible to amoxicillin. All patients were treated with a beta-lactam antibiotic, for a median length of 82 days. Twenty-eight patients (85%) were considered as cured. Overall mortality at hospital discharge was 21% (7/33). Mortality was higher in immunocompromised patients (7/20; 21%) compared to non-immunocompromised patients (0/13) (p=0.027). However, six of seven deaths were directly related to the underlying disease., Conclusions: Actinomycosis is a cause of severe infection in immunocompromised patients and a surrogate marker of a poor prognosis in this specific population., (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Status epilepticus (SE) is a condition requiring emergency care, which is often poorly managed in developing countries due to the lack of personnel, drugs, and insufficient technical and medical means. This study aims at determining the epidemiologic and etiologic characteristics and the difficulty in treating SE under the existing medical practice conditions in a developing country such as Senegal. A retrospective study was therefore carried out based on SE medical files at the University Hospital of Dakar over the period January 1988 to December 1998, and included several hospital departments, i.e., paediatrics, infectious diseases and neurology. Over an 11-year period 697 cases were recorded; of these, 48.2% of patients were under 5 years of age. The seizures were generalized in 58.2% of cases, partial in 21.2%, partial secondarily generalized, or with an association of both clinical presentations in 20.6% of cases. The etiology was as follows: mainly infectious (67%), followed by resistant and/or unbalanced epilepsy (9.9%), epilepsy of vascular origin (8%), and various other causes. The overall mortality rate was 24.8%. A long period between the onset of clinical symptoms and hospital treatment was noted, with an average time lapse of 16.6 h before treatment. The drugs utilized were diazepam and phenobarbitol, administered by injection. The overall outcome could be improved by better management, i.e., better prevention and an efficient treatment of infectious diseases, a reduction in the time before treatment, and improved means of intensive care.