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Introduction: Marine environments offer a wealth of opportunities to improve understanding and treatment options for cancers, through insights into a range of fields from drug discovery to mechanistic insights. By applying One Health principles the knowledge obtained can benefit both human and animal populations, including marine species suffering from cancer. One such species is green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), which are under threat from fibropapillomatosis (FP), an epizootic tumor disease (animal epidemic) that continues to spread and increase in prevalence globally. In order to effectively address this epizootic, a more thorough understanding is required of the prevalence of the disease and the approaches to treating afflicted turtles. Methods: To identify knowledge gaps and assess future needs, we conducted a survey of sea turtle FP experts. The survey consisted of 47 questions designed to assess general perceptions of FP, the areas where more information is needed, local FP trends, the disease status, and mitigation needs, and was voluntarily completed by 44 experts across a broad geographic range. Results: Over 70% of respondents both recognized FP as a cancerous panzootic disease, and reported that FP is increasing in prevalence. They report several factors contributing to this increase. Nearly all of the respondents reported that FP research, patient treatment and rehabilitation required more funding in their area, and reported inadequate facilities and capacity for dealing with FP patients. Treatment approaches varied: just over 70% of the medical experts that responded surgically remove FP tumors, either using laser or scalpel. Just under half of respondents use anti-cancer drugs in their treatment of FP. Internal tumors were reported as justification for euthanasia by 61.5% of respondents, and 30.8% reported severe external tumors to be sufficient grounds for euthanasia. Most medical respondents (93.3%) routinely perform necropsy on deceased or euthanized FP-afflicted turtles. Over 80% of respondents considered large-scale multidisciplinary collaboration 'extremely important' for advancing the field of FP research. Discussion: The survey responses provide a valuable insight into the current status of FP in sea turtles, FP treatment, rehabilitation and research, and help to identify critical FP-related areas most in need of attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious diseases can cause considerable mortality in vertebrate populations, especially when a new pathogen emerges. Quantifying the impact of diseases on wild populations and dissecting the underlying mechanisms requires longitudinal individual monitoring combining demographic and epidemiologic data. Such longitudinal population studies are rare. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) is one of the main causes of the decline in European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) populations. A new genotype of RHD virus (RHDV), called RHDV2 or GI.2, emerged in 2010, posing a new threat to previously weakened populations, particularly as this virus can infect individuals already immune to classical RHDV strains. Taking advantage of intensive monitoring from 2009 to 2014 by physical captures and microchip detections of a semi‐captive population of rabbits, we finely assessed the demographic impact of an initial RHDV2 outbreak that occurred in the population and identified the most affected demographic parameters. A multi‐event modeling analysis revealed decreased survival in both juveniles and adults in 2011 and 2012, suggesting an RHDV2 outbreak for two consecutive years. The short‐term survival benefit of vaccination against classical RHDV strains only during these years, and the recovery of carcasses with RHDV2 detection, supported this hypothesis. Variations in population vaccination coverage also explain the difference in adult survival between the two years of the outbreak. And the transient protective effect of vaccination could explain the prolonged duration of the outbreak. A brief episode of myxomatosis in 2011 seems to have had only a limited impact on the population. During outbreak years, in individuals not recently vaccinated, monthly juvenile survival crashed (0.55), and annual adult survival was three times lower than in normal years (0.21 vs. 0.69). The combination of successive juvenile and adult survival estimates for unvaccinated rabbits during the outbreak years resulted in a very low recruitment rate in the breeding population. Finally, RHDV2 outbreaks appear to have caused mortalities comparable to those caused by older classical RHDV strains and may have a strong demographic impact on wild populations of European rabbit. This work highlights the importance of long‐term observational and experimental studies to better understand the impact of epidemics on animal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript summarizes a presentation delivered by the first author at the 2024 symposium for the Calvin Schwabe Award for Lifetime Achievement in Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, which was awarded to Dr. Jan Sargeant. Epidemiologic research plays a crucial role in understanding the complex relationships between exposures and health outcomes. However, the accuracy of the conclusions drawn from these investigations relies upon the meticulous selection and measurement of exposure variables. Appropriate exposure variable selection is crucial for understanding disease etiologies, but it is often the case that we are not able to directly measure the exposure variable of interest and use proxy measures to assess exposures instead. Inappropriate use of proxy measures can lead to erroneous conclusions being made about the true exposure of interest. These errors may lead to biased estimates of associations between exposures and outcomes. The consequences of such biases extend beyond research concerns as health decisions can be made based on flawed evidence. Recognizing and mitigating these biases are essential for producing reliable evidence that informs health policies and interventions, ultimately contributing to improved population health outcomes. To address these challenges, researchers must adopt rigorous methodologies for exposure variable selection and validation studies to minimize measurement errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for strengthening national capacities for disease prevention, preparedness, and response is increasingly becoming urgent. Central to this is strengthening existing systems and workforce capacity for disease surveillance and disease outbreak response. This study aimed to evaluate the national capacity and needs of veterinary services in Vietnam in animal disease surveillance and outbreak investigation skills. A cross-sectional, convergent, mixed-methods study was conducted between November 2020 and April 2021. An online questionnaire was administered to government field veterinarians, followed by descriptive and multivariable analyses to understand field capacity, specifically levels of experience in outbreak investigation and animal health surveillance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders in veterinary services and interview transcripts were coded and thematically analyzed. Qualitative results were used to contextualize quantitative findings from the survey. Overall, 178 field veterinary staff completed the online survey, and 25 stakeholders were interviewed. Eighty percent of respondents reported a high priority for further training in both animal disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. Training and competence were more limited at the district and commune levels, highlighting a gap in capacity at the subnational level. Reasons included a lack of in-depth training opportunities, limited access to resources and high staff turnover. Respondents who completed postgraduate qualifications in epidemiology or Field Epidemiology Training Programs were more likely to have higher levels of experience in animal health surveillance and outbreak investigation. This study identified gaps in knowledge and adoption of practices most often related to local-level or less experienced veterinary staff with limited training opportunities in epidemiology. Findings inform the prioritization of training and planning activities to further enhance the national capacity of veterinary services in Vietnam. Underlying explanations for existing gaps in capacity include inequities in skill development and training opportunities across levels of veterinary staff, gaps in the chain of command and unequal funding across provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhipicephalus microplus is the parasitic species that causes the most damage to Mexican and global livestock due to direct and indirect losses, such as the increase in multidrug resistance and cross-resistance. Currently, there are few studies on resistance to macrocyclic lactones in Mexico, most of them in the south. This