Investigation of infectious laryngotracheitis outbreaks in Namibia in 2018

Between July and August 2018, two outbreaks of infectious laryngotracheitis caused the death of over 116,000 commercial poultry (layers and broilers) near the city of Windhoek, Namibia. A third outbreak occurred in September 2018 in the north of the country approximately 800 km from the original outbreaks. Sample collection and molecular epidemiological analyses revealed that the outbreaks were most likely caused by poor vaccination practices leading to the reversion to virulence of an ILT vaccine strain. The analyses also indicate that inaccurate declarations were made by one of the farms involved and that illegal movement of animals most likely occurred.

     

Genetic data from avian influenza and avian paramyxoviruses generated by the European network of excellence (EPIZONE) between 2006 and 2011--review and recommendations for surveillance

Since 2006, the members of the molecular epidemiological working group of the European "EPIZONE" network of excellence have been generating sequence data on avian influenza and avian paramyxoviruses from both European and African sources in an attempt to more fully understand the circulation and impact of these viruses. This review presents a timely update on the epidemiological situation of these viruses based on sequence data generated during the lifetime of this project in addition to data produced by other groups during the same period. Based on this information and putting it all into a European context, recommendations for continued surveillance of these important viruses within Europe are presented.     

Cation disorder in shocked orthopyroxene

The distribution of magnesium and iron over the M1 and M2 positions in Bamle enstatite shocked at 1 megabar is highly disordered. It corresponds to an equilibrium distribution of at least 1000 degrees C. The distribution in samples shocked at 450 kilobars or less is undisturbed.     

Identification of porcine circovirus-3 in Mozambique

Veterinary Research Communications - Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV-3) has been associated with an assortment of clinical conditions in pigs and has been reported in many countries worldwide. In Africa...     

Deep Impact: observations from a worldwide Earth-based campaign

On 4 July 2005, many observatories around the world and in space observed the collision of Deep Impact with comet 9P/Tempel 1 or its aftermath. This was an unprecedented coordinated observational campaign. These data show that (i) there was new material after impact that was compositionally different from that seen before impact; (ii) the ratio of dust mass to gas mass in the ejecta was much larger than before impact; (iii) the new activity did not last more than a few days, and by 9 July the comet's behavior was indistinguishable from its pre-impact behavior; and (iv) there were interesting transient phenomena that may be correlated with cratering physics.     

Seroprevalence of Rift Valley fever virus in cattle in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study aimed at assessing the serological and virological status of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) in cattle from four climatically diverse zones of the...