Representative Seroprevalences of Brucellosis in Humans and Livestock in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan reported 77.5 new human brucellosis cases per 100,000 people in 2007, which is one of the highest incidences worldwide. In Kyrgyzstan, the currently used diagnostic tests in humans and animals are the Rose Bengal Test and the Huddleson test. A national representative cross-sectional study using cluster sampling proportional to size in humans, cattle, sheep, and goats was undertaken to assess the apparent seroprevalence in humans and animals. A total of 4,936 livestock sera and 1,774 human sera were tested in Naryn, Chuy, and Osh Oblasts. The overall apparent seroprevalences of brucellosis were 8.8% in humans (95% CI 4.5-16.5), 2.8% (95% CI 1.6-4.9%) in cattle, 3.3% (95% CI 1.5-6.9%) in sheep, and 2.5% (95% CI 1.4-4.5%) in goats. Naryn Oblast had the highest seroprevalences in humans and sheep. More men than women were seropositive (OR = 1.96; P < 0.001). Human seroprevalence was significantly associated with small ruminant seroprevalence but not with cattle seroprevalence. Annual incidence of human brucellosis exposure, measured by serological tests, was more than ten times higher than the annual incidence of reported clinical brucellosis cases. This indicates an under-reporting of human brucellosis cases, even if only a fraction of seropositive people have clinical symptoms. In conclusion, this study confirms the high seroprevalence of brucellosis in Kyrgyzstan and warrants rapid effective intervention, among others, by mass vaccination of sheep and goats but also of cattle.

A survey on intestinal parasites of livestock guardian dogs and herding dogs in Switzerland

The present study describes the occurrence of intestinal parasite infections in livestock guardian dogs and herding dogs. A total of 71 guardian dogs (more than half of the total number of guardian dogs in Switzerland) and 21 herding dogs were coprologically examined, using a combined sedimentation-flotation method. In 21 (23 %) of the dogs intestinal parasites were detected, and 8 (8.7 %) of these dogs shed either sporocysts of Sarcocystis sp. (n = 6) or taeniid eggs (n = 2). The evaluation of questionnaires providing data on age, origin and deworming schemes of the dogs completed the study.

[Livestock owners with specifically increased disease awareness for Bluetongue: A new approach to disease surveillance]

For the first time in Switzerland, specifically trained livestock owners were included in a national disease surveillance program by the Federal Veterinary Office. A questionnaire on data about clinical and epidemiological aspects of Bluetongue Disease (BT) as well as on herd management was completed by 26 sheep owners three months after they had attended a training course about BT. The control group, consisted of 264 randomly selected sheep and cattle owners who had not visited a training course. Results showed that disease awareness for BT after attending the training course was considerably increased. This was especially evident in the better knowledge of the participants about the great number of possible symptoms. Training courses with the objective of increased disease awareness of livestock owners are an efficient, cost-effective instrument in control programs for exotic diseases.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus in free-ranging wild ruminants in Switzerland: low prevalence of infection despite regular interactions with domestic livestock

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: In the frame of an eradication program for bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) in Swiss livestock, the question was raised whether free-ranging wildlife could threaten the success of this sanitary measure. Therefore, we conducted serological and virological investigations on BVD virus (BVDV) infections in the four indigenous wild ruminant species (roe deer, red deer, Alpine chamois and Alpine ibex) from 2009 to 2011, and gathered information on interactions between wild and domestic ruminants in an alpine environment by questionnaire survey. RESULTS: Thirty-two sera out of 1'877 (1.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-2.4) were seropositive for BVDV, and a BVDV1 sub genotype h virus was found in a seropositive chamois (0.05%, 95% CI 0.001-0.3). The seropositive animals originated from sub-alpine or alpine regions and significantly more seropositive red deer, chamois and ibex than roe deer were found. There were no statistically significant differences between sampling units, age classes, genders, and sampling years. The obtained prevalences were significantly lower than those documented in livestock, and most positive wild ruminants were found in proximity of domestic outbreaks. Additionally, BVDV seroprevalence in ibex was significantly lower than previously reported from Switzerland. The survey on interspecific interactions revealed that interactions expected to allow BVDV transmission, from physical contacts to non-simultaneous use of the same areas, regularly occur on pastures among all investigated ruminant species. Interactions involving cervids were more often observed with cattle than with small ruminants, chamois were observed with all three domestic species, and ibex interacted mostly with small ruminants. Interactions related to the use of anthropogenic food sources were frequently observed, especially between red deer and cattle in wintertime. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report of BVDV RNA isolated from an Alpine chamois. Nevertheless, our results suggest that BVDV infections are only sporadic in Swiss wild ruminants, despite regular occurrence of interactions with potentially infected livestock. Overall, serological, virological and ethological data indicate that wildlife is currently an incidental spill-over host and not a reservoir for BVDV in Switzerland.

