Search

The ability to accurately identify infected hosts is the cornerstone of effective disease control and eradication programs. In the case of bovine tuberculosis, accurately identifying infected individual animals has been challenging as all available tests exhibit limited discriminatory ability. Here we assess the utility of two serological tests (IDEXX Mycobacterium bovis Ab test and Enfer multiplex antibody assay) and assess their performance relative to skin test (Single Intradermal Comparative Cervical Tuberculin; SICCT), gamma-interferon (IFNγ) and post-mortem results in a Northern Ireland setting. Furthermore, we describe a case-study where one test was used in conjunction with statutory testing. Serological tests using samples taken prior to SICCT disclosed low proportions of animals as test positive (mean 3% positive), despite the cohort having high proportions with positive SICCT test under standard interpretation (121/921; 13%) or IFNγ (365/922; 40%) results. Furthermore, for animals with a post-mortem record (n = 286), there was a high proportion with TB visible lesions (27%) or with laboratory confirmed infection (25%). As a result, apparent sensitivities within this cohort was very low (≤15%), however the tests succeeded in achieving very high specificities (96-100%). During the case-study, 7/670 (1.04%) samples from SICCT negative animals from a large chronically infected herd were serology positive, with a further 17 animals being borderline positive (17/670; 2.54%). Nine of the borderline animals were voluntarily removed, none of which were found to be infected post-mortem (no lesions/bacteriology negative). One serology test negative animal was subsequently found to have lesions at slaughter with M. bovis confirmed in the laboratory.

Abstract Background Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, remains a significant problem for livestock industries in many countries worldwide including Northern Ireland, where a test and slaughter regime has utilised the Single Intradermal Comparative Cervical Tuberculin (SICCT) test since 1959. We investigated the variation in post-mortem confirmation based on bTB visible lesion (VL) presence during herd breakdowns using two model suites. We investigated animal-level characteristics, while controlling for herd-level factors and clustering. We were interested in potential impacts of concurrent infection, and therefore we assessed whether animals with evidence of liver fluke infection (Fasciola hepatica; post-mortem inspection), M. avium reactors (animals with negative M. bovis-avium (b-a) tuberculin reactions) or Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV; RT-PCR tested) were associated with bTB confirmation. Results The dataset included 6242 animals removed during the 14 month study period (2013–2015). bTB-VL presence was significantly increased in animals with greater b-a reaction size at the disclosing SICCT test (e.g. b-a = 5-9 mm vs. b-a = 0 mm, adjusted Odds ratio (aOR): 14.57; p 0.1). Conclusions Our results suggest that neither co-infection of liver fluke nor BVDV had a significant effect on the presence of VLs in this high-risk cohort. M. avium tuberculin reactors had a significantly increased risk of disclosing with a bTB lesion, which could be related to the impact of co-infection with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) affecting the performance of the SICCT however further research in this area is required. Movements, test history, breed and age were important factors influencing confirmation in high-risk animals.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is diagnosed in naturally infected populations exposed to a wide variety of other pathogens. This study describes the cell-mediated immune responses of cattle exposed to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) and Mycobacterium avium subspecies avium with particular reference to routine antefmortem Mycobacterium bovis diagnostic tests. The IFN-γ released in response to stimulated blood was found to peak later in the Map-exposed group and was more sustained when compared to the Maa-exposed group. There was a very close correlation between the responses to the purified protein derivatives (PPD) used for stimulation (PPDa, PPDb, and PPDj) with PPDa and PPDj most closely correlated. On occasion, in the Map-infected cattle, PPDb-biased responses were seen compared to PPDa suggesting that some Map-infected cattle could be misclassified as M. bovis infected using this test with these reagents. This bias was not seen when PPDj was used. SICCT results were consistent with the respective infections and all calves would have been classed skin test negative.

There is significant interest in developing vaccines to control bovine tuberculosis, especially in wildlife species where this disease continues to persist in reservoir species such as the European Badger (Meles meles). However, gaining access to populations of badgers (protected under UK law) is problematic and not always possible. In this study, a new infection model has been developed in ferrets (Mustela furo), a species which is closely related to the badger. Groups of ferrets were infected using a Madison infection chamber and were examined postmortem for the presence of tuberculous lesions and to provide tissue samples for confirmation of Mycobacterium bovis by culture. An infectious dose was defined, that establishes infection within the lungs and associated lymph nodes with subsequent spread to the mesentery lymph nodes. This model, which emphasises respiratory tract infection, will be used to evaluate vaccines for the control of bovine tuberculosis in wildlife species.

Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand, threatens hemlock forests throughout eastern North America. Management efforts focus on early detection of HWA to ensure rapid management responses to control and stop the spread of this pest. This study's goal was to identify an affordable, efficient trap to aid with airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling approaches as an early monitoring tool for HWA. We initially compared HWA detection success between a standard sticky trap, commonly used for HWA monitoring, and trap designs potentially compatible with eDNA protocols (i.e. passive trap, funnel trap, and motorized trap). Passive, funnel, and motorized traps' estimated capture success probabilities compared to sticky traps were 0.87, 0.8, and 0.4, respectively. A secondary evaluation of a modified version of the motorized trap further assessed trap performance and determined the number of traps needed in a set area to efficiently detect HWA. By modifying the original motorized trap design, its estimated capture success probability increased to 0.67 compared to a sticky trap. Overall, the cumulative capture success over the 16-week sampling period for the motorized trap was 94% and 99% for the sticky trap. The number of traps did impact capture success, and trap elevation and distance to infested hemlocks influenced the number of adelgids captured per trap. As eDNA-based monitoring approaches continue to become incorporated into invasive species surveying, further refinement with these types of traps can be useful as an additional tool in the manager's toolbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to accurately identify infected hosts is the cornerstone of effective disease control and eradication programs. In the case of bovine tuberculosis, accurately identifying infected individual animals has been challenging as all available tests exhibit limited discriminatory ability. Here we assess the utility of two serological tests (IDEXX Mycobacterium bovis Ab test and Enfer multiplex antibody assay) and assess their performance relative to skin test (Single Intradermal Comparative Cervical Tuberculin; SICCT), gamma-interferon (IFNγ) and post-mortem results in a Northern Ireland setting. Furthermore, we describe a case-study where one test was used in conjunction with statutory testing. Serological tests using samples taken prior to SICCT disclosed low proportions of animals as test positive (mean 3% positive), despite the cohort having high proportions with positive SICCT test under standard interpretation (121/921; 13%) or IFNγ (365/922; 40%) results. Furthermore, for animals with a post-mortem record (n = 286), there was a high proportion with TB visible lesions (27%) or with laboratory confirmed infection (25%). As a result, apparent sensitivities within this cohort was very low (≤15%), however the tests succeeded in achieving very high specificities (96–100%). During the case-study, 7/670 (1.04%) samples from SICCT negative animals from a large chronically infected herd were serology positive, with a further 17 animals being borderline positive (17/670; 2.54%). Nine of the borderline animals were voluntarily removed, none of which were found to be infected post-mortem (no lesions/bacteriology negative). One serology test negative animal was subsequently found to have lesions at slaughter with M. bovis confirmed in the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive species provide an opportune system to investigate how populations respond to new environments. Baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata) was introduced to North America in the 1800s and has since spread throughout the United States and western Canada. We used an RNA‐seq approach to explore how molecular processes contribute to the success of invasive populations with similar genetic backgrounds across distinct habitats. Transcription profiles were constructed from seedlings collected from a sand dune ecosystem in Petoskey, MI (PSMI), and a sagebrush ecosystem in Chelan, WA (CHWA). We assessed differential gene expression and identified SNPs within differentially expressed genes. We identified 1,146 differentially expressed transcripts across all sampled tissues between the two populations. GO processes enriched in PSMI were associated with nutrient starvation, while enriched processes in CHWA were associated with abiotic stress. Only 7.4% of the differentially expressed transcripts contained SNPs differing in allele frequencies of at least 0.5 between populations. Common garden studies found the two populations differed in germination rate and seedling emergence success. Our results suggest the success of G. paniculata in these two environments is likely due to plasticity in specific molecular processes responding to different environmental conditions, although some genetic divergence may be contributing to these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, remains a persistent problem for cattle industries in endemic countries. The frequency, quality, and performance of tests, and the presence of wildlife reservoirs, have been identified as impediments to eradication. Recently, exposure to helminth infection (Fasciola hepatica) has been associated negatively with the disclosure of bTB. Here, for the first time, we assess impact of concurrent infections of Fasciola hepatica and the disclosure of bTB at the animal‐level using large surveillance datasets. We utilized a dataset of 138,566 animal records from an abattoir from Northern Ireland (2011–2013). The presence of F. hepatica infection was