study aimed to evaluate the status of ivermectin resistance in R. microplus in northeastern Mexico and its associated risk factors. A total of 20 populations of Rhipicephalus microplus were collected in the states of Veracruz, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí, and they were analyzed with the larval immersion test. Mortality data were subjected to a Probit analysis, estimating lethal concentrations (LC) of 50 % and 99 % and their respective 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI), and to determine possible risk factors, a multivariate analysis and 2 x 2 contingency tables were performed for the exposure variables, with a 95 % confidence interval, and a binomial logistic regression model for those variables with a P=0.05. Eighty (80) percent of the analyzed populations showed resistance with ranges of RR50= 2.07-11.14 and RR99= 3.03-47.93 (P=0.05), and through the binomial logistic regression, it was observed that the variable of frequency of treatments obtained a P=0.0134, a result that proved to be significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Veterinarska Stanica is the property of Croatian Veterinary Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting livestock, caused by the Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV). The North African region is vulnerable to transboundary diseases, and the livestock population at risk is substantial. The genetic diversity of FMDV in the region poses challenges for control measures, as vaccination or recovery from one serotype does not guarantee protection against others. The risk of disease introduction through illegal animal movement is leading North African countries to follow strict WOAH sanitary measures and animal movement controls. Algeria has faced multiple outbreaks, some linked to the illegal movement of animals across borders. Tunisia experienced outbreaks in 2014 and 2017, with genomic analysis indicating connections to West African countries. Libya encountered historical FMDV incursions, and despite control efforts, illegal animal movement and inadequate facilities posed challenges. Morocco reported outbreaks in 1991 and later in 2015, introducing vaccination strategies. Egypt's FMD history showed multiple serotypes causing outbreaks. Control strategies include vaccination, compensation for affected farmers, and control measures such as disease notification, surveillance, and movement restrictions. The compensation rates for farmers vary depending on factors such as animal type and the approved compensation approach. In conclusion, the complexity of FMD control in North Africa, highlights the need for regional collaboration, effective control measures, and ongoing vigilance to mitigate the economic and health impacts of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melkie Dagnaw,1 Marshet Bazezew,2 Bemrew Mengistu,3 Birhan Anagaw,4 Atsede Solomon Mebratu5 1Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Epidemiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 4Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia; 5Department of Pharmacy, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Melkie Dagnaw, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, P.O.box 196, Tel +251904573289, Email melkiedagnaw3528@gmail.comBackground: Dairy cows get mastitis from a common infection called Staphylococcus aureus. Because of its broad distribution across diverse populations and capacity to acquire antibiotic resistance, this particular bacterial strain presents a serious threat to public health. The main goals of this study were to determine the beta-lactam resistance profile of S. aureus in Ethiopian dairy cows and to offer thorough epidemiological data.Methods: We employed manual searches, Web of Science, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar HINARI for electronic bibliographic data.Results: Twenty-six epidemiological studies were included in this systematic review. Of these studies, 12 articles in Oromia, 4 articles in Addis Ababa, 4 articles in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s (SNNPRS), 3 articles in Tigray, and 3 articles in Amhara region. The average prevalence S. aureus were 34.3% in Oromia, 40.2% in Amhara, 39.5 in AA, 40% in Tigray and 21% in SNNPRS. The antimicrobial resistance rate of S. aureus, specifically in relation to beta-lactam drugs, exhibited an average estimation. Notably, penicillin resistance reached a rate of 75%, while amoxicillin resistance stood at 67%. Furthermore, it was determined that, when treating S. aureus, the resistance rates to ampicillin and cephalosporin were 50% and 57%, respectively.Conclusion: The results of this analysis have demonstrated a considerable rise in S. aureus prevalence and beta-lactam resistance within the Ethiopian geographic environment. This emphasizes the critical need for alternate therapeutic approaches and preventative measures in order to successfully lessen the disease’s extensive spread and detrimental effects across the nation.Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, beta-lactam, bovine mastitis, S. aureus, systematic review, veterinary epidemiology

The primary objective of this study was to identify associations between the prepartum teat apex microbiome and the presence of Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infections (IMI) in primiparous cows during the first 5 weeks after calving. We performed a case-control study using shotgun metagenomics of the teat apex and culture-based milk data collected longitudinally from 710 primiparous cows on five organic dairy farms. Cases had higher odds of having S. aureus metagenomic DNA on the teat apex prior to parturition compared to controls (OR = 38.9, 95% CI: 14.84-102.21). Differential abundance analysis confirmed this association, with cases having a 23.8 higher log fold change (LFC) in the abundance of S. aureus in their samples compared to controls. Of the most prevalent microorganisms in controls, those associated with a lower risk of post-calving S. aureus IMI included Microbacterium phage Min 1 (OR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.25-0.53), Corynebacterium efficiens (OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.30-0.94), Kocuria polaris (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35-0.82), Micrococcus terreus (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.44-0.93), and Dietzia alimentaria (OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.26-0.75). Genes encoding for Microcin B17 AMPs were the most prevalent on the teat apex of cases and controls (99.7% in both groups). The predicted abundance of genes encoding for Microcin B17 was also higher in cases compared to controls (LFC 0.26). IMPORTANCE Intramammary infections (IMI) caused by Staphylococcus aureus remain an important problem for the dairy industry. The microbiome on the external skin of the teat apex may play a role in mitigating S. aureus IMI risk, in particular the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) by commensal microbes. However, current studies of the teat apex microbiome utilize a 16S approach, which precludes the detection of genomic features such as genes that encode for AMPs. Therefore, further research using a shotgun metagenomic approach is needed to understand what role prepartum teat apex microbiome dynamics play in IMI risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against a backdrop of change in the French public health governance system, this article examines the dynamics of public-sector dispositives in managing livestock epidemics, situations that are typically fraught with doubt and often lead to crises of governance ('mad cow' disease, 'bird flu', foot-and-mouth, etc.). In such complex, interorganizational situations, marked by uncertainty and tight management time frames, fresh organizational and managerial activity is constantly required, making it a challenging task to characterize and understand the dynamics of the management dispositives that are activated along the way. In order to produce a detailed and dynamic mapping of dispositives, we draw on the theoretical framework of 'dispositional analysis', developed by recent rereadings of Michel Foucault's concept of the dispositive. To this, we bring the micro and situated perspective of the 'day-to-day administering', introducing Jacques Girin's concept of the 'management situation'. We thus hypothesize that management situations are sites of intensive dispositive recombination and offer a useful interpretive frame for dispositive dynamics. Our methodology is based on a longitudinal and comparative analysis of three animal health disease management situations in a particular region (a health crisis, the reemergence of a disease, and an endemic disease situation). Our analysis reveals an architecture of health dispositives whose relationships change as the management situation evolves. Three modes of recombination are identified, produced through the mechanisms of problematization (reformulating the problem) and stakeholder participation. This