Paratuberculosis, a notifiable disease in Austria--current status, compulsory measures and first experiences

Paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) is one of the most important diseases in ruminants today. Its contribution is worldwide and the disease is causing severe financial losses among cattle producers in some countries [Hasanova, L., Pavlik, I., 2006. Economic impact of paratuberculosis in dairy cattle herds: a review. Vet. Med.-Czech. 51, 193–211]. Paratuberculosis is untreatable; diagnosis limited to the early stages of the infection and control of the disease is difficult. The prevalence of serologically positive Austrian cattle farms rose significantly to 19.0% during the past years [Baumgartner, W., Damoser, J., Khol, J.L., 2005. Comparison of two studies concerning the prevalence of bovine paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in Austrian cattle in the years 1995–1997 and 2002/2003 (Article in German with extended English summary). Vet. Med. Austria/Wien. Tierärztl. Mschr. 92, 274–277]. Based on these findings clinical paratuberculosis in ruminants was declared a notifiable disease in Austria in April 2006.

A survey of the current situation in Austria, the most important parts of the new compulsory measures and their practical implementation and impacts are presented in this short communication.     

A retrospective study of gastrointestinal disorders in a predominantly Austrian leisure horse referral hospital population

The aim of our retrospective study was to produce and analyse epidemiological data on gastrointestinal (GI) disorders of Austrian leisure horses. Case records of horses referred to the Equine Clinic of the Veterinary University of Vienna were collected from an electronic hospital information system using its search options. All cases reported to have suffered a GI disorder between March 2003 and February 2015 were selected. In this period of 4314 days, data of 1833 GI cases, mostly accompanied by colic signs, were analysed. The vast majority of our GI cases appeared in the abdominal parts of the GI tract 96% (1760/1833) while just 1.3% (24/1833) could be definitively attributed to oesophageal disorders, whereas in 2.7% (49/1833) of the cases a definitive diagnosis could not be made. The highest prevalence of GI disorders was seen in July and October/November. A breakdown of figures for cases clustered under the colic syndrome showed that colon impactions in left ventral large and/or pelvic flexure (35%) were the major problem followed by gastric disorders (18%), spasmodic colic (9%), enteritis (7%), caecal tympany (6%); caecal impaction (4%), colitis (3%), abnormal anatomical positions of large colon including complete and partial strangulation/volvulus, nephrosplenic entrapment of the left ventral and dorsal colon and right dorsal displacement of the large colon (3%) and small intestinal volvulus (2.7%). In 12% of the cases, the cause of the abdominal discomfort was likely idiopathic paralytic ileus. The searching tool of the electronic patient data also brought up cases with malabsorbtion/IBD syndrome and GI ruptures, both these contributed less than 1% of the referred GI cases. Results suggested that the causes of colic are diverse, but the major reasons for referred cases of colic in the east Austrian horse population are large colon impaction or displacements. Seasonal distribution and specific causes of gastrointestinal disorders should be considered essential components of the initial clinical assessment of horses presenting with colic.     

European forest accounting: general concepts and Austrian experiences

Within the European Union there exist three different frameworks for forest accounting at the national level. For purposes of the national accounts, the regulations of the European System of Integrated Economic Accounts (ESA) have to be observed. They require a distinction between forestry and logging and provide specific guidelines for the valuation of standing timber. In recognition of the special character of forests and forestry production, two satellite accounts are devoted to forestry: the Economic Accounts for Forestry (EAF) and the European Framework for Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting for Forests (IEEAF). Although they were designed as complementary to the national accounts and refer to the same basic methodologies, the guidelines for forest accounting provided by the three manuals are not fully compatible. Just recently, a further integration and harmonization of the concepts for forest accounting has been proposed. Austria has implemented the valuation of the increment as an output of forestry as requested by ESA and produces the EAF tables on a regular basis. The possibilities for extending forest accounting to natural resource accounts for standing timber and the IEEAF have been investigated in terms of pilot studies. The Austrian experiences and results exemplify the problems and possible solutions associated with the adoption of the different European schemes. Data deficits and valuation issues restrict the significance of respective results to some degree, especially as regards forestry-specific extensions of the accounting schemes.     

Values of Forestry Professionals and their Implications for the Applicability of Policy Instruments

In the last few years, the European countries have created a whole arsenal of regulatory, financial and informational instruments with the objective of enhancing sustainable forest management (SFM). In the course of this policy development effort, so far, the targets of governance have been more or less neglected. This article argues that a forest manager's values have a major influence on the perception of and the reaction to different types of public policy instruments. The results of a mail survey carried out among Austrian forestry professionals show that the persons in charge of putting SFM into practical action can be characterized by specific value patterns. By means of cluster analysis, forestry professionals were classified into six value types. Each of the six types identified is expected to respond to policy instruments in a specific way. Based on these findings, I finally discuss if and how policy instruments can be designed and implemented in a more target-group oriented way.     