assessed from macroscopic tissue inspection at abattoir. Multivariable models were developed to assess co‐infection associations with bTB status based on: Single Intradermal Comparative Tuberculin Test (SICTT), lesion, bacteriological confirmation, including either all animals, or only skin‐test negative animals (lesions at routine slaughter; LRS; confirmed nonreactors at routine slaughter; cNRs) or positive (reactors) animals alone, respectively. The relationship between skin tuberculin reaction sizes and fluke status was also explored for a subset of animals with field recordings (n = 24,680). Controlling for known risk factors (e.g., climatic, herd, and individual level characteristics), we did not find significant associations between the SICTT (standard or severe interpretation), lesion, nor confirmation status of animals and their liver fluke status. The only exception was a negative association between liver fluke positivity, and LRS or cNRs, respectively; though effect‐sizes were small (e.g., LRS Odds‐Ratio: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.76–1.00). There was limited evidence of a relationship between tuberculin reaction sizes during SICTT testing and liver fluke infection status. These data do not support the contention that the detection of bTB using skin‐tests or reactor postmortem follow‐up may be compromised by co‐infection at a population level, but the relationship with lesion formation (pathogenesis) may indicate an impact for postmortem surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The European badger is an important wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis implicated in the spread of bovine tuberculosis in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Infected badgers are known to shed M. bovis in their urine and faeces, which may contaminate the environment. To aid bovine tuberculosis control efforts novel diagnostic tests for detecting infected and shedding badgers are needed. We proposed development of a novel, rapid immunochromatographic lateral flow device (LFD) as a non-invasive test to detect M. bovis cells in badger faeces. Its application in combination with immunomagnetic separation (IMS) to detect Mycobacterium bovis cells in badger faeces is reported here. Results: A novel prototype LFD for M. bovis cells was successfully developed, with unique specificity for M. bovis and a limit of detection 50% (LOD50%) of 1.7 × 104 M. bovis cells/ml. When IMS was employed to selectively capture and concentrate M. bovis cells from badger faeces prior to LFD testing, the LOD50% of the IMS-LFD assay was 2.8 × 105 M. bovis cells/ml faecal homogenate. Faeces samples collected from latrines at badger setts in a region of endemic bovine tuberculosis infection were tested; 78 (18%) of 441 samples tested IMS-LFD assay positive, whereas 140 (32%) tested IMS-qPCR positive (Kappa agreement -0.009 ± 0.044, p = 0.838). Subsequently, when 130 faeces samples from live captured, or captive, badgers of known infection status (on the basis of StatPak, interferon-γ and/or culture results) were tested, the IMS-LFD assay had higher relative diagnostic specificity (Sp 0.926), but poorer relative diagnostic sensitivity (Se 0.081), than IMS-qPCR (Sp 0.706, Se 0.581) and IMS-culture (Sp 0.794, Se 0.436). Conclusions: The novel IMS-LFD assay, although very specific for M. bovis, has low analytical sensitivity (indicated by the LOD50%) and would only detect badgers shedding high numbers of M. bovis (>104-5 cells/g) in their faeces. The novel LFD would, therefore, have limited value as a non-invasive test for badger TB surveillance purposes but it may have value for alternative veterinary diagnostic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) is a widespread parasite of ruminants which can have significant economic impact on cattle production. Fluke infection status at the animal-level is captured during meat inspection of all animals processed for human consumption within Northern Ireland. These national datasets have not been analysed to assess their utility in uncovering patterns in fluke infection at animal- and herd-levels in Northern Ireland. Methods: We utilised a dataset of 1.2 million animal records from ~18,000 herds across 3 years (2011-2013) to assess animal- and herd-level apparent prevalence and risk-factors associated with fluke infection. Animal-level apparent prevalence was measured as the proportion of animals exhibiting evidence of fluke infection at slaughter; between herd-level infection prevalence was measured by binary categorisation of herds (infected or not). "Within herd" infection prevalence was measured using the proportion of animals within a herd that showed evidence of fluke infection per year (ranging from 0-100 %). "Within herd" infection prevalence at the herd level was investigated using multivariable modelling. Results: At the animal level, the proportion of animals slaughtered that exhibited evidence of infection was 21- 25 % amongst years. Across herds, the proportion of herds with at least one infected animal, varied between 61 and 65 %. However, there was a significant sampling effect at the herd-level; all herds where at least 105 animals slaughtered over the study period exhibited evidence of fluke infection (100 %). There was significant variation in terms of within-herd infection prevalence. Risk factors included herd type, long-term weather variation, geographic location (region) and the abattoir. Conclusions: Liver fluke apparent prevalence was high at the herd-level across years. However, there was lower prevalence at the animal level, which