Global trends in infectious diseases at the wildlife–livestock interface

The role and significance of wildlife–livestock interfaces in disease ecology has largely been neglected, despite recent interest in animals as origins of emerging diseases in humans. Scoping review methods were applied to objectively assess the relative interest by the scientific community in infectious diseases at interfaces between wildlife and livestock, to characterize animal species and regions involved, as well as to identify trends over time. An extensive literature search combining wildlife, livestock, disease, and geographical search terms yielded 78,861 publications, of which 15,998 were included in the analysis. Publications dated from 1912 to 2013 and showed a continuous increasing trend, including a shift from parasitic to viral diseases over time. In particular there was a significant increase in publications on the artiodactyls–cattle and bird–poultry interface after 2002 and 2003, respectively. These trends could be traced to key disease events that stimulated public interest and research funding. Among the top 10 diseases identified by this review, the majority were zoonoses. Prominent wildlife–livestock interfaces resulted largely from interaction between phylogenetically closely related and/or sympatric species. The bird–poultry interface was the most frequently cited wildlife–livestock interface worldwide with other interfaces reflecting regional circumstances. This review provides the most comprehensive overview of research on infectious diseases at the wildlife–livestock interface to date

Brucella suis Seroprevalence and Associated Risk Factors in Dogs in Eastern Australia, 2016 to 2019

Brucella suis is a zoonotic disease of feral pigs that also affects pig hunting dogs, pig hunters, veterinarians and veterinary staff. In recent years the incidence of B. suis in the eastern Australian states of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD) has increased. A cross-sectional study was conducted to document the seroprevalence, geographical extent and risk factors for B. suis in dogs at-risk of contracting the disease. Eligible dogs were those that were known to hunt or consume feral pig meat. Dogs were enrolled through private veterinary clinics and/or directly by District Veterinarians in six regions of NSW and QLD. Blood was collected by venepuncture and tested for B. suis antibodies using the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) followed by a Complement Fixation Test (CFT) if they returned a positive RBT. Owners were invited to complete a questionnaire on the dogs' signalment, husbandry including hunting practices and locations, and any clinical signs referable to brucellosis. Of the 317 dogs included in the prevalence survey, 21 were seropositive returning a survey-adjusted true seroprevalence of 9.3 (95% CI 0.45 to 18) B. suis positive dogs per 100 dogs at-risk. True seroprevalence ranged from 0 to 24 B. suis positive dogs per 100 across eastern Australia, with the highest prevalence in central west NSW and southern QLD. Adjusted for other factors, dogs that shared a household with other seropositive dogs and those that traveled away from their home regions to hunt were more likely to be seropositive. Clinical signs at presentation were not predictive of serostatus, with seropositive and seronegative dogs equally likely to present with signs consistent with brucellosis. The results obtained from this study show that B. suis exposure is relatively common in dogs that have contact with feral pigs, with one in 10 testing seropositive. Further studies are needed to understand the progression and risk of transmission from seropositive dogs

Livestock ownership, animal source foods and child nutritional outcomes in seven rural village clusters in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract Background Sub-Saharan Africa currently has the highest prevalence of malnutrition worldwide. In children under the age of 5\ua0years, malnutrition can have long-term effects on physical and cognitive development, with implications at the national scale. Theoretically, livestock-based interventions are well placed to overcome constraints faced by micronutrient and/or food-based interventions. However, there is limited empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. Methods This study utilised agriculture, nutrition and anthropometry data from the Millennium Villages Project to investigate relationships between livestock ownership, animal source foods (ASF) consumption and child nutritional outcomes across seven rural village clusters in Sub-Saharan Africa. Village clusters were located in different agro-ecological zones and included: Bonsaaso, Ghana; Mayange, Rwanda; Mwandama, Malawi; Tiby, Mali; Pampaida, Nigeria; Potou, Senegal; and Ruhiira, Uganda. Data from 1624 households (including 1543 children) were included in the analysis. Results Overall, the proportion of children with stunting, underweight or wasting across the seven village clusters was 40, 18 and 5%, respectively. Livestock ownership, ASF consumption and child nutritional outcomes varied between village clusters. Households that owned livestock were generally more likely to consume associated ASF. For example, the proportion of households that consumed milk was higher in households that owned cows compared to those that did not in Pampaida, Mayange and Ruhiira ( P \ua0<\ua00.05), while poultry meat consumption was generally higher in poultry-keeping households in Mayange and Ruhiira ( P \ua0<\ua00.05). The relationship between ASF consumption and anthropometric measurements was complex, ranging from positively to negatively associated depending on the food commodity and village cluster. For instance, in Ruhiira, the mean weight-for-age Z score\ua0(WAZ) was significantly higher (better) in children from households that consumed eggs in the last 30\ua0days, while in Potou, mean WAZ was significantly lower (worse) in children from households that consumed eggs in the last 30\ua0days ( P \ua0<\ua00.05). Conclusions This study contributes to the growing body of research that investigates the relationships between livestock ownership, ASF consumption and nutritional outcomes in children. Our results reveal complex patterns that vary across agro-ecological zones. More research is needed to assess seasonal variations in these factors, effects of gender roles on intra-household ..

