Prevalence of Chlamydia abortus in Belgian ruminants

Chlamydia (C.) abortus enzootic abortion still remains the most common cause of reproductive failure in sheep-breeding countries all over the world. Chlamydia abortus in cattle is predominantly associated with genital tract disease and mastitis. In this study, Belgian sheep (n=958), goats (n=48) and cattle (n=1849) were examined, using the ID Screen (TM) Chlamydia abortus indirect multi-species antibody ELISA. In the sheep, the highest prevalence rate was found in Limburg (4.05%). The animals of Antwerp, Brabant and Liege tested negative. The prevalence in the remaining five regions was low (0.24% to 2.74%). Of the nine goat herds, only one herd in Luxembourg was seropositive. In cattle, the highest prevalence rate was found in Walloon Brabant (4.23%). The animals of Limburg and Namur tested negative. The prevalence rate in the remaining seven regions ranged between 0.39% and 4.02%

Overview of cattle diseases listed under category C, D or E in the animal health law for wich control programmes are in place within Europe

13 páginas, 5 figuras, 3 tablas.The COST action “Standardising output-based surveillance to control non-regulated diseases of cattle in the European Union (SOUND control),” aims to harmonise the results of surveillance and control programmes (CPs) for non-EU regulated cattle diseases to facilitate safe trade and improve overall control of cattle infectious diseases. In this paper we aimed to provide an overview on the diversity of control for these diseases in Europe. A non-EU regulated cattle disease was defined as an infectious disease of cattle with no or limited control at EU level, which is not included in the European Union Animal health law Categories A or B under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2002. A CP was defined as surveillance and/or intervention strategies designed to lower the incidence, prevalence, mortality or prove freedom from a specific disease in a region or country. Passive surveillance, and active surveillance of breeding bulls under Council Directive 88/407/EEC were not considered as CPs. A questionnaire was designed to obtain country-specific information about CPs for each disease. Animal health experts from 33 European countries completed the questionnaire. Overall, there are 23 diseases for which a CP exists in one or more of the countries studied. The diseases for which CPs exist in the highest number of countries are enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhoea and anthrax (CPs reported by between 16 and 31 countries). Every participating country has on average, 6 CPs (min–max: 1–13) in place. Most programmes are implemented at a national level (86%) and are applied to both dairy and non-dairy cattle (75%). Approximately one-third of the CPs are voluntary, and the funding structure is divided between government and private resources. Countries that have eradicated diseases like enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhoea have implemented CPs for other diseases to further improve the health status of cattle in their country. The control of non-EU regulated cattle diseases is very heterogenous in Europe. Therefore, the standardising of the outputs of these programmes to enable comparison represents a challenge.Peer reviewe

La convention « soins psychologiques » dans le paysage des soins de santé mentale. État des lieux de l’utilisation des soins de santé mentale remboursés et des besoins rencontrés et non-rencontrés en Belgique

En janvier 2024, une nouvelle convention soins psychologiques sera signée entre l’INAMI et les réseaux de santé mentale en continuité avec le travail entamé en 2019. L’objectif principal de la convention est de rendre les soins psychologiques plus accessibles&nbsp;: tant du point de vue financier que du point de vue de l’organisation des soins. Il est donc l’occasion de faire le point sur les premières années de mise en oeuvre et sur la place de cette convention dans le paysage des soins de santé mentale remboursés. Pour ce faire, cette étude dresse tout d’abord un bilan de la situation en matière de santé mentale en Belgique&nbsp;: non seulement en termes de besoins (enquête BELHEALTH de Sciensano), mais également en termes d’offre de soins et de son utilisation (analyse de la MC). Les résultats de l’enquête BELHEALTH, réalisée en février 2023, mettent notamment en avant un haut niveau de besoins psychologiques non rencontrés dans la population belge, principalement chez les personnes en situation de précarité financière, les femmes et les jeunes. La stigmatisation de la santé mentale et les problèmes d’accessibilité financière sont des freins à l’accès aux soins qui restent encore trop courants. L’analyse de la MC, quant à elle, permet d’observer la saturation de l’offre psychiatrique ambulatoire et le fait que les médicaments psychotropes sont très souvent utilisés sans autre forme de&nbsp;suivi.</p

De overeenkomst ‘psychologische zorg’ binnen de geestelijke gezondheidszorg. Overzicht van het gebruik van terugbetaalde geestelijke gezondheidszorg en de beantwoorde en onbeantwoorde noden in België

