The increasing risk of Lyme disease in Canada

There is an increasing risk of Lyme disease in Canada due to range expansion of the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis. The objectives of this article are to i) raise public awareness with the help of veterinarians on the emerging and expanding risk of Lyme disease across Canada, ii) review the key clinical features of Lyme disease in dogs, and iii) provide recommendations for veterinarians on the management of Lyme disease in dogs.     

The impact of a community-based food skills intervention on cooking confidence, food preparation methods and dietary choices - an exploratory trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of undertaking a food skills intervention study in areas of social deprivation aimed at altering cooking confidence, food preparation methods and dietary choices. DESIGN: A standardised skills programme was implemented in community-based settings. Pre- (T1) and post-intervention (T2) and 6-month follow-up (T3) measures (7-day diaries and self-administered questionnaires) were undertaken in intervention and comparison groups. SETTING: Eight urban communities in Scotland. SUBJECTS: One hundred and thirteen adults living in areas of social deprivation. RESULTS: It was clear that many subjects led fragmented lives and found commitment to intervention classes problematic. Sixty-three subjects completed the final (T3) assessments. The response to each component varied due to inability to attend sessions, illness, study requirements, employment, moving out of the area, change in circumstances, loss of interest and loss of postal questionnaires. At baseline, reported consumption of fruit and vegetables was low (mean frequency 8.1 +/- 4.78 times per week). Fruit intake increased significantly (P < 0.05) between T1 and T2 in the intervention group (1.7 +/- 2.36 to 2.7 +/- 3.28 times per week) only. Between T1 and T3, there was a significant increase (P < 0.05) in intervention subjects who reported confidence in following a recipe (67-90%,). CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory trial shows that a food skills intervention is likely to have a small but positive effect on food choice and confidence in food preparation. A full-scale randomised controlled trial in this hard-to-reach group would require a range of flexible approaches rather than a fully defined intervention, and presents challenges for trial design.     

Structure and Management Issues of the Emerging Ornamental Fish Trade In Eritrea

Following independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea resumed exploiting Red Sea and Arabian fish species for the ornamental trade in 1995 as a means to earn foreign exchange from sparsely exploited marine resources. This paper describes the findings of research conducted in 1997, in collaboration with the Eritrean Ministry of Fisheries. The capture, transport and export of aquarium fish were reviewed and potential impacts and the status of management were investigated through liaison with stakeholders and researchers. From 1995 to 1997 two companies exported approximately 60,000 fish per year, mainly to the USA, worth US$65,000 (export value). Seventy-five species (from 22 families) were exported. Damselfishes made up two-thirds of total exports but more valuable families (angelfishes and butterflyfishes) were more economically significant. To earn revenue for Eritrea, a 20% export tax was imposed, although this was calculated from declarations by the operators. The emerging nature of the trade allowed detailed monitoring by the Ministry of Fisheries. However, management efforts were constrained by a lack of capacity for enforcement and baseline research. Several potential effects of the trade exist but other, land-based impacts may be more pressing concerns for Eritrea's reefs. Research priorities for management are discussed as well as the implications of mariculture of Eritrean species by other nations.     

A spatial risk assessment of bighorn sheep extirpation by grazing domestic sheep on public lands

Bighorn sheep currently occupy just 30% of their historic distribution, and persist in populations less than 5% as abundant overall as their early 19th century counterparts. Present-day recovery of bighorn sheep populations is in large part limited by periodic outbreaks of respiratory disease, which can be transmitted to bighorn sheep via contact with domestic sheep grazing in their vicinity. In order to assess the viability of bighorn sheep populations on the Payette National Forest (PNF) under several alternative proposals for domestic sheep grazing, we developed a series of interlinked models. Using telemetry and habitat data, we characterized herd home ranges and foray movements of bighorn sheep from their home ranges. Combining foray model movement estimates with known domestic sheep grazing areas (allotments), a Risk of Contact Model estimated bighorn sheep contact rates with domestic sheep allotments. Finally, we used demographic and epidemiologic data to construct population and disease transmission models (Disease Model), which we used to estimate bighorn sheep persistence under each alternative grazing scenario. Depending on the probability of disease transmission following interspecies contact, extirpation probabilities for the seven bighorn sheep herds examined here ranged from 20% to 100%. The Disease Model allowed us to assess the probabilities that varied domestic sheep management scenarios would support persistent populations of free-ranging bighorn sheep.     

Herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs – a pilot study

Background

The major indication for antibiotic use in Danish pigs is treatment of intestinal diseases post weaning. Clinical decisions on antibiotic batch medication are often based on inspection of diarrhoeic pools on the pen floor. In some of these treated diarrhoea outbreaks, intestinal pathogens can only be demonstrated in a small number of pigs within the treated group (low pathogen diarrhoea). Termination of antibiotic batch medication in herds suffering from such diarrhoea could potentially reduce the consumption of antibiotics in the pig industry. The objective of the present pilot study was to suggest criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs.Data previously collected from 20 Danish herds were used to create a case series of clinical diarrhoea outbreaks normally subjected to antibiotic treatment. In the present study, these diarrhoea outbreaks were classified as low pathogen (<15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =5 outbreaks) or high pathogen (≥15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =15 outbreaks). Based on the case series, different diagnostic procedures were explored, and criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea were suggested. The effect of sampling variation was explored by simulation.

Results

The diagnostic procedure with the highest combined herd-level sensitivity and specificity was qPCR testing of a pooled sample containing 20 randomly selected faecal samples. The criteria for a positive test result (high pathogen diarrhoea outbreak) were an average of 1.5 diarrhoeic faecal pools on the floor of each pen in the room under investigation and a pathogenic bacterial load ≥35,000 per gram in the faecal pool tested by qPCR. The bacterial load was the sum of Lawsonia intracellularis, Brachyspira pilosicoli and Escherichia coli F4 and F18 bacteria per gram faeces. The herd-diagnostic performance was (herd-level) diagnostic sensitivity =0.99, diagnostic specificity =0.80, positive predictive value =0.94 and negative predictive value =0.96.

Conclusions

The pilot study suggests criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs. The suggested criteria should now be evaluated, and the effect of terminating antibiotic batch medication in herds identified as suffering from low pathogen diarrhoea should be explored.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2046-0481-67-24) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.