Molecular epidemiology and antibiotic susceptibility of livestock Brucella melitensis isolates from Naryn Oblast, Kyrgyzstan.

The incidence of human brucellosis in Kyrgyzstan has been increasing in the last years and was identified as a priority disease needing most urgent control measures in the livestock population. The latest species identification of Brucella isolates in Kyrgyzstan was carried out in the 1960s and investigated the circulation of Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, B. ovis, and B. suis. However, supporting data and documentation of that experience are lacking. Therefore, typing of Brucella spp. and identification of the most important host species are necessary for the understanding of the main transmission routes and to adopt an effective brucellosis control policy in Kyrgyzstan. Overall, 17 B. melitensis strains from aborted fetuses of sheep and cattle isolated in the province of Naryn were studied. All strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, gentamicin, rifampin, ofloxacin, streptomycin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin. Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis showed low genetic diversity. Kyrgyz strains seem to be genetically associated with the Eastern Mediterranean group of the Brucella global phylogeny. We identified and confirmed transmission of B. melitensis to cattle and a close genetic relationship between B. melitensis strains isolated from sheep sharing the same pasture.

Extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Gram-negative organisms in livestock: an emerging problem for human health?

Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Acinetobacter spp. are important human pathogens. Serious infections due to these organisms are usually treated with extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs). However, in the past two decades we have faced a rapid increasing of infections and colonization caused by ESC-resistant (ESC-R) isolates due to production of extended-spectrum-β-lactamases (ESBLs), plasmid-mediated AmpCs (pAmpCs) and/or carbapenemase enzymes. This situation limits drastically our therapeutic armamentarium and puts under peril the human health. Animals are considered as potential reservoirs of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative organisms. The massive and indiscriminate use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine has contributed to the selection of ESC-R E. coli, ESC-R Salmonella spp. and, to less extent, MDR Acinetobacter spp. among animals, food, and environment. This complex scenario is responsible for the expansion of these MDR organisms which may have life-threatening clinical significance. Nowadays, the prevalence of food-producing animals carrying ESC-R E. coli and ESC-R Salmonella (especially those producing CTX-M-type ESBLs and the CMY-2 pAmpC) has reached worryingly high values. More recently, the appearance of carbapenem-resistant isolates (i.e., VIM-1-producing Enterobacteriaceae and NDM-1 or OXA-23-producing Acinetobacter spp.) in livestock has even drawn greater concerns. In this review, we describe the aspects related to the spread of the above MDR organisms among pigs, cattle, and poultry, focusing on epidemiology, molecular mechanisms of resistance, impact of antibiotic use, and strategies to contain the overall problem. The link and the impact of ESC-R organisms of livestock origin for the human scenario are also discussed.

Evaluation of the benefit of emergency vaccination in a foot-and-mouth disease free country with low livestock density

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is highly contagious and one of the most economically devastating diseases of cloven-hoofed animals. Scientific-based preparedness about how to best control the disease in a previously FMD-free country is therefore essential for veterinary services. The present study used a spatial, stochastic epidemic simulation model to compare the effectiveness of emergency vaccination with conventional (non-vaccination) control measures in Switzerland, a low-livestock density country. Model results revealed that emergency vaccination with a radius of 3 km or 10 km around infected premises (IP) did not significantly reduce either the cumulative herd incidence or epidemic duration if started in a small epidemic situation where the number of IPs is still low. However, in a situation where the epidemic has become extensive, both the cumulative herd incidence and epidemic duration are reduced significantly if vaccination were implemented with a radius of 10 km around IPs. The effect of different levels of conventional strategy measures was also explored for the non-vaccination strategy. It was found that a lower compliance level of farmers for movement restrictions and delayed culling of IPs significantly increased both the cumulative IP incidence and epidemic duration. Contingency management should therefore focus mainly on improving conventional strategies, by increasing disease awareness and communication with stakeholders and preparedness of culling teams in countries with a livestock structure similar to Switzerland; however, emergency vaccination should be considered if there are reasons to believe that the epidemic may become extensive, such as when disease detection has been delayed and many IPs are discovered at the beginning of the epidemic.