Descriptive Comparison of ELISAs for the Detection of Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in Animals: A Systematic Review

Toxoplasma gondii is the zoonotic parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis in warm-blooded vertebrates. This systematic review compares and evaluates the available knowledge on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), their components, and performance in detecting T. gondii antibodies in animals. Four databases were searched for published scientific studies on T. gondii and ELISA, and 57 articles were included. Overall, indirect (95%) and in-house (67%) ELISAs were the most used types of test among the studies examined, but the ‘ID Screen® Toxoplasmosis Indirect Multi-species’ was common among commercially available tests. Varying diagnostic performance (sensitivity and specificity) and Kappa agreements were observed depending on the type of sample (serum, meat juice, milk), antigen (native, recombinant, chimeric) and antibody-binding reagents used. Combinations of recombinant and chimeric antigens resulted in better performance than native or single recombinant antigens. Protein A/G appeared to be useful in detecting IgG antibodies in a wide range of animal species due to its non-species-specific binding. One study reported cross-reactivity, with Hammondia hammondi and Eimeria spp. This is the first systematic review to descriptively compare ELISAs for the detection of T. gondii antibodies across different animal species

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Working Equid Lameness in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Lameness is an important concern in working equids of low- and middle-income communities (LMICs) with significant One Welfare implications. This study aims to determine the prevalence and influencing factors of lameness in working equids of LMICs. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate pooled outcome prevalence using a random intercept regression model. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis were performed through meta-regression. A meta-analysis of study factors for lameness prevalence was performed. Sixty-four studies were included in the review. The pooled prevalence of lameness was 29.9% (n = 42, 95% CI 17&ndash;47%), while the pooled prevalence of gait abnormality was 62.9% (n = 12; 95% CI 31&ndash;87%). When considering both outcomes together, the pooled prevalence was 38.4% (n = 46; 95% CI 23&ndash;57%) with a significant (p = 0.02) difference between lameness (29.5%; 95% CI 16&ndash;48%) and gait abnormality (78.8%; 95% CI 40&ndash;95%). Species, country income level, gait assessed, and risk of bias did not significantly affect the pooled prevalence. Lower body condition scores, unresponsive attitudes, and old age were the most frequently reported factors positively associated with lameness-related outcomes. Working 7 days per week was positively associated with lameness. The standardization of outcome terminology, grading systems, and study factor categorization is recommended to enable more accurate interpretation and comparison between studies

Pigs, pooches and pasteurisation The changing face of brucellosis in Australia

Brucellosis, also known as undulant, Mediterranean or Malta fever, is a systemic infection that causes fever, sweats, arthralgias and myalgias. A globally important disease, brucellosis is re-emerging in Australia in association with feral pig hunting activities.This article aims to provide clinicians with an overview of brucellosis, covering epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, management and prevention.Brucellosis should be suspected in all patients with non-specific, flu-like illness who fall into one of the major risk groups (feral pig hunters, overseas travellers and migrants). Depression is common and often severe, relative to other symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment are important for preventing complications, which include osteoarticular, genitourinary or, more rarely, neurological or cardiovascular diseases. Diagnosing acute infections is&nbsp;based on serology and blood cultures; imaging and biopsy may be required for diagnosis of focal infections. Dual therapy with doxycycline and gentamicin is the recommended treatment. Relapse occurs in up to 10% of patients. Prevention is achieved through the use of protective gear during hunting and avoidance of unpasteurised dairy products in countries where occur in animals