article makes visible the complex links between the evolution of the situations and the dynamics of the dispositives and provides food for thought in building a more robust governance of public animal health problems, combining situational and planning approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the pre-purchase examination for horses was significantly influenced by the development of the military veterinary system. The success and fame of the Roman Empire depended largely on a well-equipped and functioning military for which horses were essential. Excellently trained military veterinarians were therefore also needed. The fall of the Roman Empire had an extremely negative impact on the military veterinary system. In modern times, the high number of wars in which horses were used and devastating animal epidemics in Europe led to the need to create veterinary training centers. From then on, the course was set for the development of a veterinary profession through well-founded and structured training. Commissions for the purchase of horses for the purpose of remounting were set up in all countries, whereby the supply of replacement horses for the army formed the military system. Following the introduction of mounted "police units" to protect against and combat crime, commissions for the purchase of police horses were set up along the lines of the horse purchase commissions for military service. The development of diagnostic and therapeutic instruments and methods, especially in the 19th century, was of considerable importance for the progress of veterinary examination measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to protect endangered prey, ecologists suggest introducing parasites into predators which have achieved the expected goal in practice. Then how to explain the inherent mechanism and validate the effectiveness of this approach theoretically? In response to this question, we propose an eco-epidemiological system with the standard incidence rate and the anti-predator behavior in this paper, where the predator population is infected by parasites. We show the existence and local stability of equilibria for the system, and verify the occurrence of Hopf bifurcation. Theoretical and numerical results suggest that the fear effect reduces the density of the predator population but has no effect on the density of prey population. In addition, the cost of fear may not only break the stability of the equilibrium of the system, but also induce the equilibrium to change from unstable to stable. Based on the theoretical analysis, we confirm that introducing parasites into the predator population is an effective method to protect endangered prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid intensification of poultry production raises important concerns about the associated risks of zoonotic infections. Here, we introduce EPINEST (EPIdemic NEtwork Simulation in poultry Transportation systems): an agent-based modelling framework designed to simulate pathogen transmission within realistic poultry production and distribution networks. We provide example applications to broiler production in Bangladesh, but the modular structure of the model allows for easy parameterization to suit specific countries and system configurations. Moreover, the framework enables the replication of a wide range of eco-epidemiological scenarios by incorporating diverse pathogen life-history traits, modes of transmission and interactions between multiple strains and/or pathogens. EPINEST was developed in the context of an interdisciplinary multi-centre study conducted in Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, and will facilitate the investigation of the spreading patterns of various health hazards such as avian influenza, Campylobacter, Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance in these countries. Furthermore, this modelling framework holds potential for broader application in veterinary epidemiology and One Health research, extending its relevance beyond poultry to encompass other livestock species and disease systems. Author summary: Poultry meat is important for improving nutrition in developing countries. However, the rapid growth of poultry production raises concerns about the risks of diseases that can be passed from animals to humans and cause outbreaks. To understand and manage these risks, we developed EPINEST, an agent-based modelling framework that allows investigating how diseases can spread within the networks of poultry farms, markets and their associated transportation systems. EPINEST can be adjusted to match the way in which poultry are raised and traded in specific countries. It considers different traits of pathogens, how they are transmitted, and how different strains or pathogen types can interact. While EPINEST was primarily developed to simulate the transmission of zoonotic pathogens (namely avian influenza, Campylobacter, Salmonella and other bacteria carrying resistance genes) in poultry populations in South and Southeast Asia, this modelling framework can also be useful for studying the transmission of other pathogens in other livestock species. EPINEST will help understand how poultry farming and trading shape pathogen spread, maintenance and evolution, and support decision-making to make poultry production safer and more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript summarizes a presentation delivered by the first author at the 2024 symposium for the Calvin Schwabe Award for Lifetime Achievement in Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, which was awarded to Dr. Jan Sargeant. Epidemiologic research plays a crucial role in understanding the complex relationships between exposures and health outcomes. However, the accuracy of the conclusions drawn from these investigations relies upon the meticulous selection and measurement of exposure variables. Appropriate exposure variable selection is crucial for understanding disease etiologies, but it is often the case that we are not able to directly measure the exposure variable of interest and use proxy measures to assess exposures instead. Inappropriate use of proxy measures can lead to erroneous conclusions being made about the true exposure of interest. These errors may lead to biased estimates of associations between exposures and outcomes. The consequences of such biases extend beyond research concerns as health decisions can be made based on flawed evidence. Recognizing and mitigating these biases are essential for producing reliable evidence that informs health policies and interventions, ultimately contributing to improved population health outcomes. To address these challenges, researchers must adopt rigorous methodologies for exposure variable selection and validation studies to minimize measurement errors.

The need for strengthening national capacities for disease prevention, preparedness, and response is increasingly becoming urgent. Central to this is strengthening existing systems and workforce capacity for disease surveillance and disease outbreak response. This study aimed to evaluate the national capacity and needs of veterinary services in Vietnam in animal disease surveillance and outbreak investigation skills. A cross-sectional, convergent, mixed-methods study was conducted between November 2020 and April 2021. An online questionnaire was administered to government field veterinarians, followed by descriptive and multivariable analyses to understand field capacity, specifically levels of experience in outbreak investigation and animal health surveillance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders in veterinary services and interview transcripts were coded and thematically analyzed. Qualitative results were used to contextualize quantitative findings from the survey. Overall, 178 field veterinary staff completed the online survey, and 25 stakeholders were interviewed. Eighty percent of respondents reported a high priority for further training in both animal disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. Training and competence were more limited at the district and commune levels, highlighting a gap in capacity at the subnational level. Reasons included a lack of in-depth training opportunities, limited access to resources and high staff turnover. Respondents who completed postgraduate qualifications in epidemiology or Field Epidemiology Training Programs were more likely to have higher levels of experience in animal health surveillance and outbreak investigation. This study identified gaps in knowledge and adoption of practices most often related to local-level or less experienced veterinary staff with limited training opportunities in epidemiology. Findings inform the prioritization of training and planning activities to further enhance the national capacity of veterinary services in Vietnam. Underlying explanations for existing gaps in capacity include inequities in skill development and training opportunities across levels of veterinary staff, gaps in the chain of command and unequal funding across provinces.

