Epidemiology and cost of Lyme disease‐related hospitalizations among patients with employer‐sponsored health insurance—United States, 2005–2014

An estimated 300,000 cases of Lyme disease occur in the United States annually. Disseminated Lyme disease may result in carditis, arthritis, facial palsy or meningitis, sometimes requiring hospitalization. We describe the epidemiology and cost of Lyme disease‐related hospitalizations. We analysed 2005–2014 data from the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Databases to identify inpatient records associated with Lyme disease based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD‐9‐CM) codes. We estimated the annual number and median cost of Lyme disease‐related hospitalizations in the United States in persons under 65 years of age. Costs were adjusted to reflect 2016 dollars. Of 20,983,165 admission records contained in the inpatient databases during the study period, 2,823 (0.01%) met inclusion criteria for Lyme disease‐related hospitalizations. Over half of the identified records contained an ICD‐9‐CM code for meningitis (n = 614), carditis (n = 429), facial palsy (n = 400) or arthritis (n = 377). Nearly 60% of hospitalized patients were male. The median cost per Lyme disease‐related hospitalization was $11,688 (range: $140–$323,613). The manifestation with the highest median cost per stay was carditis ($17,461), followed by meningitis ($15,177), arthritis ($13,012) and facial palsy ($10,491). Median cost was highest among the 15‐ to 19‐year‐old age group ($12,991). Admissions occurring in January had the highest median cost ($13,777) for all study years. Based on extrapolation to the U.S. population, we estimate that 2,196 Lyme disease‐related hospitalizations in persons under 65 years of age occur annually with an estimated annual cost of $25,826,237. Lyme disease is usually treated in an outpatient setting; however, some patients with Lyme disease require hospitalization, underscoring the need for effective prevention methods to mitigate these serious cases. Information from this analysis can aid economic evaluations of interventions that prevent infection and advances in disease detection.     

Associations between postpartum diseases and milk yield and changes in body condition between drying off and parturition of dairy cows in Argentina

ABSTRACT

Aims: To assess the change in body condition score (BCS) during the early and late dry periods and its association with postpartum diseases and milk yield in grazing dairy cows from central Argentina.

Methods: BCS assessments during the dry period, and cow health and milk production records up to 90 days in milk (DIM), were collated for cows from 28 farms at monthly visits between 2007 and 2008. Cows were categorised into four groups; those in Group 1 (n=7,067) maintained or gained BCS during the early and late dry periods; Group 2 (n=2,615) maintained or gained BCS during the early dry period and lost BCS during the late dry period; Group 3 (n=1,989) lost BCS during the early dry period and maintained or gained BCS during the late dry period; and Group 4 (n=5,144) lost BCS during the early and late dry periods.

Results: Cows in Group 1 had reduced odds of having retained fetal membranes (RFM), metritis, and clinical mastitis up to 90 DIM than cows in Group 2 (p<0.001), but the odds of disease were similar to cows in Group 3. The odds of having RFM or clinical mastitis tended to be lower in cows in Group 1 than cows in Group 4 (p=0.08). The odds of cows being culled or dying during the first 90 DIM were lower for cows in Group 1 than for those in Groups 2, 3, and 4 (p≤0.05). Mean accumulated milk yield up to 90 DIM was higher in cows in Group 1 than Group 2 and Group 4 (p<0.001), but was similar to that of cows in Group 3 (p=0.28).

Conclusions and clinical relevance: Cows that lost BCS during the late dry period had increased odds of being diagnosed with several postpartum diseases and had decreased milk yield compared to cows that maintained or gained BCS during the entire dry period. Loss of BCS during any stage of the dry period was also associated with increased incidence of culling or death during the first 90 DIM. These results should raise awareness among dairy cattle producers of the importance of properly managing cow body condition during the dry period, especially during the late dry period.     

羊驼主要病毒性传染病的诊断与防治

概述了羊驼主要病毒性传染病的流行病学、临床症状、病理变化及诊断与防治。为羊驼病毒性传染病的研究与防治提供理论依据。     

Semen alterations in porcine rubulavirus-infected boars are related to viral excretion and have implications for artificial insemination

Porcine rubulavirus (PoRV), also known as blue eye disease (BED) of swine, causes respiratory and reproductive problems in pigs at several developmental stages. To study the effect of PoRV infection on semen production, five boars were infected with 1 x 10(6) TCID(50)/ml of PoRV strain PAC-3 and evaluated for 59 days post inoculation (DPI). Infected boars developed reproductive tract pathology that included swelling of the testes and epididymides. Analysis of the semen showed that the infection had little effect on semen production in four animals, but semen from one boar showed severe alterations in sperm concentration, motility, and morphology. When motility was analyzed in BTS-diluted semen after 24, 48, or 72 h, alterations were detected in all boars. Furthermore, viral antigen was detected in semen, the seminal plasma fraction, or sperm fraction from all boars. These results showed that PoRV is excreted via semen and, therefore, artificial insemination is a potential route of dissemination.     