The Potential Effect of Climate Change and Elevated Air Carbon Dioxide on Agricultural Crop Production in Central and Southeastern Europe

SUMMARY

The vulnerability and adaptation of major agricultural crops to different soils in Austria and Bulgaria under a changing climate and elevated air CO₂ were investigated. Several incremental and transient GCM climate change scenarios were created and applied. Warming will decrease the crop-growing duration of the selected crops in the regions of interest. All GCM scenarios, including the climate change effect only, projected reductions in grain yield of winter wheat and spring barley, caused by a shorter crop-growing period. However, when the direct effect of an increased CO₂ level was assumed, most GCM climate change scenarios projected an increase in wheat and barley yield and especially in soybean yield. An increased level of CO₂ alone had no significant impact on the simulated maize yield reductions under climate change.     

Spotted Fever Group – Rickettsiae in the Tyrols: Evidence by Seroepidemiology and PCR

The aim of our study was to assess the occurrence of Rickettsia in the inner‐alpine valleys of the Eastern Alps and to determine the amount of seroreaction among the local human population. Ticks were investigated by PCR and the percentage of seropositives was determined among local blood donors by an in‐house immunofluorescence assay. The local cut‐off titre for screening of IgG was set at 1 : 128 with a well‐characterised low‐risk collective according to WHO‐guidelines. Positive sera were confirmed by independent re‐testing. Rickettsia is present in ticks north and south of the continental divide. Of 259 ticks investigated, 12.4% are positive for Rickettsia. Of over 1200 blood donors tested so far, 7.7% bear IgG at a titre of 1 : 128 or higher against R. helvetica. R. helvetica is present in the study area, causes immunoreaction among local residents and is associated with anamnestic erythema. Furthermore, screening with a second Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia indicates that significant parts of the Tyrolean population are exposed to a Rickettsia other than R. helvetica.     

奥地利森林可持续经营对湖南林业的可借鉴经验

通过在奥地利的学习、考察和交流,深入了解奥地利林业在森林可持续发展经营、近自然林业经营技术、木材资源利用、林业扶持政策、林业人才培养、湿地型国家公园管理、林业科学研究和科技推广应用等方面的先进理念,对比分析湖南林业发展的不足之处,借鉴奥地利林业健全的林业法律规章和制度体系、扎实的林业人才培养与技能培训和深入人心的社区林业经验等可持续发展经验,为进一步推动湖南林业转型升级和实现森林可持续发展提供参考。     

Distribution and prevalence of T. bryosalmonae in Austria: A first survey of trout from rivers with a shrinking population

The first evidence of proliferative kidney disease (PKD) in an Austrian river (the River Kamp) was documented in 2016, and no information on the PKD infection status of trout in other rivers was available. Since then, brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) have been collected from rivers in Upper and Lower Austria for different diagnostic purposes. In this study, we summarize the recent findings of a first survey concerning the distribution of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, the causative agent of proliferative kidney disease (PKD), from these samples. Between September 2015 and October 2017, a total of 280 brown trout and 39 rainbow trout were collected from 21 rivers in the provinces of Upper and Lower Austria. T. bryosalmonae was detected by PCR of kidney tissue in 17 of 21 sampled rivers and in 138 of 280 brown trout as well as in 11 of 39 rainbow trout. Pathological signs of PKD (e.g., hypertrophy of the kidney) were observed in 33 analysed brown trout and six rainbow trout samples. No correlations between fish infected by T. bryosalmonae and the parameters size and age class, condition factor, geological origin of the streams and distribution within the river course were found, while positively tested fish are significantly increased at sampling sites exceeding water temperatures of 15°C for median periods of 115 days. The prevalence within the affected streams or stream sections is highly variable, and in single rivers, infection rates of up to 90% are confirmed.     

Climate change might drive the invasive tree Robinia pseudacacia into nature reserves and endangered habitats

Static networks of nature reserves disregard the dynamics of species ranges in changing environments. In fact, climate warming has been shown to potentially drive endangered species out of reserves. Less attention has been paid to the related problem that a warmer climate may also foster the invasion of alien species into reserve networks. Here, we use niche-based predictive modelling to assess to which extent the Austrian Natura 2000 network and a number of habitat types of conservation value outside this network might be prone to climate warming driven changes in invasion risk by Robinia pseudacacia L., one of the most problematic alien plants in Europe.Results suggest that the area potentially invaded by R. pseudacacia will increase considerably under a warmer climate. Interestingly, invasion risk will grow at a higher than average rate for most of the studied habitat types but less than the national average in Natura 2000 sites. This result points to a potential bias in legal protection towards high mountain areas which largely will remain too cold for R. pseudacacia. In contrast, the selected habitat types are more frequent in montane or lower lying regions, where R. pseudacacia invasion risk will increase most pronouncedly.We conclude that management plans of nature reserves should incorporate global warming driven changes in invasion risk in a more explicit manner. In case of R. pseudacacia, reducing propagule pressure by avoiding purposeful plantation in the neighbourhood of reserves and endangered habitats is a simple but crucial measure to prevent further invasion under a warmer climate.