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Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease Q fever, has been shown to be endemic in Great Britain, but information on the prevailing genomic lineages or Genomic Groups (GGs) of Coxiella burnetii is limited. The aim of this study was to genotype C. burnetii isolates from infected farmed ruminants by Multiple Locus Variable Number Tandem Repeat Analysis (MLVA) and identify their associated Genomic Group. A total of 51 Coxiella-containing abortion samples from farmed ruminants (sheep, goats, and cattle), which were collected in Great Britain during 2013-2018, were included in the study, 34 of which returned a C. burnetii MLVA genotype. All bovine samples (n = 18), 5/7 of the ovine samples, and 3/9 of the caprine samples belonged to an MLVA cluster which we could link to the MST20 genotype of GG III, whereas 6/9 of the caprine samples and 2/7 of the ovine samples belonged to MLVA clusters which we could link to the MST33 or MST32 genotypes of GG II (7 vs 1 sample(s), respectively). We also noted that the Coxiella-specific com1 gene contained unique mutations that could genomotype isolates, i.e. assign them to a Genomic Group. In conclusion, both goats and sheep in Great Britain (from 2014 onward) were found to carry the same MLVA genotypes (MST33-like; GG II) that were linked to a human Q fever outbreak in the Netherlands. This knowledge in combination with the usage of genotyping/genomotyping methods should prove useful in future surveillance programs and in the management of outbreaks.

> We have identified a syndrome of diarrhoea and rapid loss of condition affecting dairy calves, which is unresponsive to treatment The farm animal disease surveillance systems in the UK and Ireland have identified a syndrome of diarrhoea and rapid loss of condition affecting dairy …

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Background Quantitative measurement of basophil cell surface markers, CD63 and CD203c, by flow cytometry has been developed as useful tool for the diagnosis of IgE mediated allergies. Available methods require large volume of blood and include extra steps such as prior cell purification, priming with IL-3, stopping cell activation and fixing. We have developed a new basophil based test which can be performed with small amount of whole blood directly from skin prick or from small amount of the whole blood where multiple allergens can be tested at the same time for high-throughput testing.

Rationale Our main focus in the laboratory is to understanding the mechanisms of how oral immunotherapy (OIT) improves outcomes in patients. In this study, we aimed to determine if OIT is specific only to the food allergens administered in OIT or also to other offending allergens (i.e. “bystander effect”). To accomplish our aim, we studied T cell reactivity (i.e. proliferation assays) and T cell specificity (i.e. tetramer assays with peanut peptides) in both effector T cell (CD4+CD25neg) or Teff and regulatory T cell (CD4+CD25hiFoxp3+) or Treg subsets.