Increasing fiscal constraints on the government, a lackadaisical performance by public sector animal health and breeding services and pressure from donor partners have prompted the governments of various developing countries to rethink the role of the public sector in the provision of veterinary services. Various countries have started to implement, or have already implemented, privatization of some veterinary services. The results are mixed. It is established that private provision alone is not optimal, and a blend of private and public sector veterinary services is required to utilize the virtues of both.The privatization process has also begun in India. Certain state governments in India are pursuing a cost recovery approach and are encouraging private practitioners to cope with the financial constraints and to deliver broad and effective animal health and breeding services. This paper considers the global aspects of the privatization of veterinary services as well as the scenario in India, so as to gain an insight into the very complex and debatable issue of privatization of veterinary services. 相似文献
A healthy soil is often defined as a stable soil system with high levels of biological diversity and activity, internal nutrient
cycling, and resilience to disturbance. This implies that microbial fluctuations after a disturbance would dampen more quickly
in a healthy than in a chronically damaged and biologically impoverished soil. Soil could be disturbed by various processes,
for example addition of a nutrient source, tillage, or drying-rewetting. As a result of any disturbance, the numbers of heterotrophic
bacteria and of individual species start to oscillate, both in time and space. The oscillations appear as moving waves along
the path of a moving nutrient source such as a root tip. The phase and period for different trophic groups and species of
bacteria may be shifted indicating that succession occurs. DGGE, Biolog and FAME analysis of subsequent populations in oscillation
have confirmed that there is a cyclic succession in microbial communities. Microbial diversity oscillates in opposite direction
from oscillations in microbial populations. In a healthy soil, the amplitudes of these oscillations will be small, but the
background levels of microbial diversity and activity are high, so that soil-borne diseases will face more competitors and
antagonists. However, soil-borne pathogens and antagonists alike will fluctuate in time and space as a result of growing plant
roots and other disturbances, and the periods and phases of the oscillations may vary. As a consequence, biological control
by members of a single trophic group or species may never be complete, as pathogens will encounter varying populations of
the biocontrol agent on the root surface. A mixture of different trophic groups may provide more complete biological control
because peaks of different trophic groups occur at subsequent locations along a root. Alternatively, regular addition of soil
organic matter may increase background levels of microbial activity, increase nutrient cycling, lower the concentrations of
easily available nutrient sources, increase microbial diversity, and enhance natural disease suppression. 相似文献
A key element in the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be a single farm payment system that is linked to compliance with rules on, for instance hygiene standards. However, there are no recommended methods for assessing the hygiene proficiency of pig production farms. The present study was undertaken to develop a method for this purpose. A first implementation was done on pilot scale; with a set of both conventional and organic pig farms (N = 15). Fifty hygiene-related factors were selected, especially with reference to the possible proliferation of enteric pathogens Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The factors were allocated into 8 evaluation categories: (1) general production management, (2) animal density, (3) the outdoor area for pigs, (4) pest and pet animals, (5) general hygiene in the piggery, (6) pen hygiene, (7) feed production hygiene, and (8) feeding hygiene. A farm questionnaire and a supplementary on-site observation form were devised, and one arbitrary scale of hygiene points assigned for each factor. In addition to the mailed questionnaires, one person subsequently visited all the farms, perused the questionnaire with the owners and completed the observation form. The hygiene scores of the farms in each evaluation category were compared both without weighting and with weighting based on expert opinions. The method proved to be feasible and applicable to different types of production. 相似文献
There is a growing body of literature showing that physical activity and nature have a positive effect on people's health and well-being. Additionally literature indicates that there may even be a synergic benefit from being physically active whilst simultaneously being directly exposed to nature. This insight is used in recovery programmes for work related stress and mental health care settings. However, as primary care is usually people's first point of contact with the health care system, the greatest benefits for people's health can probably be obtained in primary health care settings. The aim of the present study is therefore to investigate to what extent general practitioners advise patients on physical activity and whether they refer to the additional health benefits of physical activity in a natural environment.
A secondary analysis was performed on a random sample of 2784 video-taped patient consultations of 100 general practitioners in The Netherlands. Many characteristics of these consultations were known on the basis of earlier analyses: diagnosis, age and sex of patient and whether or not the issue of physical activity had been brought up by either patient or doctor. First, we investigated to what extent and with which health problems advice was given concerning physical activity. Second, from these consultations, a stratified sample of 100 consultations was observed in order to investigate whether an advice was given by the general practitioner concerning the additional benefits of nature. In 26% of all consultations advice on physical activity was given by the general practitioner. Physical activity was mentioned more often in cases of vague complaints than in cases with a clear cut diagnosis. As could have been expected, physical activity was mentioned relatively frequently in cases of musculoskeletal complaints and complaints of the nervous system. The additional benefits of physical activity in natural environments was not mentioned during any of the consultations.
In conclusion, general practitioners regularly give advice on physical activity. However, they fail to mention that physical activity in nature areas might have additional health benefits. Given the fact that medical treatment is increasingly evidence based, we think the evidence for the health benefits of physical activity in nature needs to be stronger. Results from such research could eventually find their way into the guidelines of the general practitioners. 相似文献
An analysis of records of plant pathogens first identified in Great Britain from 1970 to 2004 (inclusive) was undertaken to determine the numbers of new species that have become established over time. Results show that the numbers of newly recorded pathogens have not varied significantly. Of the 234 pathogens recorded for the first time between 1970 and 2004, 157 were fungi, 27 were oomycetes, 26 were viruses, 23 were bacteria, and one was a phytoplasma. Approximately 53% of pathogens were found on ornamental crops, 16% on horticultural crops, 15% on wild native species, 12% on agricultural crops, 2% on pasture plants and 2% on exotic forestry tree species. Where the origin of introductions was known or strongly suspected, 47% came from the Netherlands. About 38% of newly recorded pathogens with information on the location of first record were discovered in the South East region of England. Plant Pathologists regarded 19% of all new pathogens as important because of actual or potential economic/environmental losses. The results indicate that the numbers of new or important pathogens establishing in recent years are not increasing and that most new findings are associated with ornamental plants. 相似文献
Logistic regression was used to model associations between antimicrobial treatment and resistance among fecal Escherichia coli of finisher pigs at the farm level. Four sets of potential risk factors representing different levels of refinement of antimicrobial use on farms were modelled on resistance to antimicrobials. Final models for each antimicrobial were constructed from treatment and management variables significant on initial screening, and corrections for overdispersion were made. In general, in-feed antimicrobial treatment of pigs was more consistently associated with an increased risk of resistance than individual-animal treatment. Antimicrobial treatment in starter rations was significant in final models of resistance to ampicillin, carbadox, nitrofurantoin, sulfisoxizole, and tetracycline. Treatment in grower–finisher rations was significantly associated with resistance to ampicillin, spectinomycin, sulfisoxizole, and tetracycline. There was little evidence that in-feed antimicrobials increased the risk of resistance to gentamicin, which is a drug used only for individual-pig treatment in this study population. These results suggest that antimicrobial medication of rations of post-weaning pigs selects for and maintains antimicrobial resistance among E. coli of finisher pigs. Although resistance was common on farms that did not medicate rations of post-weaning pigs, the results indicate that antimicrobial use does increase the risk of resistance to the antimicrobials studied. 相似文献