may indicate significant variation in the exposure to fluke infection within herds. The proportion infected within-herds varied significantly in time and space, and by abattoir, herd-type and some weather variables. These data are a useful source of information on a widespread endemic disease, despite known limitations in terms of test performance (low sensitivity). As well as informing on the distribution and severity of liver fluke infection, these analyses will be used to investigate the effect of co-infection on risk for bovine tuberculosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Valuable insights about relationships between consumers and their resources have emerged from studies that investigated how these interactions vary with spatial scale. We conducted field studies to examine the scale-dependence of patterns of spatial variation in the densities of larval blackflies (Simulium tribulatum) and water velocity, a key variable determining resource supply rates to these passive suspension-feeders. We sought to answer two main questions: (i) How do patterns of spatial variation in water velocity and larval density change with scale? (ii) Does the relationship between larval density and water velocity vary with scale? 2. We deployed artificial substrates on the bed of riffles and pools to assess spatial variation in water velocity and larval density at three spatial scales spanning four orders of magnitude: (i) among microhabitats within single substrates (centimetre scale); (ii) among substrates within individual riffles or pools (metre scale); and (iii) among riffles and pools (tens of metres scale). We used semi-cylindrical substrates that allowed us to estimate water velocities 1 mm above the substrate surface using a validated computational fluid dynamic model and measurements made with a 10-mm-diameter propeller flowmeter. On natural substrates (stones), we quantified fine-scale velocity variation (measured 1 mm above the stone using hot-film anemometry) and larval density at the two smallest scales. We used hierarchical regression models to partition variation in larval density and water velocity among spatial scales, and to measure the strength of relationships between larval density and water velocity at each scale. 3. The distribution of spatial variation across scales was similar for both water velocity and larval density. The proportion of total variation differed markedly among scales, but variation did not increase monotonically with increasing spatial scale. The greatest proportional variation in velocity and density occurred at the smallest (among microhabitats) and largest (among riffles and pools) scales. 1. The similar cross-scale distributions of variance for water velocity and larval density were not accompanied by consistent density-velocity relationships at all scales. At the smallest scale (i.e. among microhabitats on a single substrate), where spatial variation in velocity was large, there was a consistently strong positive relationship between larval density and water velocity. At the among-cylinder scale (within riffles or pools), where flow variation was smaller, the density-velocity relationship was strongly positive in pools but weakly negative in riffles. At the largest scale (among riffles and pools), the density-velocity relationship was positive among pools, and between riffles and pools, but was negative among riffles. 5. Our results support the hypothesis that dispersal limitations may constrain the ability of larvae to reach preferred feeding sites at intermediate (among substrate) spatial scales. We believe the creative interplay of modelling, experiments and descriptive studies holds great promise for illuminating the causes and consequences of scale-dependence in resource tracking and habitat selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In 2010, an Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) stock reservoir was established for conservation purposes in north-eastern Spain. Eighteen ibexes were captured in the wild and housed in a 17 hectare enclosure. Once in captivity, a caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) outbreak occurred and ibex handlings were carried out at six-month intervals between 2010 and 2013 to perform health examinations and sampling. Treatment with a bacterin-based autovaccine and penicillin G benzatine was added during the third and subsequent handlings, when infection by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis was confirmed. Changes in lesion score, serum anti-C. pseudotuberculosis antibodies and haematological parameters were analyzed to assess captivity effects, disease emergence and treatment efficacy. Serum acute phase proteins (APP) Haptoglobin (Hp), Amyloid A (SAA) and Acid Soluble Glycoprotein (ASG) concentrations were also determined to evaluate their usefulness as indicators of clinical status. Once in captivity, 12 out of 14 ibexes (85.7%) seroconverted, preceding the emergence of clinical signs; moreover, TP, WBC, eosinophil and platelet cell counts increased while monocyte and basophil cell counts decreased. After treatment, casualties and fistulas disappeared and both packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin concentration significantly increased. Hp, SAA and ASG values were under the limit of detection or showed no significant differences. Conclusions A role for captivity in contagion rate is suggested by the increase in antibody levels against C. pseudotuberculosis and the emergence of clinical signs. Although boosted by captivity, this is the first report of an outbreak