Assessing dynamics of forced livestock movements, livelihoods and future development options for pastoralists/agro-pastoralists in Ruvuma and Lindi Regions, in the Southern Tanzania

The study that aimed at understanding the dynamics of forced livestock movements and pastoral livelihood and development options was conducted in Lindi and Ruvuma regions, using both formal and informal approaches. Data were collected from 60 randomly selected Agro-pastoralists/Pastoralists and native farmers using a structured questionnaire. Four villages were involved; two in Lindi region (Matandu and Mkwajuni) and the other two in Ruvuma region (Gumbiro and Muhuwesi). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of SPSS to generate means and frequencies. The results indicate that a large number of animals moved into the study area following the eviction order of the government in Ihefu wetlands in 2006/2007. Lindi region was earmarked by the government to receive all the evicted pastoralists. However, by 2008 only 30% of the total cattle that were expected to move into the region had been received. Deaths of many animals on transit, selling of the animals to pay for transportation and other costs while on transit and many pastoralists settling in Coastal and Ruvuma regions before reaching their destinations were reported to be the reasons for the discrepancy observed. To mitigate anticipated conflicts between farmers and pastoralists, Participatory Land Use Management (PLUM) plans were developed in all the study villages in order to demarcate village land area into different uses, including grazing, cropping, settlement and forests. Land units for grazing were supposed to be provided with all necessary livestock infrastructures (dips, charcoal dams, livestock markets and stock routes). However, the land use plans were not able to prevent the anticipated conflicts because most of the livestock infrastructures were lacking, the land use boundaries were not clearly demarcated and there was limited enforcement of village by-laws, since most had not been enacted by the respective district councils. Similarly, the areas allocated for grazing were inadequate for the number of livestock available and thus the carrying capacity exceeded. Thus, land resource-based conflicts between farmers and pastoralists were emerging in the study areas for the reason that most of the important components in the PLUM plans were not in place. Nevertheless, the arrival of pastoralists in the study areas had positive effects on food security and growth of social interactions between pastoralists and farmers including marriages between them. Environmental degradations due to the arrival of livestock were also not evident. Thus, there is a need for the government to purposely set aside enough grazing land with all necessary infrastructures in place for the agro-pastoral/pastoral communities in the country.

Experience with the delegation of anaesthesia for disbudding and castration to trained and certified livestock owners

BACKGROUND: Anaesthesia is mandatory for disbudding and castrating calves and lambs of any age, in Switzerland. According to the "anaesthesia delegation model" (ADM), anaesthesia for disbudding calves <3 weeks of age and castrating calves and lambs <2 weeks of age may be administered by certified farmers. Experience with this unique model is not available. The aim was to evaluate the experience of the veterinary practitioners with the ADM. The response rate was 42%. The survey consisted of one questionnaire for each procedure. Procedure I was the delegation of anaesthesia for disbudding calves and procedures II and III were anaesthesia for castrating calves and lambs. RESULTS: Procedure I was performed with local anaesthesia in all farms of 51.8% of the veterinary practices, while this was only 39.3% and 7.6% for procedures II and III (p < 0.001). Anaesthesia for procedure I was administered technically correctly by farmers in at least 66% of the farms of 58.3% of the practitioners, while this was 45.4% and only 23.6% for procedures II and III (p < 0.001). The ADM was assessed as a moderate to very good model to reinforce the legal obligations for procedures I, II, or III by 74.8%, 76.5% and 62.0% of the veterinary practitioners (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The delegation of anaesthesia to certified farmers may be a promising model to reinforce the obligation to provide local anaesthesia for disbudding and castrating calves, but to a lesser extent for castrating lambs.

Nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among Swiss veterinary health care providers: detection of livestock- and healthcare-associated clones.