In januari 2024 wordt een nieuwe overeenkomst psychologische zorg ondertekend tussen het RIZIV en de netwerken voor geestelijke gezondheidszorg. Hiermee wordt het werk voortgezet dat in 2019 was gestart. Het belangrijkste doel van de overeenkomst is psychologische zorg toegankelijker te maken, zowel financieel als op het vlak van de organisatie van de zorg. Dit is dus een goed moment om de balans op te maken van de eerste jaren van uitvoering van deze overeenkomst en van haar plaats in het landschap van de terugbetaalde geestelijke gezondheidszorg. Daarom schetst deze studie vooreerst de stand van zaken van de geestelijke gezondheidszorg in België, zowel in termen van behoeften (BELHEALTHenquête van Sciensano), als in termen van zorgaanbod en het gebruik ervan (CM-analyse). De resultaten van de BELHEALTH-enquête van februari 2023 wijzen op een hoog niveau van onbeantwoorde psychologische noden (unmet needs) in de Belgische bevolking, vooral bij financieel kwetsbaren, vrouwen en jongeren. Het stigma dat aan geestelijke gezondheid kleeft en de problemen van financiële toegankelijkheid vormen nog al te vaak hinderpalen voor de toegang tot de zorg. Een CM-analyse toont dan weer aan dat de ambulante psychiatrische diensten verzadigd zijn en dat heel vaak psychotrope geneesmiddelen gebruikt worden zonder enige andere vorm van opvolging. Op basis van deze inventaris van de behoeften en van het bestaande aanbod van geestelijke gezondheidszorg, analyseren we vervolgens de reikwijdte van de nieuwe overeenkomst psychologische zorg en formuleren we enkele hypothesen over de evolutie van het gebruik&nbsp;ervan.</p

Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to determine viability of a potential Salmonella Typhimurium vaccination program in pigs in Belgium

Vaccinating pigs against Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) might be a way to control ST infections at farm level and reduce human infections. Two main issues have to be addressed before such a mandatory vaccination program can be implemented: the effective reduction of attributable human incidence has to be demonstrated and all socio-economic barriers impacting the attitude and motivation of the pig sector have to be lifted. The present research used a quantitative microbial risk assessment model to estimate the effect of different hypothetical Salmonella spp. and ST mitigation strategies on the annual prevalence of human salmonellosis along the minced pork production chain. In addition, a qualitative study aimed to list the potential concerns of the pig sector about the implementation of a hypothetical future vaccination program. The following themes were the most often mentioned: awareness, vaccine cost-benefit/effectiveness, legislation, monovalent vaccine, time and labour required to vaccinate, vaccine registration and trade restriction. Costeffectiveness and cost-benefit of vaccination were cited by all the key interviewees (n = 12). However, based on the quantitative microbial risk assessment model, vaccination alone may not be sufficiently effective to reduce the annual human salmonellosis prevalence. A combination of different control measures along the food chain, with a special focus on interventions at the slaughterhouse, might be more effective in achieving the desired goal than vaccination alone

Prime-boost strategies combining DNA and inactivated vaccines confer high immunity and protection in cattle against bovine herpesvirus-1.

&lt;p&gt;DNA vaccines have frequently been associated with poor efficacy in large animals. In the present study, one administration of an inactivated marker vaccine to cattle considerably boosted both humoral and cellular arms of the immune response primed with Bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1) DNA vaccines encoding glycoprotein D (gD) or gC+gD. Calves vaccinated according to the DNA prime-inactivated boost also showed significantly enhanced virological protection as compared to controls. The 4-logarithms reduction of virus shedding observed in primed-boosted animals was comparable to the one previously reported in calves immunized twice with marker vaccines. Intradermal immunization of cattle with DNA vaccines promoted a Th2-biased immune response but also primed a cellular component that was further boosted by the inactivated vaccine. Individual IgG2 titers of vaccinated calves were significantly correlated to IFN-gamma production. The immunization protocol described in the present study demonstrates the complementarity between DNA and conventional marker vaccines.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Delivery of DNA vaccines by agarose hydrogel implants facilitates genetic immunization in cattle.

&lt;p&gt;The present study demonstrates the interest of two slow-release systems as vaccination tools in cattle. Two experiments show that a first intradermal administration of one DNA vaccine dose combined with the slow-release of a second dose conduct to a priming of the bovine herpesvirus 1-specific immune response similar to the one generated by two discrete administrations 4 weeks apart. The first experiment demonstrates the efficacy of the slow-release system with well-characterized Alzet osmotic pumps, whereas the second experiment extends the same concept with innovative agarose hydrogel implants. These latter implants are cheaper and more convenient than the osmotic pumps or repeated intradermal administrations since they contribute to an efficient priming of the immune response in a single manipulation of the animals.&lt;/p&gt;</p