The cost-benefit of salmonella control in Swedish pigs

Analysis of the expected costs and benefits of salmonella control pre-harvest in the pork production has been performed on EU level (1). As optimal measures to begin salmonella control in pig production in a high prevalence situation are not known, estimates of the costs for initiating such a control include large uncertainties. However the costs for running a salmonella control program can be estimated in countries where such programs are in place. In Sweden, where approximately 3 million pigs are slaughtered yearly and the prevalence of salmonella is low, the cost of the control is shared by the tax payers and the producers

Cross-validation of generic risk assessment tools for animal disease incursion based on a case study for African swine fever

In recent years, several generic risk assessment (RA) tools have been developed that can be applied to assess the incursion risk of multiple infectious animal diseases allowing for a rapid response to a variety of newly emerging or re-emerging diseases. Although these tools were originally developed for different purposes, they can be used to answer similar or even identical risk questions. To explore the opportunities for cross-validation, seven generic RA tools were used to assess the incursion risk of African swine fever (ASF) to the Netherlands and Finland for the 2017 situation and for two hypothetical scenarios in which ASF cases were reported in wild boar and/or domestic pigs in Germany. The generic tools ranged from qualitative risk assessment tools to stochastic spatial risk models but were all parameterized using the same global databases for disease occurrence and trade in live animals and animal products. A comparison of absolute results was not possible, because output parameters represented different endpoints, varied from qualitative probability levels to quantitative numbers, and were expressed in different units. Therefore, relative risks across countries and scenarios were calculated for each tool, for the three pathways most in common (trade in live animals, trade in animal products, and wild boar movements) and compared. For the 2017 situation, all tools evaluated the risk to the Netherlands to be higher than Finland for the live animal trade pathway, the risk to Finland the same or higher as the Netherlands for the wild boar pathway, while the tools were inconclusive on the animal products pathway. All tools agreed that the hypothetical presence of ASF in Germany increased the risk to the Netherlands, but not to Finland. The ultimate aim of generic RA tools is to provide risk-based evidence to support risk managers in making informed decisions to mitigate the incursion risk of infectious animal diseases. The case study illustrated that conclusions on the ASF risk were similar across the generic RA tools, despite differences observed in calculated risks. Hence, it was concluded that the cross-validation contributed to the credibility of their results.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Serum amyloid A (SAA) as a marker of inflammation in the horse : biochemical, experimental and clinical studies

Objective assessment of infectious and non-infectious inflammation is of value in many areas of equine clinical practice and research. The aims of this thesis were to establish methods for purification, characterisation and quantitative measurement of the acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) and to evaluate its usefulness as a marker of inflammation in the horse.Equine SAA was purified using a four-step chromatographic procedure based on hydrophobic interaction chromatography, gel filtration and strong cation exchange chromatography. Further characterisation using two-dimensional electrophoresis, Western blotting and amino acid sequence analysis revealed three acute phase isoforms of equine SAA with isoelectric points of 8.0, 9.0 and 9.7 and differences in their amino acid sequences at positions 16,44 and 59.Purified SAA was used as primary standard in a non-competitive chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay, in which affinity purified anti-equine amyloid A was used for coating and detection. An acute phase serum, calibrated against the primary standard, was used as working standard. The detection limit was 0.5 mg/L, and the assay had a working range of3-1210 mg/L and could be performed in approximately three hours.In the clinical evaluation the SAA responses in non-infectious inflammation (surgery and experimental non-infectious arthritis) and infections (acute equine influensavirus infection in adult horses and septicaemia, Rhodococcus egui-pneumonia and rotavirus diarrhoea in the foal) were investigated.The evaluation revealed prominent SAA responses in non-infectious inflammation, with maximal concentrations two days after induction and a return to normal concentrations within one (castration) or two (arthritis) weeks.Acute influensavirus infection elicited an SAA response with increasing concentrations during the first 48 hours of clinical signs of disease and a return to normal concentrations within 2-3 weeks.Foals with bacterial infections had significantly higher SAA concentrations compared to foals with non-bacterial or uncertain diagnoses.In conclusion, SAA responded prominently to tissue damage and infection and has the potential ofbeing useful as a marker ofinflammation in the horse

Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Choleraesuis in a Swedish gilt-producing herd, a case report