We screened a total of 340 veterinarians (including general practitioners, small animal practitioners, large animal practitioners, veterinarians working in different veterinary services or industry), and 29 veterinary assistants for nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) at the 2012 Swiss veterinary annual meeting. MRSA isolates (n = 14) were detected in 3.8 % (95 % CI 2.1 - 6.3 %) of the participants whereas MRSP was not detected. Large animal practitioners were carriers of livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) ST398-t011-V (n = 2), ST398-t011-IV (n = 4), and ST398-t034-V (n = 1). On the other hand, participants working with small animals harbored human healthcare-associated MRSA (HCA-MRSA) which belonged to epidemic lineages ST225-t003-II (n = 2), ST225-t014-II (n = 1), ST5-t002-II (n = 2), ST5-t283-IV (n = 1), and ST88-t186-IV (n = 1). HCA-MRSA harbored virulence factors such as enterotoxins, β-hemolysin converting phage and leukocidins. None of the MRSA isolates carried Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL). In addition to the methicillin resistance gene mecA, LA-MRSA ST398 isolates generally contained additional antibiotic resistance genes conferring resistance to tetracycline [tet(M) and tet(K)], trimethoprim [dfrK, dfrG], and the aminoglycosides gentamicin and kanamycin [aac(6')-Ie - aph(2')-Ia]. On the other hand, HCA-MRSA ST5 and ST225 mainly contained genes conferring resistance to the macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin B antibiotics [erm(A)], to spectinomycin [ant(9)-Ia], amikacin and tobramycin [ant(4')-Ia], and to fluoroquinolones [amino acid substitutions in GrlA (S84L) and GyrA (S80F and S81P)]. MRSA carriage may represent an occupational risk and veterinarians should be aware of possible MRSA colonization and potential for developing infection or for transmitting these strains. Professional exposure to animals should be reported upon hospitalization and before medical intervention to allow for preventive measures. Infection prevention measures are also indicated in veterinary medicine to avoid MRSA transmission between humans and animals, and to limit the spread of MRSA both in the community, and to animal and human hospitals.

Role of Urbanization, Land-Use Diversity, and Livestock Intensification in Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) continue to significantly threaten human and animal health. While there has been some progress in identifying underlying proximal driving forces and causal mechanisms of disease emergence, the role of distal factors is most poorly understood. This article focuses on analyzing the statistical association between highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 and urbanization, land-use diversity and poultry intensification. A special form of the urban transition—peri-urbanization—was hypothesized as being associated with ‘hot-spots’ of disease emergence. Novel metrics were used to characterize these distal risk factors. Our models, which combined these newly proposed risk factors with previously known natural and human risk factors, had a far higher predictive performance compared to published models for the first two epidemiological waves in Viet Nam. We found that when relevant risk factors are taken into account, urbanization is generally not a significant independent risk factor. However, urbanization spatially combines other risk factors leading to peri-urban places being the most likely ‘hot-spots’. The work highlights that peri-urban areas have highest levels of chicken density, duck and geese flock size diversity, fraction of land under rice, fraction of land under aquaculture compared to rural and urban areas. Land-use diversity, which has previously never been studied in the context of HPAI H5N1, was found to be a significant risk factor. Places where intensive and extensive forms of poultry production are collocated were found to be at greater risk.

A practical approach to designing syndromic surveillance systems for livestock and poultry

The field of animal syndromic surveillance (SyS) is growing, with many systems being developed worldwide. Now is an appropriate time to share ideas and lessons learned from early SyS design and implementation. Based on our practical experience in animal health SyS, with additions from the public health and animal health SyS literature, we put forward for discussion a 6-step approach to designing SyS systems for livestock and poultry. The first step is to formalise policy and surveillance goals which are considerate of stakeholder expectations and reflect priority issues (1). Next, it is important to find consensus on national priority diseases and identify current surveillance gaps. The geographic, demographic, and temporal coverage of the system must be carefully assessed (2). A minimum dataset for SyS that includes the essential data to achieve all surveillance objectives while minimizing the amount of data collected should be defined. One can then compile an inventory of the data sources available and evaluate each using the criteria developed (3). A list of syndromes should then be produced for all data sources. Cases can be classified into syndrome classes and the data can be converted into time series (4). Based on the characteristics of the syndrome-time series, the length of historic data available and the type of outbreaks the system must detect, different aberration detection algorithms can be tested (5). Finally, it is essential to develop a minimally acceptable response protocol for each statistical signal produced (6). Important outcomes of this pre-operational phase should be building of a national network of experts and collective action and evaluation plans. While some of the more applied steps (4 and 5) are currently receiving consideration, more emphasis should be put on earlier conceptual steps by decision makers and surveillance developers (1-3).