Limited awareness of animal influenza prevention and control among Dai Lue smallholder farmers in Southwest China

Awareness of animal influenza and its prevention and control is important for ensuring livestock health, production and welfare. In China, a country stereotyped as a major source of emerging zoonotic infectious diseases, research on the public understanding of animal influenza is limited to the Han, the main ethnic group. The present qualitative study in Southwest China investigated awareness of animal influenza among the Dai, an ethnic minority. The participants (15 men and 10 women, ages 18–83) were smallholder farmers of pigs and poultry in rural areas of Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. A mixture of interviews and group discussions took place in homes and villages. The participants were asked about their knowledge of avian influenza (H7N9), swine influenza (H1N1), precautions taken to protect against influenza, procedures when animals were sick and perceived risk of animal influenza. The data were analysed following coding and thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated a limited understanding of animal health and welfare among participants. Specifically, they were largely unaware of animal influenza (H7N9, H1N1) including its causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment. The farmers were also uninformed of the risks they faced and unknowingly engaged in behaviours which increased direct or indirect exposure to infected animals, a risk factor for human infection. They also reported poor usage of veterinary services. In order to guarantee the health, welfare and production of their livestock, immediate action is needed to enable Dai smallholder farmers to prevent and respond to animal influenza effectively and timely.     

“家风”追踪发现命案嫌疑人尸体

2008年9月14日上午9时许,广东省高州市宝光街道朝培桐村发生一起凶杀案,茂名市茂南区村民沈某在中秋节时前往朝培桐村岳母莫某家,劝说因争吵而赌气回娘家的妻子程某回家,但遭到妻子和岳母的反对。一气之下,沈某持菜刀将77岁的岳母莫某杀死,将妻子程某及出租车司机砍致重伤,     

Mapping B-cell linear epitopes of NS3 protein of bovine viral diarrhea virus

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a member of the genus Pestivirus within the family Flaviviridae. NS3 is one of the immunodominance regions of the BVDV viral proteins. To identify the potential B-cell linear antigenic epitopes within BVDV NS3 region, serial overlapping truncations covering the whole region were expressed and purified, and screened by multistep of Western-blot. We found (₁VCKKITEHERCHVNI₁₅), (₂₀AFFGVMPRGTTPRAPVR₃₆), (₄₆RRGLETGWAYTHQGGI₆₁), (₂₈₁EGDMATGITYASYGYFC₂₉₇), (₄₂₆YSGEDPANLRVVTSQSPYVVVATNAIESGV₄₅₅) and (₄₈₁FIVTGLKRMAVTVGEQA₄₉₇) can be recognized by the BVDV infected bovine serum. These proteins have been confirmed by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (I-ELISA). The results of this study might open new perspectives on the structure and antibody–antigen reaction of the non-structural proteins and may aid in the clinical application as well.     

德菲尔法构建重大动物疫病预警指标体系

[目的 ]构建重大动物疫病暴发流行预警指标体系。[方法 ]以禽流感和口蹄疫为例,采用文献调研法和德菲尔专家咨询法中的专家会议法初拟重大动物疫病预警体系的框架和指标;应用德菲尔专家咨询法评价预警指标的重要性、可操作性;应用组合权重法比较各指标综合影响的大小,并将指标分类。[结果 ]筛选出禽流感和口蹄疫预警预报一级指标6项(易感动物、饲养管理和免疫情况等)以及二级指标14项(免疫效果、环境消毒、温度等),并将指标分为三类(关键指标、重要指标和一般指标)。[结论 ]初步构建了重大动物疫病暴发流行预警指标体系。     

Synergistic effects of Miconazole and Polymyxin B on microbial pathogens

The therapeutic value of antibiotics depends on the susceptibility of the infecting microorganism and the pharmacological profile of the drugs. To assess the value of an antibiotic combination of polymyxin B and miconazole this study examined the in vitro synergistic potential of the two drugs on Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and yeast. Antifungal and antibacterial activity was tested by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of broth macrodilution and urea broth microdilution, by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Synergism was calculated using the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICi). With Staphylococcus intermedius as target we found up to an eightfold reduction of the individual MICs when both drugs were combined. However, the FICi was 0.63 suggesting no real interaction between the two drugs. With Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Malassezia pachydermatis as targets the antimicrobial drug combination reduced the MICs of polymyxin B and miconazole from fourfold to hundredfold resulting in FICi between 0.06 and 0.5 which defines a synergistic action. Thus, if polymyxin B and miconazole are combined their effect is greater than the sum of the effects observed with polymyxin B and miconazole independently, revealing bactericidal and fungicidal synergism. Our results indicate a strong therapeutic value for the combination of these antimicrobial agents against Gram-negative bacteria and yeast and a weaker value against Gram positive bacteria for clinical situations where these pathogens are involved.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptococcus uberis</Emphasis>-specific T cells are present in mammary gland secretions of cows and can be activated to kill <Emphasis Type="Italic">S. uberis</Emphasis>