BackgroundWhen Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Choleraesuis (S. Choleraesuis) was detected in faecal samples collected within the Swedish Salmonella surveillance program from a gilt multiplying herd in September 2020, S. Choleraesuis had not been detected in domestic pigs or wild boar in Sweden for over 40 years. This report describes the subsequent investigation, identification of possible entry routes and measures undertaken to eliminate the pathogen from the herd.Case presentationIn accordance with Swedish regulations, pig movements to and from the farm were restricted, internal biosecurity measures were enhanced, and a test-and-remove strategy was implemented. Testing included repeated faecal sampling, tissue samplings from all dead or euthanized pigs, and serological sampling of replacement gilts. Epidemiological investigations included scrutinising of production records, employee interviews, analysing feed and environmental samples, faecal samples from the herd's purebred gilt supplier, and tissue and faecal samples from wild boars in the adjacent area. Testing of in-contact herds receiving gilts (n = 15) or 30-kg pigs (n = 7) from the multiplier included whole-herd faecal sampling and tissue cultures from pigs that died with signs of septicaemia. In total, S. Choleraesuis was detected in 12/4200 faecal and 5/1350 tissue samples from the herd, and the corresponding groups of pigs were euthanized. All feed and environmental samples as well as samples from the gilt supplier were negative. Testing of contact herds resulted in the identification and culling of one group of S. Choleraesuis-positive gilts. Replacement gilts introduced to the herd from January until May 2021 remained serologically negative during a surveillance-period of five months.ConclusionAlthough speculative, the epidemiological investigation identified indirect transmission from wild boar as possible source of introduction to the herd. Whole-genome sequencing of S. Choleraesuis isolates from wild boar in the area showed that they clustered with isolates from the herd. Repeated testing of the herd indicated that the test-and-remove strategy was successful. In August 2021, all restrictions were removed, and the herd was re-instated as a gilt producing herd. Compensation from the Swedish state to the farmer for production losses, culled animals and extra costs associated with the elimination cost totalled SEK 7 992 234

First Detection of Salmonella enterica Serovar Choleraesuis in Free Ranging European Wild Boar in Sweden

Following the first detection of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, serovar Choleraesuis (S. Choleraesuis) in a Swedish pig herd for more than 40 years and subsequent detection of the same serotype in an enclosure with kept wild boar, a national surveillance for S. Choleraesuis in free living wild boar was launched. A total of 633 wild boar sampled within the active and the enhanced passive surveillance were examined for Salmonella enterica serovars by culture. Of these, 80 animals were culture positive for S. Choleraesuis var. Kunzendorf. All positive animals, including those in the original outbreaks, originated from counties located in the southern and eastern parts of Sweden. Fifty-eight isolates were selected for sequence typing, revealing a relatively homogenous population of S. Choleraesuis with two distinct genetic clusters containing isolates from the southern counties in one and the counties further northeast in the other. Sequenced isolates from domestic pig farms all clustered with wild boar in the same region. S. Choleraesuis appears highly contagious in dense wild boar populations, making it a relevant model for other infectious diseases that may be transmitted to pigs. The many potential routes of introduction and spread of S. Choleraesuis warrant further investigations in order to prepare for other disease threats

The cost-benefit of salmonella control in Swedish pigs

Analysis of the expected costs and benefits of salmonella control pre-harvest in the pork production has been performed on EU level (1). As optimal measures to begin salmonella control in pig production in a high prevalence situation are not known, estimates of the costs for initiating such a control include large uncertainties. However the costs for running a salmonella control program can be estimated in countries where such programs are in place. In Sweden, where approximately 3 million pigs are slaughtered yearly and the prevalence of salmonella is low, the cost of the control is shared by the tax payers and the producers.</p

Arachidonate 15-Lipoxygenase Enzyme Products Increase Platelet Aggregation and Thrombin Generation

<div><p>Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. We have previously shown that arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase B (ALOX15B) is highly expressed in atherosclerotic carotid plaques, and elucidation of mechanisms downstream of activated lipoxygenases may be relevant to our understanding of the genesis of atherosclerotic diseases. We examined 120 carotid plaques from patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis and showed that the extent of ALOX15B staining was significantly increased in carotid plaques with thrombosis. Impedance aggregometry analyses showed that the ALOX15B enzyme products 15-HETE and 15-HPETE increased platelet aggregation. By using a calibrated automatic thrombin assay, we showed that the ALOX15B products also increased both peak levels of thrombin and the total endogenous thrombin potential. Moreover, platelet aggregation was increased by addition of cell lysates from ischemic human macrophages, whereas platelet aggregation was reduced after knockdown of ALOX15B in human macrophages. Our data show that ALOX15B expression in human carotid plaques is associated with thrombus formation and that enzyme products of ALOX15B increase platelet aggregation and thrombin generation. We therefore propose that activated ALOX15B in macrophages may play a role in the induction of atherothrombotic events by increasing platelet aggregation and thrombin generation.</p></div

ALOX15B is present in atherosclerotic plaques. Serial sections of atherosclerotic plaques from the carotid artery of patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis (n = 120) were stained with antibodies against ALOX15B and counterstained with Mayer's hematoxylin.

<p>A representative section is shown in (<b>A</b>). (<b>B</b>) ALOX15B staining in plaques with thrombosis (n = 46) and without thrombosis (n = 74). (<b>C</b>) ALOX15B staining in plaques from patients diagnosed with stroke (n = 62) or TIA (n = 31). (<b>D</b>) ALOX15B staining in plaques classified according to AHA classes: III n = 5; IV n = 38; V n = 18; VI n = 59 (AHA class VI indicates complicated lesions with ruptured fibrous cap and/or surface thrombus). Data are mean ± SEM.</p

Patient and plaque characteristics (n = 120).

<p>AHA class, classification of plaques according to American Heart Association.</p