Salmonella and campylobacter in organic egg production - with special reference to the Finnish situation

In Finland, an ongoing (2003-2005) research project on organic egg production, animal welfare and food safety is examining campylobacter and salmonella contamination of approximately 20 organic layer farms. Adequate biosecurity levels, lowering the number of potential zoonotic infection sources in the vicinity of hen houses and vaccination of hens against S. Enteritidis are available tools to decrease contamination of organic laying hens by campylobacters or salmonella

Organic egg production in Finland: management of animal welfare and food safety

A total of 20 out of 23 commercial organic layer farms (in excess of 80 % of all commercial Finnish organic farms year 2003) took part in the ongoing research, which identifies risk factors and potential solutions for laying hen welfare and food safety. Data was collected during two farm visits by interviewing the producer, using a semi-structured interview guide, making environment and animal-based observations and collecting samples

Organic egg production in Finland - animal health, welfare and food safety issues

A total of 20 out of 23 commercial organic layer farms took part in the research. Data were collected through observation and by interviewing the producer, using a semi-structured interview guide. Laying hen welfare was estimated using environment-based and animal-based methods. Fresh faecal samples were collected from the floor for analysis of campylobacter and salmonella bacteria and for internal parasite identification

Patient-related reasons for late surgery cancellations in a plastic and reconstructive surgery department

Late cancellations of scheduled operations cause direct and indirect costs for a hospital and economic and emotional stress for the patient. Previously, late cancellation rates for scheduled operations in plastic surgery have been shown to be attributable to patient-related causes in the majority of cases. In this retrospective study, we sought to examine specifically the patient-related reasons for the late cancellations in a plastic surgery operating theatre at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland from 2013 to 2014. We calculated latency between the date of decision for surgery and the scheduled operation day. In cases where the surgery was rescheduled and performed before 31 December 2015, the rescheduled waiting time latency was calculated. We aimed to improve our knowledge of the causes of late cancellations to further optimise the operating theatre efficiency and propose a strategic algorithm to avoid late cancellations During the study period, 327 (5.5%) of all the scheduled operations were recorded as late cancellations. Of these, 45.3% were because of patient-related issues. Acute infection, change in medical condition not noticed before and operation no longer necessary were by far the most common causes of cancellation, comprising 63.5%. Sixty-six per cent of patient-related cancelled operations were performed later, especially when the specific reason was patient's acute illness. Root-cause analysis shows that most of the underlying reasons for the cancellations can be attributed to a failure in communication. The majority of these cancellations were considered to be preventable, thus emphasising the importance of communication and skilful multi-professional planning of the operating theatre list. © 2018 The Author(s)Peer reviewe

Lipooligosaccharide locus class of Campylobacter jejuni : sialylation is not needed for invasive infection

Peer reviewe

Measures of weight distribution of dairy cows to detect lameness and the presence of hoof lesions

There is increasing interest in automated methods of detecting lame cows. Hoof lesion data and measures of weight distribution from 61 lactating cows were examined in this study. Lame cows were identified with different numerical rating scores (NRS) used as thresholds (NRS \u3e3 and NRS ≥3.5) for lameness. The ratio of weight applied to a pair of legs (LWR) when the cow was standing was calculated using a special weigh scale, and the cows were gait scored using a 1 to 5 NRS. Hoof lesions were scored and the cows placed into 1 of 4 mutually exclusive categories of hoof lesion: a) no lesions, b) moderate or severe hemorrhages, c) digital dermatitis, and d) sole ulcers. Regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the relation between hoof lesions and LWR. A clear relationship was found between NRS and LWR for the cows with sole ulcers (R2 = 0.79). The LWR could differentiate cows with sole ulcers from sound cows with no hoof lesions [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.87] and lame cows from nonlame cows with lameness thresholds NRS \u3e3 (AUC = 0.71) and NRS ≥3.5 (AUC = 0.88). There was no relationship between LWR and NRS for cows with digital dermatitis. Measurement of how cows distribute their weight when standing holds promise as a method of automated detection of lameness

Measures of weight distribution of dairy cows to detect lameness and the presence of hoof lesions

There is increasing interest in automated methods of detecting lame cows. Hoof lesion data and measures of weight distribution from 61 lactating cows were examined in this study. Lame cows were identified with different numerical rating scores (NRS) used as thresholds (NRS \u3e3 and NRS ≥3.5) for lameness. The ratio of weight applied to a pair of legs (LWR) when the cow was standing was calculated using a special weigh scale, and the cows were gait scored using a 1 to 5 NRS. Hoof lesions were scored and the cows placed into 1 of 4 mutually exclusive categories of hoof lesion: a) no lesions, b) moderate or severe hemorrhages, c) digital dermatitis, and d) sole ulcers. Regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the relation between hoof lesions and LWR. A clear relationship was found between NRS and LWR for the cows with sole ulcers (R2 = 0.79). The LWR could differentiate cows with sole ulcers from sound cows with no hoof lesions [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.87] and lame cows from nonlame cows with lameness thresholds NRS \u3e3 (AUC = 0.71) and NRS ≥3.5 (AUC = 0.88). There was no relationship between LWR and NRS for cows with digital dermatitis. Measurement of how cows distribute their weight when standing holds promise as a method of automated detection of lameness

Severe diarrhoea caused by highly ciprofloxacin-susceptible Campylobacter isolates

AbstractThe impact of fluoroquinolone resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates on the outcome of the disease in sporadic Campylobacter infections of Finnish individuals was studied. Questionnaires were sent, during a 6-month study period, to patients who were stool culture-positive for Campylobacter spp. In total, 192 returned questionnaires were analysed and assessed, together with the susceptibility data of the respective bacterial isolates. Only one (2%) of the domestic, but half of the imported, Campylobacter isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin resistance was not associated with particularly severe infection. Instead, ciprofloxacin-susceptible Campylobacter isolates, as compared to ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates, showed a tendency to cause more severe infections, characterized by bloody stools and hospitalization

A cultured strain of "Helicobacter heilmannii," a human gastric pathogen, identified as H. bizzozeronii: evidence for zoonotic potential of Helicobacter.

We compared the characteristics of a cultured human "Helicobacter heilmannii" isolate with those of other helicobacters found in animals. Phenotypic, protein profile, 16S rDNA sequence, and DNA-DNA hybridization analyses identified the human strain as H. bizzozeronii, a species frequently found in dogs. Thus, H. bizzozeronii may have zoonotic potential

The effect of milk feeding method on calves' behavioural sleep

Our aim was to study how calves' sleep could be affected by the milk feeding and housing methods. We concluded that possibility to suck milk increased the amount of calves' behavioural quiet sleep and sleepiness after feeding, possibly due to suck-induced hormonal effects