Horse owners’ behaviour: suspecting and reporting of Hendra virus cases

Hendra virus infection is a zoonotic disease which spreads from bats to horses and from horses to people. Transmission spillovers are rare events, but can be fatal to horses and people when they do occur. To date, HeV cases have only occurred in Queensland and northern New South Wales with a total of 83 confirmed cases in horses up to September 2018. The National Hendra Virus Research Program (NHeVRP) was funded by Commonwealth, NSW and Qld governments after a spike in Hendra virus infections in 2011. The “Horse owners and Hendra virus: a longitudinal cohort study to evaluate risk” (HHALTER) project was a component of the NHeVRP and involved collection of survey information from horse owners from 2012 to 2014. The fourth survey in a series of five included questions about owners’ attitudes to reporting a suspected Hendra case. The data are presented here using categorical analysis techniques to explore the relationships between attitudes towards reporting of a case and risk perception and demographic information. Of a total cohort of 1,449 responders, there were 613 (42%) participants responding to some or all of survey four. There were 592 responses to the question “If you saw unusual signs of disease (muscle twitching, nasal discharge etc) in one of your horses, how likely do you think you would be to... consider Hendra virus as a possibility”. Of these 81 said they would not think of Hendra as a possibility at all and 191 thought that Hendra was very or extremely likely. The findings of this study reinforce the importance of an existing/good relationships between horse owners and veterinarians and also identify that the presence of severe or unusual signs of disease would be 'drivers' for reporting a suspect HeV case. Data presented here are likely to represent a ‘best case’

Australian horse owners and their biosecurity practices in the context of Hendra virus

In recent years, outbreaks of exotic as well as newly emerging infectious diseases have highlighted the importance of biosecurity for the Australian horse industry. As the first potentially fatal zoonosis transmissible from horses to humans in Australia, Hendra virus has emphasised the need to incorporate sound hygiene and general biosecurity practices into day-to-day horse management. Recommended measures are widely publicised, but implementation is at the discretion of the individual owner. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine current levels of biosecurity of horse owners and to identify factors influencing the uptake of practices utilising data from an online survey. Level of biosecurity (low, medium, high), as determined by horse owners’ responses to a set of questions on the frequency of various biosecurity practices performed around healthy (9 items) and sick horses (10 items), was used as a composite outcome variable in ordinal logistic regression analyses. The majority of horse owners surveyed were female (90%), from the states of Queensland (45%) or New South Wales (37%), and were involved in either mainly competitive/equestrian sports (37%) or recreational horse activities (35%). Seventy-five percent of owners indicated that they follow at least one-third of the recommended practices regularly when handling their horses, resulting in medium to high levels of biosecurity. Main factors associated with a higher level of biosecurity were high self-rated standard of biosecurity, access to personal protective equipment, absence of flying foxes in the local area, a good sense of control over Hendra virus risk, likelihood of discussing a sick horse with a veterinarian and likelihood of suspecting Hendra virus in a sick horse. Comparison of the outcome variable with the self-rated standard of biosecurity showed that over- as well as underestimation occurred. This highlights the need for continuous communication and education to enhance awareness and understanding of what biosecurity is and how it aligns with good horsemanship. Overall, strengthened biosecurity practices will help to improve animal as well as human health and increase preparedness for future disease outbreaks

Australian horse owners and their biosecurity practices in the context of Hendra virus

In recent years, outbreaks of exotic as well as newly emerging infectious diseases have highlighted the importance of biosecurity for the Australian horse industry. As the first potentially fatal zoonosis transmissible from horses to humans in Australia, Hendra virus has emphasised the need to incorporate sound hygiene and general biosecurity practices into day-to-day horse management. Recommended measures are widely publicised, but implementation is at the discretion of the individual owner. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine current levels of biosecurity of horse owners and to identify factors influencing the uptake of practices utilising data from an online survey. Level of biosecurity (low, medium, high), as determined by horse owners’ responses to a set of questions on the frequency of various biosecurity practices performed around healthy (9 items) and sick horses (10 items), was used as a composite outcome variable in ordinal logistic regression analyses. The majority of horse owners surveyed were female (90%), from the states of Queensland (45%) or New South Wales (37%), and were involved in either mainly competitive/equestrian sports (37%) or recreational horse activities (35%). Seventy-five percent of owners indicated that they follow at least one-third of the recommended practices regularly when handling their horses, resulting in medium to high levels of biosecurity. Main factors associated with a higher level of biosecurity were high self-rated standard of biosecurity, access to personal protective equipment, absence of flying foxes in the local area, a good sense of control over Hendra virus risk, likelihood of discussing a sick horse with a veterinarian and likelihood of suspecting Hendra virus in a sick horse. Comparison of the outcome variable with the self-rated standard of biosecurity showed that over- as well as underestimation occurred. This highlights the need for continuous communication and education to enhance awareness and understanding of what biosecurity is and how it aligns with good horsemanship. Overall, strengthened biosecurity practices will help to improve animal as well as human health and increase preparedness for future disease outbreaks