Effects of Diseases on Reproductive Performance in Dairy Cattle Ⅰ: Current Situation and Its Mechanism

Over the past 20 years,with the continuous promotion of the genetic improvement plan of dairy cow population and the continuous improvement of feeding technology,the intensive level and milk yield of dairy cow population in China are continuously improving.However,the reproduction data over the years showed that the more milk yield,the more obviously decline in reproductive performance,and the more prominent of the reproductive problems.The decline of fertility caused by high yield has become the bottleneck of the development of dairy industry in China and even in the world.In dairy farming,there are many factors that cause the reduction of reproductive performance of high-yield dairy cows,including genetic factors,environmental factors and disease factors.Recently,the influence of disease factors on reproductive performance of dairy cows has become more and more prominent.According to the location of the disease,the diseases can be divided into genital diseases and non-genital diseases.This paper discussed the relevant research data on the effects of different diseases on the reproductive performance of dairy cows in recent years,and focusing on the analysis of the molecular mechanism of diseases affecting the reproductive performance of dairy cows through the nervous system,reproductive endocrine system and humoral immune system.The prospect and thinking for the future research of diseases and reproductive performance of high-yield dairy cows were put forward to provide reference and theoretical basis for improving the reproductive efficiency and economic benefits of high-yield dairy cows in China.     

犬常见皮肤病的日常诊护

犬皮肤病是犬临床诊治中常见病之一。犬因品种、年龄、个体、营养、生活环境等不同而引起的皮肤病有很大的差异。本文就几种常见的犬皮肤病的不同的临床症状进行了简要综述,旨在给饲养者提供一些早期的、简单的鉴别及诊断,能尽快做出相应的预防和护理措施,并及时就诊。     

新疆苜蓿病害种类和分布的初步研究

文章报道了新疆天山南北８个地州人工栽培紫花苜蓿上的１９种病害,其中一种病害,类似由黑白轮枝菌（Ｖｅｒｔｉｃｉｌｌｉｕｍａｌｂｏ－ａｔｒｕｍＲｅｉｎｋｅｒｅｔＢｅｒｔｈ．）引起的苜蓿黄萎病,而由束状匍柄霉（Ｓｔｅｍｐｈｙｌｉｕｍｓａｃｉｎｉ－ｉｆｏｒｕｍ（Ｃａｖ．）Ｗｉｔｓｈ．）引起的苜蓿匍柄霉叶斑病为新疆首次指导。不同地区苜蓿地的病原群体结构呈现较大差异。     

Virulence, cytotoxic and inflammatory activities of Vibrio anguillarum and Aeromonas salmonicida isolated from cultivated salmonid fish in Sweden

Extracellular products in culture filtrates of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. achromogenes and Vibrio anguillarum isolated from infected fish have been shown to possess skin inflammatory factor. The extracellular products from Vibrio anguillarum were cytotoxic in HeLa and CHO cells. In addition to the skin lesions, the culture filtrates of V. anguillarum caused necrotic reaction on the rabbit skin. Five of 6 strains of V. anguillarum were lethal to mice after intraperitoneal administration of 3×10⁷ CFU. Only 1 strain of 5 A. salmonicida subsp. achromogenes produced extracellular products which elicited cytotoxic effects in the CHO cells. None of the A. salmonicida subsp. achromogenes strains were lethal to mice. The cytotoxins were inactivated when heated at 65°C for 30 min. The results indicate that the thermolabile exotoxins are non-enterotoxic since they failed to stimulate fluid accumulation in the rabbit ileal loop and did not cause elongation of the CHO cells. The rounding off of CHO cells, as well as of HeLa cells indicate that the exotoxins may play an important role in fish diseases.     

INVESTIGATIONS OF THE LAMENESS IN DOGS IN THE YEARS 1980–1985

The causes of lameness in dogs were analyzed on the basis of radiologic examinations performed in the years 1980–1985. From 1982, there was an increase in the frequency of secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism and eosinophilic panosteitis and a decrease in frequency of osteochondrosis. The pathogenesis of these diseases is discussed in relation to alternations in diet during this time.