Copyright of Revista U.D.C.A Actualidad & Divulgación Científica is the property of Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales U.D.C.A and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction of African swine fever (ASF) to China in mid-2018 and the subsequent transboundary spread across Asia devastated regional swine production, affecting live pig and pork product-related markets worldwide. To explore the spatiotemporal spread of ASF in China, we reconstructed possible ASF transmission networks using nearest neighbour, exponential function, equal probability, and spatiotemporal case-distribution algorithms. From these networks, we estimated the reproduction numbers, serial intervals, and transmission distances of the outbreak. The mean serial interval between paired units was around 29 days for all algorithms, while the mean transmission distance ranged 332 –456 km. The reproduction numbers for each algorithm peaked during the first two weeks and steadily declined through the end of 2018 before hovering around the epidemic threshold value of 1 with sporadic increases during 2019. These results suggest that 1) swine husbandry practices and production systems that lend themselves to long-range transmission drove ASF spread; 2) outbreaks went undetected by the surveillance system. Efforts by China and other affected countries to control ASF within their jurisdictions may be aided by the reconstructed spatiotemporal model. Continued support for strict implementation of biosecurity standards and improvements to ASF surveillance is essential for halting transmission in China and spread across Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has caused substantial economic losses worldwide. An understanding of the environmental drivers that contribute to spillover transmission from wild birds to poultry farms is important for predicting areas at risk of introduction and developing risk-based surveillance strategies. We conducted an epidemiological study using data from six HPAI outbreak events in South Korea. Materials and methods: An aggregate-level study design was implemented using third-level administrative units in South Korea. Only regions with high natural reservoir suitability were included. The incidence of HPAI at chicken and duck farms during the initial phase (30 and 45 days after the first case) of each outbreak event was used as the outcome variable, assuming that cross-species transmission from wild birds was the dominant exposure leading to infection. Candidate environmental drivers were meteorological factors, including temperature, precipitation, humidity, and altitude, as well as the proportion of protected area, farm density, deforestation level, and predator species richness. Logistic regression models were implemented; conditional autoregression models were used in cases of spatial autocorrelation of residuals. Results: Lower temperature, higher farm density, and lower predator species richness were significantly associated with a higher risk of HPAI infection on chicken farms. Lower temperature, higher proportion of protected area, and lower predator species richness were significantly associated with a higher risk of HPAI infection on duck farms. Conclusion: The predicted dominant transmission routes on chicken and duck farms were horizontal and spillover, respectively. These results reveal a potential protective effect of predator species richness against HPAI outbreaks. Further studies are required to confirm a causal relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucella abortus is a globally important zoonotic pathogen largely found in cattle hosts and is typically transmitted to humans through contaminated dairy products or contact with diseased animals. Despite the long, shared history of cattle and humans, little is known about how trade in cattle has spread this pathogen throughout the world. Whole genome sequencing provides unparalleled resolution to investigate the global evolutionary history of a bacterium such as B. abortus by providing phylogenetic resolution that has been unobtainable using other methods. We report on large-scale genome sequencing and analysis of B. abortus collected globally from cattle and 16 other hosts from 52 countries. We used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to identify genetic variation in 1,074 B. abortus genomes and using maximum parsimony generated a phylogeny that identified four major clades. Two of these clades, clade A (median date 972 CE; 95% HPD, 781–1142 CE) and clade B (median date 150 BCE; 95% HPD, 515 BCE–164 CE), were exceptionally diverse for this species and are exclusively of African origin where provenance is known. The third clade, clade C (median date 949 CE; 95% HPD, 766–1102 CE), had most isolates coming from a broad swath of the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, also had relatively high diversity. Finally, the fourth major clade, clade D (median date 1467 CE; 95% HPD, 1367–1553 CE) comprises the large majority of genomes in a dominant but relatively monomorphic group that predominantly infects cattle in Europe and the Americas. These data are consistent with an African origin for B. abortus and a subsequent spread to the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, probably through the movement of infected cattle. We hypothesize that European arrival to the Americas starting in the 15th century introduced B. abortus from Western Europe through the introduction of a few common cattle breeds infected with strains from clade D. These data provide the foundation of a comprehensive global phylogeny of this important zoonotic pathogen that should be an important resource in human and veterinary epidemiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxiellosis, also known as Q fever, is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetti and has become a significant cause of small ruminant abortion globally. Q fever is endemic in Iran, but there is a dearth of epidemiological data regarding the true prevalence of C. burnetii in some areas of Iran. Small ruminants, mainly goats and sheep, are considered the primary reservoir for human infection, posing a considerable threat to human health. Theses reservoirs can shed the bacterium into vaginal mucus.The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of coxiellosis through the detection of the IS1111 gene of C. burnetii using Real-time PCR and also to identify the related risk factors (such as the location of livestock, age, species, and parity) associated with the disease in the vaginal discharge of small ruminants residing in Kerman province, located in the southeast of Iran. During the winter of 2019 and autumn of 2020, a total of 134 vaginal samples from aborted small ruminants (70 samples from sheep and 64 from goats) were gathered from 32 herds located in different areas of Kerman province. The results showed that 26 samples, comprising 14 from goats (21.88 %) and 12 from sheep (17.14 %), were positive for coxiellosis. According to the findings of our study, the detection of C. burnetii showed that coxiellosis is circulating in the studied area. Additionally, our analysis revealed no statistically significant association between the prevalence of Q fever and small ruminants' location, number of parturition, and age that were examined as potential risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human brucellosis continues to be a great threat to human health in China. The present study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of human brucellosis in China from 2004 to 2019, to analyze the socioeconomic factors, meteorological factors and seasonal effect affecting human brucellosis incidence in different geographical regions with the help of spatial panel model, and to provide a scientific basis for local health authorities to improve the prevention of human brucellosis. Methods: The monthly reported number and incidence of human brucellosis in China from January 2004 to December 2019 were obtained from the Data Center for China Public Health Science. Monthly average air temperature and monthly average relative humidity of 31 provincial-level administrative units (22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities directly under the central government) in China from October 2003 to December 2019 were obtained from the National Meteorological Science Data Centre. The inventory of cattle, the inventory of sheep, beef yield, mutton yield, wool yield, milk yield and gross pastoral product of 31 provincial-level administrative units in China from 2004 to 2019 were obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The temporal and geographical distribution of human brucellosis was displayed with Microsoft Excel and ArcMap software. The spatial autocorrelation and hotspot analysis was used to describe the association among different areas. Spatial panel model was constructed to explore the combined effects on the incidence of human brucellosis in China. Results: A total of 569,016 cases of human brucellosis were reported in the 31 provincial-level administrative units in China from January 2004 to December 2019. Human brucellosis cases were concentrated between March and July, with a peak in May, showing a clear seasonal increase. The incidence of human brucellosis in China from 2004 to 2019 showed significant spatial correlations, and hotspot analysis indicated that the high incidence of human brucellosis was mainly in the northern China, particularly in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Heilongjiang. The results from spatial panel model suggested that the inventory of cattle, the inventory of sheep, beef yield, mutton yield, wool yield, milk yield, gross pastoral product, average air temperature (the same month, 2-month lagged and 3-month lagged), average relative humidity (the same month) and season variability were significantly associated with human brucellosis incidence in China. Conclusions: The epidemic area of human brucellosis in China has been expanding and the spatial clustering has been observed. Inner Mongolia and adjacent provinces or autonomous regions are the high-risk areas of human brucellosis. The inventory of cattle and sheep, beef yield, mutton yield, wool yield, milk yield, gross pastoral product, average air temperature, average relative humidity and season variability played a significant role in the progression of human brucellosis. The present study strengthens the understanding of the relationship between socioeconomic, meteorological factors and the spatial heterogeneity of human brucellosis in China, through which 'One Health'-based strategies and countermeasures can be provided for the government to tackle the brucellosis menace. Author summary: Human brucellosis continues to be a great threat to human health in China. It was reported that human brucellosis incidence in China was 4.95/100,000 in 2021, surging from 16th place in 2000 to 5th place in 2021. The present study was designed to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of human brucellosis in China from 2004 to 2019, to analyze the socioeconomic factors, meteorological factors, and seasonal effect affecting human brucellosis incidence in different geographical regions. The clear seasonal increase of reported human brucellosis cases between March and July, the spatial clustering situation and the spread of epidemic area from northern to the southern coast and southwestern regions were identified. The inventory of cattle and sheep, beef yield, mutton yield, wool yield, milk yield, gross pastoral product, average air temperature (the same month, 2-month lagged and 3-month lagged), average relative humidity (the same month) and season variability played a significant role in the progression of human brucellosis. Spatial panel model was found to have good applicability and interpretability. As each factor plays a different role in different geographical regions, a comprehensive surveillance system for human brucellosis should be established in conjunction with the relevant risk factors to provide early warning of human and animal epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tail docking is a husbandry practice widely incorporated in sheep farms around the world. It is an irreversible mutilation that impairs animal welfare, both immediately and in the longer term. The defence of tail docking as a practice is centred around the perception that doing so contributes to the promotion of local hygiene, allowing the use of the wool, facilitating reproductive management and reducing the chances of myiasis, a disease caused by the invasion of blowfly larvae in the tissues of warm-blooded animals. However, current understanding of farm animal welfare questions the need to maintain practices such as tail docking. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of tail docking on the incidence of Cochliomyia hominivorax myiasis in sheep in an experimental flock in Brazil during a six-year retrospective cohort study. Relative risk, odds ratio and incidence rate ratio were the association measures adopted. A total of 4,318 data-points were collected and supplied the analytical model. Tail docking did not decrease the risk and, on the contrary, was found to increase the chances of sheep being affected by myiasis. The results support the hypothesis that tail docking is not a protective factor against the occurrence of myiasis and further fuel calls for a rethink of tail docking being deployed as a blanket measure in the prevention of myiasis in sheep.