of caseous lymphadenitis displaying high morbidity and mortality in wild ungulates. Treatment consisting of both vaccination and antibiotic therapy seemed to prevent mortality and alleviate disease severity, but was not reflected in the humoural response. Haematology and APP were not useful indicators in our study, perhaps due to the sampling frequency. Presumably endemic and irrelevant in the wild, this common disease of domestic small ruminants is complicating conservation efforts for the Iberian ibex in north-eastern Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of serological assays for diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been intensively studied and use of specific antigens have aided in improving the diagnostic accuracy of the assays. In the present study, we report an in-house enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), developed by using ethanol extract of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis). The assay, named (ethanol vortex ELISA [EVELISA]), was evaluated for detection of anti- M. bovis antibodies in the sera of cattle and white-tailed deer. Methods: By using the EVELISA, we tested sera obtained from two species of animals; cattle (n = 62 [uninfected, n = 40; naturally infected, n = 22]) and white-tailed deer (n = 41 [uninfected, n = 25; naturally infected, n = 7; experimentally infected, n = 9]). To detect species specific molecules, components in the ethanol extract were analyzed by thin layer chromatography and western blotting. Results: Among the tested animals, 77.2% of infected cattle and 87.5% of infected deer tested positive for anti- M. bovis antibody. There were only minor false positive reactions (7.5% in cattle and 0% in deer) in uninfected animals. M. bovis -specific lipids and protein (MPB83) in the ethanol extract were detected by thin layer chromatography and western blotting, respectively. Conclusion: The results warrant further evaluation and validation of EVELISA for bovine TB diagnosis of traditional and alternative livestock as well as for free-ranging animal species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As tuberculosis is still a worldwide infection and buffalo breeding represents an important economic activity in various countries, the purpose of this study was to employ an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using MPB70 as a capture antigen for the diagnosis of naturally occurring tuberculosis in water buffaloes in Brazil. After the introduction of newly acquired cattle onto a tuberculosis (TB) free farm, an outbreak of TB was recorded in a mixed herd comprising water buffaloes (21) and cattle (46). The entire herd was tested by intradermal tuberculin injection (ITT) and positive animals were slaughtered and tested by culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and ELISA. From the 21 buffaloes sampled, three were reactive by ITT. All the three had positive culture and ELISA, while PCR was positive in two of them. Besides that, one ITT-negative buffalo was slaughtered and presented positive results by both culture and ELISA, and was considered as anergic. Although there were only few animals, those findings demonstrate the diagnostic usefulness of an MPB70-ELISA to correctly detect Mycobacterium bovis tuberculosis in water buffaloes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After one clinical case that evidenced the outbreak, a complete screening by intradermal tuberculin test was performed in one goat herd in Brazil. The herd was composed by 500 animals and 83 of them (16.6%) showed to be reactive to the comparative double cervical intradermal test. Four months after the test, all the 83 reactive animals were slaughtered and blood samples were collected from 45 of them, for serological assays. From those 45, 32 were randomly chosen for necropsy and histopathological and bacteriological procedures were conducted. Histopathology evidenced at least one characteristic lesion of tuberculosis in each animal, with typical granulommas where acid-fast bacilli (AFB) could be observed. Bacteriology was positive for Mycobacterium bovis in 22 samples (68.7%), therefore confirming the etiology of the outbreak. Sera of 45 animals plus 20 other from a certified free tuberculosis farm were tested in an ELISA using the recombinant M.bovis protein MPB70 as capture antigens. From those, 43 were reactive to the test, with high ODs results, considering a cut-off point established by ROC curve analyzing results (cut-off = 0.8; mean = 0.55; range: 0.157-1.357). These results suggest that MPB70-ELISA can be considered as a reliable tool to diagnose tuberculosis in goat herds, since this assay was capable to correctly detect 95.6% of the animals here examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I propose proximal mechanisms that help explain, unify, and expand the predictions of widely accepted empirical models of settlement in streams. I separated the process that leads to settlement of a drifting particle into three stages: (1) initial contact with a substrate, (2) attachment, and (3) settlement sensu stricto. I used physical principles (height above the bed, sinking rate, current speed profile) to predict time until contact (stage 1). I compared these predictions with empirical measurements of settlement of individual black fly larvae ( Simulium vittatum) in a laboratory flume. I developed models from empirical data for stages 2 and 3. Each of these models is individual-based and predicts the fate of a single individual. To obtain a population level prediction, models for the three stages were combined