Risk assessment of bovine tuberculosis introduction and establishment in Norway

VKM has assessed the risk of introduction and spread of bovine tuberculosis in Norway and cannot rule out that the disease still exists in Norway. There is a low risk of the disease being reintroduced with imported cattle, but the import of llamas and alpacas poses a greater risk. If the disease were to establish in Norway, there is a high risk of spread both among domestic animals and to wildlife. These are the main conclusions The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) has made in a risk assessment commissioned by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Background Following the outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in 2022, VKM was asked to investigate the risk of introduction as well as the risk of spread and establishment of the disease in Norway. The disease primarily affects cattle, but other animals and humans can also be affected. Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic disease that is difficult to diagnose. Therefore, it may take months or years before infected animals are detected. This makes it challenging to eradicate the disease. Conclusions With today's very limited import, VKM concludes it is unlikely that bovine tuberculosis will be introduced to Norway with cattle. Since neighboring countries Sweden and Finland are free from the disease, migration of wildlife will not pose a risk of introduction. However, as the source of the 2022 outbreak has not been identified, it cannot be determined if the disease is still present in Norway. “Alpacas and llamas pose a greater risk. These species are particularly susceptible to the disease, and animals have been imported to Norway, also from countries where the bacterium is common in the cattle population. It is therefore likely that the bacterium could be introduced to Norway with these species if imports continue”, says Eystein Skjerve, Scientific leader of the project team. There is significant trade and transportation of live animals (cattle, alpacas, and llamas) within Norway. If bovine tuberculosis were to establish here, such movements would pose a significant risk of spreading the bacterium. Furthermore, manure from infected herds could pose a risk of spreading to livestock and wild animals. Additionally, contact between livestock and wild animals, such as badgers, wild boars, and various deer species, could lead to the spread of the disease to the wild population. If bovine tuberculosis is established in Norway, a control and eradication strategy would require considerable time and resources. If the disease is introduced to-, and established in wild animal populations, experience from other countries indicates that it will be very challenging to eradicate the disease. “The risk of transmission of bovine tuberculosis to humans is generally low. Veterinarians, farmers, and slaughterhouse workers have an increased risk of infection. If the disease is established in Norway, the greatest risk of transmission to humans is through the consumption of both unpasteurised milk and dairy products”, Skjerve says. Risk-Reducing Measures VKM was also asked to identify several measures that could reduce the risk of introduction and establishment of bovine tuberculosis in Norway: Avoid importing animals from countries and regions where bovine tuberculosis is present in livestock. Avoid importing roughage to Norway from countries and regions with bovine tuberculosis. Increase testing requirements for the trade and movement of alpacas and llamas inside Norway. In the event of an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis, reduce contact between livestock and wild animals and routinely test wild animals (badgers, wild boars, and deer species). (...)Risk assessment of bovine tuberculosis introduction and establishment in NorwayacceptedVersio

Mammographic density by time and breast: a retrospective cohort study from BreastScreen Norway

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Recommendations for updating regulations on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco and nicotine products in the European Union

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Intervention strategies to prevent mental health problems and improve resilience in employed parents from conception until the child is 5 years of age: a scoping review

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Strengthening research preparedness for crises: lessons from Norwegian government agencies in using randomized trials and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate public policy interventions

During public health crises such as pandemics, governments must rapidly adopt and implement wide-reaching policies and programs (“public policy interventions”). A key takeaway from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was that although numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focussed on drugs and vaccines, few policy experiments were conducted to evaluate effects of public policy interventions across various sectors on viral transmission and other consequences. Moreover, many quasi-experimental studies were of spurious quality, thus proving unhelpful for informing public policy. The pandemic highlighted the need to continuously develop competence, capacity and a robust legal–ethical foundation for impact evaluations well before crises occur. It raised a crucial question: how can governments in non-crisis times develop capabilities to generate evidence on the effects of public policy interventions, thus enabling a rapid and effective research response during public health crises? We conducted a mapping to explore how government agencies in Norway use RCTs and quasi-experimental methods to strengthen the evidence base for public policy interventions and to identify barriers and facilitators to their use. Contributing to the study were 10 government agencies across sectors such as development assistance, education, health, social welfare, statistics and taxation. Many of these agencies have conducted or commissioned RCTs or quasi-experimental studies in the past 5 years, with evaluations ranging from 1 or 2 to more than 15 per agency. The measures evaluated included organizational, educational and financial interventions and interventions for oversight and sanctions. Some agencies have internal capabilities for designing and conducting evaluations, while others commissioned such studies to universities and other research institutions. Agencies reported examples where enhanced communication among implementers, researchers, ministries and political leaders facilitated impact evaluations, and these lessons offer opportunities for cross-sector knowledge-sharing to help strengthen rigorous evaluations of public policy interventions. Despite their potential, various government agencies report that randomized and quasi-experimental studies face legal, ethical, political and practical barriers that affect their use. For instance, the urgency of politicians to implement policies at scale has led to the discontinuation of trials and hindered learning from their effects. The surveyed agencies stressed the importance of legislation providing clear guidelines on when differential treatment can be justified and when informed consent requirements can be waived, as well as faster and clearer processes for managing privacy concerns related to data access. Crucially, greater political acceptance for systematically and gradually implementing reforms, including using randomization, could strengthen evidence-informed public policy, enhancing the scaling-up of effective interventions and deprioritizing ineffective ones.Strengthening research preparedness for crises: lessons from Norwegian government agencies in using randomized trials and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate public policy interventionspublishedVersio