Recent outbreaks of Avian Influenza across Europe have highlighted the potential for syndromic surveillance systems that consider other modes of data, namely social media. This study investigates the feasibility of using social media, primarily Twitter, to monitor illness outbreaks such as avian flu. Using temporal, geographical, and correlation analyses, we investigated the association between avian influenza tweets and officially verified cases in the United Kingdom in 2021 and 2022. Pearson correlation coefficient, bivariate Moran's I analysis and time series analysis, were among the methodologies used. The findings show a weak, statistically insignificant relationship between the number of tweets and confirmed cases in a temporal context, implying that relying simply on social media data for surveillance may be insufficient. The spatial analysis provided insights into the overlaps between confirmed cases and tweet locations, shedding light on regionally targeted interventions during outbreaks. Although social media can be useful for understanding public sentiment and concerns during outbreaks, it must be combined with traditional surveillance methods and official data sources for a more accurate and comprehensive approach. Improved data mining techniques and real-time analysis can improve outbreak detection and response even further. This study underscores the need of having a strong surveillance system in place to properly monitor and manage disease outbreaks and protect public health.

Background: With the promotion of "One Health," the health of animals and their impact on the environment have become major concerns recently. Widely distributed in China, the whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) and black swans (Cygnus atratus) are not only important to the ecological environment, but they may also potentially influence public health security. The metagenomic approach was adopted to uncover the impacts of the gut microbiota of swans on host and public health. Results: In this study, the intestinal microbiome and resistome of migratory whooper swans and captive-bred black swans were identified. The results revealed similar gut microbes and functional compositions in whooper and black swans. Interestingly, different bacteria and probiotics were enriched by overwintering whooper swans. We also found that Acinetobacter and Escherichia were significantly enriched in early wintering period swans and that clinically important pathogens were more abundant in black swans. Whooper swans and black swans are potential reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and novel ARGs, and the abundance of novel ARGs in whooper swans was significantly higher than that in black swans. Metagenomic assembly–based host tracking revealed that most ARG-carrying contigs originated from Proteobacteria (mainly Gammaproteobacteria). Conclusions: The results revealed spatiotemporal changes in microbiome and resistome in swans, providing a reference for safeguarding public health security and preventing animal epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several countries are currently evaluating the potential health impacts of climate change (CC), particularly in relation to the complex connections between CC-induced weather fluctuations. China, heavily affected by CC, provides clear evidence of its effects. Previous research in animal sciences indicates that factors like temperature, humidity, precipitation, and wind speed can affect animal epidemics. In China, a major global hub for animal husbandry, these factors pose significant challenges, warranting further investigation into their quantitative relationship with disease outbreaks. This study investigates the influence of these climatic conditions on epizootic diseases in China. In the current study, using data from 278 village-level surveys and daily meteorological data spanning 2012 to 2018, we used a fixed-effect model for analysis. The findings reveal that increasing temperatures and wind speeds exacerbate disease development, while the precipitation anomaly index negatively impacts animal epidemics, with humidity showing minimal influence. Addressing CC's potential impact on animal disease, governments, organizations, and farmers need to pay more attention to the impacts of climate change on animal diseases and work together to better cope with the impacts through policies, measures, and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: African swine fever (ASF) has a significant impact on the pig industry, leading to drastic fluctuations in the supply and price of live pigs on the market, leading to substantial economic losses for farmers. As China enters the 'post-ASF' era of regular epidemic prevention and control, the behavior of farmers becomes crucial for effectively preventing and controlling major animal epidemics. To analyze the current situation and factors influencing farmers' epidemic prevention and control behaviors, survey data were empirically analyzed. The findings indicate that the overall level of biosecurity in pig farms is low. Additionally, factors such as technical training, farm size, income share, production organization, and government inspection significantly influence farmers' adoption of biosecurity measures. Effective biosecurity measures are crucial in controlling and preventing major pig diseases, ultimately ensuring farm income and social stability. This study extracted data from 205 farmer surveys in Sichuan Province, China, to construct a biosecurity index system for pig farms. The biosecurity levels of pig farms were evaluated using a projection pursuit method to identify weak areas. The Tobit model was then utilized to determine the factors that influenced the biosecurity levels. The results indicated that the overall biosecurity levels of the pig farms were low. The study found that the average biosecurity score among farms was 0.61, with a minimum score of 0.37 and a maximum score of 0.89 (on a scale of 0 to 1). These results suggest that there are significant differences in biosecurity levels among the farms. The study also found that the scores for first-level indicators related to breeding environment management, as well as second-level indicators related to personnel management and awareness of African swine fever prevention and control, were significantly lower than scores for other indicators in the farmers' biosecurity systems. This study investigated the factors influencing biosecurity on farms and found that technical training, farm size, income share, production organization, and government inspections had a significant impact on the level of biosecurity implemented. This study emphasizes the significance of biosecurity in enhancing pig farm biosecurity and its role in improving farm resilience to major animal diseases like African swine fever. It also provides valuable insights for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding related policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web scraping and text mining are popular computer science methods deployed by public health researchers to augment traditional epidemiological surveillance. However, within veterinary disease surveillance, such techniques are still in the early stages of development and have not yet been fully utilised. This study presents an exploration into the utility of incorporating internet-based data to better understand smallholder farming communities within the UK, by using online text extraction and the subsequent mining of this data. Web scraping of the livestock fora was conducted, with text mining and topic modelling of data in search of common themes, words, and topics found within the text, in addition to temporal analysis through anomaly detection. Results revealed that some of the key areas in pig forum discussions included identification, age management, containment, and breeding and weaning practices. In discussions about poultry farming, a preference for free-range practices was expressed, along with a focus on feeding practices and addressing red mite infestations. Temporal topic modelling revealed an increase in conversations around pig containment and care, as well as poultry equipment maintenance. Moreover, anomaly detection was discovered to be particularly effective for tracking unusual spikes in forum activity, which may suggest new concerns or trends. Internet data can be a very effective tool in aiding traditional veterinary surveillance methods, but the requirement for human validation of said data is crucial. This opens avenues of research via the incorporation of other dynamic social media data, namely Twitter, in addition to location analysis to highlight spatial patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The occurrence of African swine fever has restricted the sustainable and healthy development of the hog industry and its ability to enhance