The presence, phenotype and function of Streptococcus uberis-specific T cells in the mammary gland secretion (MGS) and blood of cows exposed to S. uberis were assessed. MGS T cells in the udder were purified and incubated with autologous blood monocytes as antigen-presenting cells (APC). Most cows, irrespective of prior S. uberis infection status and lactation status, were shown to have S. uberis-specific T cells both in MGS and in the blood. When cells from a subgroup of cows were studied, it was found that the S. uberis-specific T cells produced high levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), but low levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10). A high percentage of responding T cells were of the CD8 ⁺ memory (CD45RO) subset. T cells from the MGS specific for S. uberis were propagated from animals during the drying off period and expanded in vitro using interleukin-2 (IL-2) and S. uberis antigens. This led to the accumulation of T cells of the CD8 ⁺ subset bearing memory cell markers (CD45A ⁻ , CD45RO ⁺ ), which released high levels of IFN-γ. Four of the five T cell lines derived from the MGS of three animals had substantial direct killing activity towards S. uberis in vitro. It is concluded that there is an emergence of S. uberis-specific bactericidal T cells in the MGS of cows after infection or environmental exposure to S. uberis. Vaccines aimed at activating and expanding this T cell population in the mammary glands of cattle may offer an avenue for the prevention of mastitis caused by S. uberis.     

春季军犬的饲养管理

春季万物复苏,是仔幼犬生长发育、种犬繁衍后代的最佳时期,也是细菌繁殖、寄生虫复苏的季节。据资料统计,犬的传染病、流行性疾病60﹪都发生在冬春交替的季节,因此加强春季军犬的饲养管理尤其必要,下面就结合我部几年来的工作体会,与大家共同探讨。     

用重组核衣壳蛋白ELISA检测PRRSV抗体的研究

ＰＲＲＳＶ重组Ｎ蛋白ＥＬＩＳＡ检测人工感染猪血清７５份,与ＩＤＥＸＸ公司ＥＬＩＳＡ试剂盒及ＩＦＡ的符合率分别为９７．３％和１００％。检测疫苗免疫猪血清,阳性率１００％。在免疫后６ｄ就能检出抗体,比ＩＦＡ敏感。检测８５份我国田间猪血清,阳性率１８．８％。     

双向电泳结合蛋白质印迹技术分析猪囊尾蚴乳酸脱氢酶

为了研究猪囊尾蚴乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)的表达,试验选择四川省雅江县呷拉乡猪带绦虫病患者,给其口服槟榔-南瓜子驱虫,收集、制备虫卵悬液(8万个/mL),再给3头20日龄三元杂交乳猪猪灌胃虫卵悬液,每头1 mL,40 d后收集、制备猪囊尾蚴蛋白,进行双向电泳(2-DE)分析,将凝胶蛋白斑点转移至聚偏氟乙烯膜(PVDF膜),用自制的大鼠抗猪带绦虫LDH血清作为一抗、健康大鼠血清作为阴性对照进行蛋白质印迹(Western-blotting)分析。结果表明:双向电泳凝胶共检测到(207±9)个蛋白质斑点,相对分子质量(Mr)为14 400～94 000,等电点(pI)为3.0～10.0;试验组特异性抗原抗体阳性杂交斑点为1个,阴性对照未见阳性杂交斑点;将Western-blotting检测的抗原抗体阳性杂交斑点与原双向电泳凝胶斑点进行比对,找到对应蛋白斑点,经ImageMaster 2D Platinum 5.0软件分析后初步确定该蛋白斑点的pI/Mr为7.03/35 368,与猪带绦虫LDH的pI/Mr理论推导值接近,说明猪囊尾蚴表达LDH。     

牛乳脂共轭亚油酸的合成及其营养调控

共轭亚油酸(CLA)是存在于动物脂肪和乳脂中的天然活性成分。本文综述了牛乳脂CLA的来源、合成机制及其营养调控。