Rift Valley Fever – epidemiological update and risk of introduction into Europe

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a vector-borne disease transmitted by a broad spectrum of mosquito species, especially Aedes and Culex genus, to animals (domestic and wild ruminants and camels) and humans. Rift Valley fever is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Arabian Peninsula, with periodic epidemics characterised by 5–15 years of inter-epizootic periods. In the last two decades, RVF was notified in new African regions (e.g. Sahel), RVF epidemics occurred more frequently and low-level enzootic virus circulation has been demonstrated in livestock in various areas. Recent outbreaks in a French overseas department and some seropositive cases detected in Turkey, Tunisia and Libya raised the attention of the EU for a possible incursion into neighbouring countries. The movement of live animals is the most important pathway for RVF spread from the African endemic areas to North Africa and the Middle East. The movement of infected animals and infected vectors when shipped by flights, containers or road transport is considered as other plausible pathways of introduction into Europe. The overall risk of introduction of RVF into EU through the movement of infected animals is very low in all the EU regions and in all MSs (less than one epidemic every 500 years), given the strict EU animal import policy. The same level of risk of introduction in all the EU regions was estimated also considering the movement of infected vectors, with the highest level for Belgium, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands (one epidemic every 228–700 years), mainly linked to the number of connections by air and sea transports with African RVF infected countries. Although the EU territory does not seem to be directly exposed to an imminent risk of RVFV introduction, the risk of further spread into countries neighbouring the EU and the risks of possible introduction of infected vectors, suggest that EU authorities need to strengthen their surveillance and response capacities, as well as the collaboration with North African and Middle Eastern countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implementation of zoning to guide management of foot and mouth disease in Tunisia

International audienceThe World Organisation for Animal Health advocates the zoning approach for the surveillance and monitoring of foot and mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious animal disease. Our purpose is to implement the zoning approach in Tunisia by identifying existing natural and artificial barriers to the movement of live animals. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based MultiCriteria Evaluation approach was developed. Eight national and international experts were asked to identify the barriers and prioritize them, characterized by a percentage weight between 0 and 100. These barriers were mapped and combined, taking into account their relative importance, to create a friction map that makes it possible to visualize areas where animal movements are restricted. Uncertainty analysis was performed to assess the robustness of the model. The results showed that the selected barriers were in order of decreasing importance: maritime borders with a weight of 33.5%, rivers (13.8%), slopes equal to or greater than 10% (13.8%), wetlands (13.3%), forests (7.7%), land borders (7.7%), railway networks (5%) and main roads (4.9%). The Cap Bon zone is the only favourable zoning area for the control of FMD in Tunisia. A regional approach resulting from this work could be a major asset in identifying regions suitable for zoning in North Africa

Estimation of canine Leishmania infection prevalence in six cities of the Algerian littoral zone using a Bayesian approach

A large-scale study on canine Leishmania infection (CanL) was conducted in six localities along a west-east transect in the Algerian littoral zone (Tlemcen, Mostaganem, Tipaza, Boumerdes, Bejaia, Jijel) and covering two sampling periods. In total 2,184 dogs were tested with an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and a direct agglutination test (DAT). Combined multiple-testing and several statistical methods were compared to estimate the CanL true prevalence and tests characteristics (sensitivity and specificity). The Bayesian full model showed the best fit and yielded prevalence estimates between 11% (Mostaganem, first period) and 38% (Bejaia, second period). Sensitivity of IFAT varied (in function of locality) between 86% and 88% while its specificity varied between 65% and 87%. DAT was less sensitive than IFAT but showed a higher specificity (between 80% and 95% in function of locality or/and season). A general increasing trend of the CanL prevalence was noted from west to east. A concordance between the present results and the incidence of human cases of visceral leishmaniasis was observed, where also a maximum was recorded for Bejaia. The results of the present study highlight the dangers when using IFAT as a gold standard

Experiences in Delivering Teaching and Learning Practices in Establishments of Veterinary Education of the Mediterranean Region Under COVID-19 Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunities

International audienceIn this study, the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic crisis on veterinary education in selected members of the Mediterranean Networkof Veterinary Education Establishments (Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Turkey, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunis) was analyzed. The challengespresented by the pandemic and new approaches and practices adopted by different veterinary education establishments in the Mediterraneanregion to address the long-term consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 on veterinary education were highlighted. Although countries in thisregion followed different epidemiological policies, restrictions of access of veterinary students to teaching hospitals, extramural facilities, andlaboratories were prolonged over the entire time during 2020 and 2021 in most of the veterinary education establishments. It could be concludedthat strengthening the existing networks of veterinary education establishments in the region by sharing experiences, standardization of curricula(regional and international accreditation), and networking are seen as an opportunity for improvement of the quality of teaching and competencein this digital era. Unfortunately, more work is still required to achieve such an ambitious agenda including galvanization of public demands for quality education, political will to implement changes, and securing financial support and other resources to continue program development across the regio

Estimates from the Hui-Walter model.

<p>Pr₁ = prevalence first period; Pr₂ = prevalence second period; Se_IFAT = sensitivity IFAT; Sp_IFAT = specificity IFAT; Se_DAT = sensitivity DAT; Sp_DAT = specificity DAT; <i>p_D</i>, <i>DIC</i> top line = values calculated from posterior values of variable nodes resp. for first period and second period, (bottom line) = values calculated from posterior probabilities</p><p>Estimates from the Hui-Walter model.</p

Apparent prevalence per locality.

<p>From top to bottom: only IFAT, only DAT, serial interpretation of the two test results and parallel interpretation of the two test results.</p

Canine <i>Leishmania</i> infection prevalence estimates according to the Hui-Walter model.

<p>Top prevalence is for first sampling period, bottom for second.</p

Canine <i>Leishmania</i> infection prevalence estimates according to full conditional test dependence model.

<p>Top prevalence is for first sampling period, bottom for second.</p

Apparent prevalence per test per sampling period per locality.

<p>From top to bottom: IFAT first period; IFAT second period; DAT first period; DAT second period.</p