the supply of pork, thus negatively impacting China's economic and social development. During 2018–2021, the resilience of China's hog industry improved due to the adjustments to the prevention and control mechanisms in African swine fever policy and the subsequent recovery of hog breeding and pork production. There are differences among the key factors influencing the resilience of the hog industry across different provinces and periods. These factors include the slaughter rate, carcass weight, mortality rate, culling rate, economic level, industrial structure, per capita consumption, scale level, resource carrying, etc. The aim of this study is to provide guidance for better prevention and mitigation of epidemic risks, thus promoting the high-quality development of the hog industry and meeting the nutritional needs of residents. African swine fever has damaged the foundation of China's hog industry, caused a serious decline in hog production, highlighted the contradiction between supply and demand in the pork market, and led to major economic and social impacts. The industrial resilience of 31 Chinese provinces to African swine fever shock and its spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics from 2018 to 2021 were measured in this study from the two dimensions of resistance and recoverability. Using Geodetector, the key factors influencing the resilience of China's hog industry were explored. The results showed that 2018–2019 and 2020–2021 represented the resistance and recovery periods of the hog industry under African swine fever shock, respectively, with poor resilience characterizing the resistance period and improved resilience characterizing the recovery period. At the early stages of the African swine fever outbreak, the hog industries in Tianjin, Shanxi, Guangxi, and Yunnan had robust resistance due to the slaughter rate, economic level, mortality rate, carcass weight, and culling rate in those areas. At the most severe stage of the outbreak, resistance was generally poor in all provinces due to the slaughter rate, per capita consumption, and scale level at the time. During the period of rapid recovery in hog production, the recoverability of each province was very strong due to the industrial structure, culling rate, economic level, and resource carrying capacity at that time. During the reasonable adjustment period of hog production capacity, the recoverability based on the breeding sow inventory in 13 provinces, including Henan, Shandong, and other large hog-breeding provinces, was negative due to the scale level, slaughter rate, per capita consumption, and resource carrying at that time. Taking measures to enhance the resilience of the hog industry, strengthen the prevention and control of hog epidemics, improve the monitoring and early warning mechanisms, and enhance the ability of the hog industry to cope with major animal epidemics is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attacks by dogs, primarily stray dogs, are a very common problem faced by both underdeveloped and developed local goverments. The damage caused by attacks from stray dogs has multiple, and often long-lasting, harmful consequences for their victims, which are also reflected on members of their families. This manuscript provides a veterinary-epidemiological definition of the concept of dogs, as well as their legal definition in the context of „dangerous things", and the psychological aspect that is regularly manifested in victims. Analyzing the legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a comparative presentation of the regulations of the EU member states, systematic overviews and answers are given, which are important for the improvement of existing regulations and harmonization of law and jurisprudence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contract farming (CF) is promoted as part of agricultural development policies in many countries. Few literature on CF has considered the animal epidemic risk, which significantly affects the total revenue and the re-distribution between the contract farmers and the enterprise. Using the ten-year nationwide household-level panel data, we investigate the Chinese poultry sector to analyse the inclusiveness of CF. We evaluate the impact of participating in CF on farmers' income and asset endowments when animal epidemic diseases occur. The results confirm the insurance and discover the special re-distribution function of CF through adjusting product price. CF negatively affects large farmers' poultry farming income while it could be mitigated during the animal epidemic disease outbreak. Meanwhile, participating in CF has a significant positive effect on small farmers' assets when diseases occur. However, CF fails to be 'inclusive' in the presence of risks. The above positive effect is limited due to overall fewer participation opportunities available to small farmers. Policy implications and suggestions are derived to improve the inclusiveness of CF to small household farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is an important pathogen that causes diseases in the gastro-intestinal, respiratory, and reproductive systems. It also leads to a decrease in reproductive performance and consequently continuous economic losses in cattle management. The presence of BVD virus in bull testes was investigated in this study using indirect immunofluorescence (IF), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and Reverse Transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. The tissue distribution of BVDV was examined pathologically and virologically in 100 bull testis tissue samples. For this purpose, IF, IHC, and RT-PCR methods were employed. Positive IF staining was detected in 21 (21%) testis samples using the indirect IF method. In IHC staining, 16 (16%) samples were found to be positive. In RT-PCR, 13 (13%) samples tested positive. The results of the presented study demonstrate that BVDV can infect different cell types in bull testes and that the virus can primarily be transmitted through natural or artificial insemination. Therefore, bulls are an important epidemiological factor in the transmission of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: An animal epidemic poses a severe threat to the economic development of a country. Pig farmers are crucial in controlling the spread of viral infections in pigs. As a crucial component of the biosecurity system, selecting proper cleaning and disinfection (C&D) procedures is a dynamic and long-term decision that requires a higher knowledge base among pig farmers. In this study, we collected data from 333 pig farmers in the Sichuan Province of China—a region significantly affected by the African swine fever (ASF) virus. The collected data were analyzed to elucidate the mechanism of the impact of epidemic prevention training on enhancing pig farmers' adoption of C&D procedures. The empirical results showed that epidemic prevention training promotes the adoption of C&D procedures among pig farmers. In addition, biosecurity cognition plays a partially mediating role in epidemic prevention training, influencing the adoption of regular and comprehensive C&D procedures. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly infectious disease, severely affecting domestic pigs and wild boar. It has significantly contributed to economic losses within the pig farming industry. As a critical component of biosecurity measures, the selection of cleaning and disinfection (C&D) procedures is a dynamic and long-term decision that demands a deeper knowledge base among pig farmers. This study uses a binary logit model to explore the effect of epidemic prevention training on the adoption of C&D procedures among pig farmers with irregular and regular C&D procedures based on micro-survey data obtained from 333 pig farmers from Sichuan. The endogeneity issue was handled using propensity score matching, resulting in solid conclusions. In addition, the critical mediating impact of biosecurity cognition was investigated using a bootstrap analysis. The empirical study demonstrated that epidemic prevention training encourages pig farmers to adopt C&D procedures, with biosecurity cognition significantly mediating. Furthermore, epidemic prevention training was more likely to promote the adoption of C&D procedures among pig farmers with shorter breeding experiences and those having breeding insurance. Our study emphasized the importance of implementing epidemic prevention training to improving pig farmers' biosecurity cognition and promoting the adoption of C&D procedures. The results included suggested references for preventing ASF and the next epidemic of animal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The frequent occurrence of pig epidemics has restricted the sustainable and healthy development of the pig industry and its ability to enhance the supply of pork, negatively impacting