Sammenlikning av tidlig og sen ultralydundersøkelse for estimering av termindato. Prosjektplan for en systematisk oversikt.

Nøyaktig bestemmelse av forventet termindato er avgjørende for å sikre optimal svangerskapsomsorg og riktig tidspunkt for nødvendige medisinsk oppfølging og eventuell behandling. Ultralydbiometri er den standardiserte metoden i de fleste høyinntektsland. Vi vil utarbeide en systematisk oversikt over kontrollerte studier som sammenligner presisjon av terminbestemmelse estimert ved ultralyd i svangerskapsuke 11-14 (tidlig ultralyd) og terminbestemmelse estimert ved svangerskapsuke 17-20 (sen ultralyd). Utfall er presisjon i datering av termindato. Resultatene fra den systematiske oversikten vil være en del av kunnskapsgrunnlaget som skal brukes i revideringen av de nasjonale retningslinjene for svangerskapsomsorgen. To medarbeidere skal uavhengig av hverandre vurdere tittel og sammendrag av søketreffene, og deretter mulige relevante studier i fulltekst, etter våre forhåndsdefinerte inklusjonskriterier. Vi vil hente ut data fra studiene slik som informasjon om mødrene, tidspunkt for ultralydundersøkelsen, metoder, studiedesign, årstall og land der studien ble utført, og presisjon av termindato. Vi skal vurdere risiko for systematiske skjevheter for presisjon av terminbestemmelsen (utfallet) i de inkluderte studiene. For randomiserte kontrollerte studier (RCT) benytter vi Cochranes Risk of Bias v2 og for ikke-randomiserte kontrollerte studier vil vi benytte Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I). I tillegg vil vi utføre metaanalyser dersom flere studier er sammenlignbare og stratifisere på ulike studiedesign. Vi vil vurdere tilliten til resultatene med GRADE-metoden.Sammenlikning av tidlig og sen ultralydundersøkelse for estimering av termindato. Prosjektplan for en systematisk oversikt.acceptedVersio

Blod- og seksuelt overførbare infeksjoner. Årsrapport 2024

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Ruse seg utover, innover eller bort?: En sosiologisk organisering av illegal rusmiddelbruk

I mange land, inkludert Norge, er den politiske diskursen rundt illegale rusmidler i endring. Slike bevegelser i kulturen innebærer at den brede kategorien «narkotika» brytes opp og blir mer nyansert. I denne artikkelen brytes bruken av illegale rusmidler i en norsk utelivskontekst opp i ulike bruksmåter. Problemstillingen er: På hvilke måter varierer måtene illegale rusmidler brukes på, og hvordan henger bruksmåtene sammen med forestillinger om de enkelte rusmidlene og brukerne av dem? Basert på 35 dybdeintervjuer med unge voksne som bruker illegale rusmidler, presenteres en typologi over tre bruksmåter. Disse bruksmåtene var sammenvevde med bestemte forestillinger om de enkelte rusmidlene. Ifølge deltakerne passet noen stoffer best til utadvendt festing («ruse seg utover»), andre til former for introspeksjon («ruse seg innover»), mens andre igjen ble knyttet til en form for eskapisme («ruse seg bort»). Disse bruksmåtene hang sammen med en rekke forestillinger om brukere og konsekvenser av bruk. Skillelinjene mellom rusmidlene var imidlertid ikke absolutte. Rusmiddelbrukspreferansene oppstod i et samspill mellom stoffenes «symbolske bagasje» og psykofarmakologiske virkninger. Den sosiologiske organiseringen av bruksmåter – utover, innover og bort – komplementerer farmakologiske og juridiske perspektiver, og nyanserer forståelsen av rusmiddelbruk i vår tid.Outwards, Inwards or Escapist Intoxication?: A Sociological Organization of Illicit Substance UseRuse seg utover, innover eller bort?: En sosiologisk organisering av illegal rusmiddelbrukpublishedVersio

Mental stress due to poor organizational climate and high work commitment as predictor of 10-year registered sickness absence: a cohort study based on The Population Study of Women in Gothenburg

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Small-RNA sequencing reveals potential serum biomarkers for gallbladder cancer: Results from a three-stage collaborative study of large European prospective cohorts

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