and used to simulate the settlement of a group of black fly larvae. The predictions of this simulation were qualitatively similar to population level data from the literature particularly after the incorporation of channel-wide spatial heterogeneity in current speed. The effect of flow heterogeneity on the model agrees with previous work on the lateral transport of stream invertebrates during drift events showing that many organisms settle preferentially in slower areas. By using proximal principles, the approach used in this study brings into focus basic parameters and processes that influence settlement at the scale of the organisms. It also provides a null hypothesis against which to study the effect of local flow heterogeneity on the settlement of stream invertebrates and the capacity of organisms to actively influence settlement. Water currents in streams and rivers commonly transport large numbers of organisms. Consequently, hydrodynamic factors that favor or hamper the settlement of these organisms can potentially influence distributions and abundance. Moreover, if settlement probabilities vary with flow characteristics, this can in turn influence foraging strategies that rely on fluid-mediated dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a procedure for quantifying movement sequences in terms of move length and turning angle probability distributions. By assuming that movement is a correlated random walk, we derive a formula that relates expected square displacements to the number of consecutive moves. We show this displacement formula can be used to highlight the consequences of different searching behaviors (i.e. different probability distributions of turning angles or move lengths). Observations of Pieris rapae (cabbage white butterfly) flight and Battus philenor (pipe-vine swallowtail) crawling are analyzed as a correlated random walk. The formula that we derive aptly predicts that net displacements of ovipositing cabbage white butterflies. In other circumstances, however, net displacements are not well-described by our correlated random walk formula; in these examples movement must represent a more complicated process than a simple correlated random walk. We suggest that progress might be made by analyzing these more complicated cases in terms of higher order markov processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liver flukes, Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica, are common trematode parasites of livestock. F. hepatica is known to modulate the immune response, including altering the response to co-infecting pathogens. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a chronic disease which is difficult to control and is of both animal welfare and public health concern. Previous research has suggested that infection with liver fluke may affect the accuracy of the bTB skin test, but direction of the effect differs between studies. In a systematic review of the literature, all experimental and observational studies concerning co-infection with these two pathogens were sought. Data were extracted on the association between fluke infection and four measures of bTB diagnosis or pathology, namely, the bTB skin test, interferon γ test, lesion detection and culture/bacterial recovery. Of a large body of literature dating from 1950 to 2019, only thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. These included studies of experimentally infected calves, case control studies on adult cows, cross sectional abattoir studies and a herd level study. All the studies had a medium or high risk of bias. The balance of evidence from the 13 studies included in the review suggests that liver fluke exposure was associated with either no effect or a decreased response to all of the four aspects of bTB diagnosis assessed: skin test, IFN γ, lesion detection and mycobacteria cultured or recovered. Most studies showed a small and/or non-significant effect so the clinical and practical importance of the observed effect is likely to be modest, although it could be more significant in particular groups of animals, such as dairy cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who the author would like to thank for reviewing manuscripts for the journal in 2010 are mentioned.

The article presents obituaries for several notable veterinarians in Great Britain including former president of the Lakeland Veterinary Society Geoffrey Brian Hudson, Northern Ireland Civil Service veterinary research officer John McArthur Pollock, and Paul Stewart.

The article provides information about the British Veterinary Association (BVA). The Veterinary Policy Group, a standing committee of BVA, empowers the BVA to assume and enforce veterinary policy. BVA president F. M. Scott-Park's activities for a week ending May 13, 2006 is also presented. A consultation with the European Union Regulation calls for recording of horse passport details of microchip insertion, previous chips and outbreaks of disease.

The article presents a list of grants for research projects related to veterinary medicine. The Petsavers accepts applications for clinical research projects and clinical training programs which are due for approval in February 2007. A funding of 8,000 pounds per project is available for qualified veterinary surgeons who are willing to carry a clinical study on small animal pets to better understand the cause and management of a clinical disorder.

The article offers information about the Association for Veterinary Teaching and Research Work meeting to be held at the University of Glasgow in Scotland on May 24, 2006.