China's economic and social development. In recent years, China has faced many pig epidemic risks and challenges, with one high-risk area and two medium–high-risk areas. The epidemic risk was highest in Beijing, Hainan, Liaoning, Tibet and Zhejiang. This study will help to better prevent and mitigate epidemic risks, promote high-quality development of the pig industry, and meet the nutritional needs of residents. Strengthening the analysis and risk assessment of the pig epidemic will help to better prevent and mitigate epidemic risks and promote the high-quality development of the pig industry. Based on a systematic understanding of live pig epidemics, a risk assessment index system was constructed, and the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of pig epidemics in China were explored by the entropy method. In recent years, the overall trend in pig epidemics over time first increased and then decreased; in space, the acceleration of the spread of epidemics across the country weakened. China still faces challenges, including many types and a wide range of diseases, large total livestock breeding and weak epidemic prevention and control capacity, and a large risk of introduced foreign animal epidemics. The spatial and temporal variations in the pig epidemic risk were obvious; one high-risk area, two medium–high-risk areas and 10 medium-risk areas have been found in recent years, during which time, the epidemic risk was highest in Beijing, Hainan, Liaoning, Tibet and Zhejiang. However, there were significant differences in the regional distribution of the risk level of pig epidemics in different years. To further build a secure "defense system" for the high-quality development of the pig industry, it is recommended to improve the monitoring and early warning system of pig epidemic risk, perfect the pig epidemic prevention and control system, and strengthen the regional collaboration mechanism of epidemic prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is the first to use principal component analysis (PCA) in veterinary epidemiology and aims to identify the most significant agents of diarrhoea in calves. Data were collected from 245 calves on 32 farms within 13 districts of Northern Kazakhstan. Epidemiological data were simulated in R, using standard PCA modules. The data clustering was carried out based on the prevalence of seven enteropathogens for an age group dataset (represented by four animal groups) and a farm type dataset (by three farm types depending on herd size). The simulation revealed that the components identified here for one and two-week calves explained 91.31% of the variance. The first two components of large and middle-sized farms covered 90.3% of the variance. The coordinates corresponding to pathogens were approximately visualised in directions of eigenvectors for each age group and farm type. The coordinate for Cryptosporidium parvum was in directions of eigenvectors for one-to three-week calves and large farms. The coordinate for rotaviruses was in the direction of eigenvectors for four-week calves and medium-sized and small farms. So, PCA can potentially be useful in the clustering of epidemiological datasets and making decisions on control of infectious diseases with a multi-pathogenic nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If we are, to paraphrase Lachenal ([10]:671), to "emancipate" our understanding of disease reservoirs from a set of "narrative tropes cemented by centuries of intertextuality", we need to begin by reflecting on the spatial imaginaries sedimented in the intersection between epidemiological reasoning and pandemic imaginaries about disease maintenance. To take the example of plague during the third plague pandemic (1894-1959), configuring the disease's reservoirs was a thoroughly spatial process of epidemiological reasoning, which involved the "becoming-reservoir" of different spaces across different epidemic contexts. This is surprising as disease reservoirs have played an important role in the ways in which diseases have been invested with a catastrophic potential since at least the 1890s, and as they have been more recently systematically mediatized through pandemic apocalypse films (Lynteris [11]). Disease reservoirs, as the contributions to this multidisciplinary special issue show, form heterogeneous epistemic objects related to disease maintenance, which have attracted an array of epidemiological concerns, biopolitical interventions, and metaphorical investments over the past 150 years. [Extracted from the article]

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Haemoparasitic infections persist as one of the major challenges in companion animal health. Despite the increased incidence, studies on tick-borne apicomplexan haemoparasites infecting domestic cats are comparatively fewer. These vector-borne diseases are emerging problems in cats across the globe. Feline haemoparasites include Hepatozoon spp. such as H. felis, H. canis and H. silvestris, Piroplasm-causing organisms such as Cytauxzoon felis, Babesia felis, B. cati, B. herpailuri and B. pantherae and haemoflagellates such as Trypanosoma evansi. Ticks have the major role in the transmission of hepatozoonosis, cytauxzoonosis and babesiosis. Haematophagous insects including Tabanus, Stomoxys and Lyperosia act as vectors for trypanosomosis. Routine diagnosis of infection is based on microscopic identification of parasites in blood smears or tissues. Application of molecular diagnostic techniques like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rapid diagnosis and epidemiological studies will enhance the potential of veterinary services. Knowledge on occurrence and clinical manifestations of haemoparasitic infections will aid in improving the health of cats and facilitate the development of an efficient disease control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the lifespan advantage of small body size and mixed breed status has been documented repeatedly, evidence for an effect of genetic diversity across dog breeds is equivocal. We hypothesized that this might be due to a strong right-censoring bias in available breed-specific lifespan estimates where early-dying dogs from birth cohorts that have not died off completely at the time of data collection are sampled disproportionately, especially in breeds with rapidly growing populations. We took advantage of data on owner reported lifespan and cause of death from a large public database to quantify the effect of size and genetic diversity (heterozygosity) on mortality patterns across 118 breeds based on more than 40,000 dogs. After documenting and removing the right-censoring bias from the breed-specific lifespan estimates by including only completed birth cohorts in our analyses, we show that small size and genetic diversity are both linked to a significant increase in mean lifespan across breeds. To better understand the proximate mechanisms underlying these patterns, we then investigated two major mortality causes in dogs — the cumulative pathophysiologies of old age and cancer. Old age lifespan, as well as the percentage of old age mortality, decreased with increasing body size and increased with increasing genetic diversity. The lifespan of dogs dying of cancer followed the same patterns, but while large size significantly increased proportional cancer mortality, we could not detect a significant signal for lowered cancer mortality with increasing diversity. Our findings suggest that outcross programs will be beneficial for breed health and longevity. They also emphasize the need for high-quality mortality data for veterinary epidemiology as well as for developing the dog as a translational model for human geroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperadrenocorticism (HAC), also known as Cushing's syndrome, is caused by chronic exposure to excessive glucocorticoids. The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiological and clinical (especially ophthalmic) findings of dogs with HAC to increase recognition of suspicious cases in clinical routines. This study was examined on thirty dogs from Tehran, Mazandaran, and Guilan provinces between April 2021 and May 2022. The dogs included in the current study, who all had confirmed Hyperadrenocorticism, were selected based on the clinical findings suggestive Cushing disease as well as positive low-dose dexamethasone-suppression test. Then, general information, clinical signs, and ophthalmic factors were examined and recorded. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, McNemar test, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA and LSD post hoc test. The mean age for the dogs with HAC was 9.7 years. The risk of HAC was also higher in neutered than intact dogs and also in terrier breed than other ones. Furthermore, significant differences were statistically observed concerning ophthalmic evaluations, including eye lesions, palpebral reflex, ophthalmic structural disorders, conjunctival, sclera, lens, retina, iris, and optic nerve involvement. However, gender, breed, common clinical manifestations, behavioural status, PLR test, menace test, dazzle test, cotton test, and corneal involvement did not show significant differences statistically. It was concluded that indoor and gonadectomized dogs had higher frequency in the studied population. We conducted epidemiological and clinical study of Cushing's disease in dogs in Iran, and for the first time, we examined the eye factors associated with this syndrome. These results support a better understanding of the canine hyperadrenocorticism in Iran. According to this study, the studied population resembles the profile described in European and North American epidemiologic studies, and the clinical picture of the HAC dog appears to be similar worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Data-driven research is a very important component of One Health. As the core part of the global One Health index (GOHI), the global One Health Intrinsic Drivers index (IDI) is a framework for evaluating the baseline conditions of human-animal-environment health. This study aims to assess the global performance in terms of GOH-IDI, compare it across different World Bank regions, and analyze the relationships between GOH-IDI and national economic levels. Methods: The raw data among 146 countries were collected from authoritative databases and official reports in November 2021. Descriptive statistical analysis, data visualization and manipulation, Shapiro normality test and ridge maps were used to evaluate and identify the spatial and classificatory distribution of GOH-IDI. This paper uses the World Bank regional classification and the World Bank income groups to analyse the relationship between GOH-IDI and regional economic levels, and completes the case studies of representative countries. Results: The performance of One Health Intrinsic Driver in 146 countries was evaluated. The mean (standard deviation, SD) score of GOH-IDI is 54.05 (4.95). The values (mean SD) of different regions are North America (60.44, 2.36), Europe and Central Asia (57.73, 3.29), Middle East and North Africa (57.02, 2.56), East Asia and Pacific (53.87, 5.22), Latin America and the Caribbean (53.75, 2.20), South Asia (52.45, 2.61) and sub-Saharan Africa (48.27, 2.48). Gross national income per capita was moderately correlated with GOH-IDI (R2 = 0.651, Deviance explained = 66.6%, P < 0.005). Low income countries have the best performance in some secondary indicators, including Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health and Health risks. Five indicators are not statistically different at each economic level, including Animal Epidemic Disease, Animal Biodiversity, Air Quality and Climate Change, Land Resources and Environmental Biodiversity. Conclusions: The GOH-IDI is a crucial tool to evaluate the situation of One Health. There are inter-regional differences in GOH-IDI significantly at the worldwide level. The best performing region for GOH-IDI was North America and the worst was sub-Saharan Africa. There is a positive correlation between the GOH-IDI and country economic status, with high-income countries performing well in most indicators. GOH-IDI facilitates researchers' understanding of the multidimensional situation in each country and invests more attention in scientific questions that need to be addressed urgently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigs are considered to be the main reservoir for livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA), which is a zoonotic opportunistic pathogen. As LA-MRSA is an occupational hazard, there is an incentive to control its spread in pig herds. Currently, knowledge about effective control measures which do not require culling the whole herd are limited, and the control strategies against LA-MRSA vary between countries. This study uses a stochastic compartment model to simulate possible control measures for LA-MRSA in a farrow-to-finish pig herd. The aims of the study were to (1) extend a previously published disease spread model with additional management and control measures; (2) use the extended model to study the effect of the individual LA-MRSA control measures on the within-herd LA-MRSA prevalence; (3) evaluate the effect of control measures when they are implemented in combinations. From the individual control measures tested in the study, thorough cleaning was found to be most effective in reducing the LA-MRSA prevalence in the herd. When the different control measures were combined, cleaning together with disease surveillance had the largest impact on reducing the LA-MRSA and a higher chance of causing disease elimination. The results of the study showed that achieving disease elimination once LA-MRSA had been introduced in the herd was challenging but was more likely when control measures were introduced early during the outbreak. This emphasises the importance of early detection of the pathogen and subsequent rapid implementation of LA-MRSA control measures.

Environmental and climatic fluctuations can greatly influence the dynamics of infectious diseases of veterinary concern, or interfere with the implementation of relevant control measures. Including environmental and climatic aspects in epidemiological studies could provide policy makers with new insights to assign resources for measures to prevent or limit the spread of animal diseases, particularly those with zoonotic potential. The ever-increasing number of technologies and tools permits acquiring environmental data from various sources, including ground-based sensors and Satellite Earth Observation (SEO). However, the high heterogeneity of these datasets often requires at least some basic GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and/or coding skills to use them in further analysis. Therefore, the high availability of data does not always correspond to widespread use for research purposes. The development of an integrated data pre-processing system makes it possible to obtain information that could be easily and directly used in subsequent epidemiological analyses, supporting both research activities and the management of disease outbreaks. Indeed, such an approach allows for the reduction of the time spent on searching, downloading, processing and validating environmental data, thereby optimizing available resources and reducing any possible errors directly related to data collection. Although multitudes of free services that allow obtaining SEO data exist nowadays (either raw or pre-processed through a specific coding language), the availability and quality of information can be sub-optimal when dealing with very small scale and local data. In fact, some information sets (e.g., air temperature, rainfall), usually derived from ground-based sensors (e.g., agro-meteo station), are managed, processed and redistributed by agencies operating on a local scale which are often not directly accessible by the most common free SEO services (e.g., Google Earth Engine). The EVE (Environmental data for Veterinary Epidemiology) system has been developed to acquire, pre-process and archive a set of environmental information at various scales, in order to facilitate and speed up access by epidemiologists, researchers and decision-makers, also accounting for the integration of SEO information with locally sensed data.

Disease emergence in livestock is a product of environment, epidemiology and economic forces. The environmental factors contributing to novel pathogen emergence in humans have been studied extensively, but the two-way relationship between farm microeconomics and outbreak risk has received comparably little attention. We introduce a game-theoretic model where farmers produce and sell two goods, one of which (e.g. pigs, poultry) is susceptible to infection by a pathogen. We model market and epidemiological effects at both the individual farm level and the community level. We find that in the case of low demand elasticity for livestock meat, the presence of an animal pathogen causing production losses can lead to a bistable system where two outcomes are possible: (i) successful disease control or (ii) maintained disease circulation, where farmers slaughter their animals at a low rate, face substantial production losses, but maintain large herds because of the appeal of high meat prices. Our observations point to the potentially critical effect of price elasticity of demand for livestock products on the success or failure of livestock disease control policies. We show the potential epidemiological benefits of (i) policies aimed at stabilizing livestock product prices, (ii) subsidies for alternative agricultural activities during epidemics, and (iii) diversifying agricultural production and sources of proteins available to consumers.