No difference in paratuberculosis seroprevalence between organic and conventional dairy herds in the Netherlands

Purpose. Paratuberculosis or Johne’s disease in cattle is considered to play a role in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease in humans. Whether organic production may influence the prevalence of paratuberculosis in dairy herds was not known until now and was therefore the purpose of our study. Methods. Blood samples were taken in 2003 from cows older than three years, originating from 76 organic dairy herds. Samples were tested for antibodies against Mycobacterium paratuberculosis using an ELISA. Data were compared with a similar analysis performed by the Animal Health Service on 579 dairy farms participating in the National Dutch Paratuberculosis Program, which includes a few organic herds. Results. The mean number of animals tested was 48 and 56 for the organic versus the control group, respectively. Of the 3688 organic sera tested, 43 revealed the presence of M. paratuberculosis antibodies. These seropositive animals originated from 22 farms (28.9 %). Fourteen farms (18.4 %) only had one seropositive animal. Two farms had 6 seropositive animals. In the control group 197 farms had seropositive animals (34 %), which was not statistically significant from the organic farms. In the control group 107 farms only had one seropositive animal (18.5 %), which was also not different as compared to the organic group. Conclusions. These data show that the incidence of Johne’s disease is not different between organic and regular dairy herds. The slightly higher incidence in the control group may be due to the fact that the number of animals tested per farm was larger. Grants: This study was supported by a grant (LNV program-PO-34) from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Qualit

Characteristics of Organic Pig Production and risk analysis concerning Toxoplasma infection

A short written questionnaire was used to study certain characteristics of the organic pig production chain in The Netherlands and the circumstances on the farm that might play a role in the transmission of Toxoplasma infection to the pigs. Of the 81 certified organic slaughter pig farmers present in the Netherlands in 2006, 52 responded to the questionnaire (64 % response). The farms could be divided into two populations. One population was represented by small organic pig farms with a mean number of 55 slaughtered pigs per year. These farms covered 40% of the total number of investigated farms, but only represented 2.5 % of the total number of slaughtered pigs. The second population had a mean annual production of 1460 animals. Almost 95% of these animals are currently slaughtered and further distributed by the Vion Food Group (de Groene Weg). A small part of the pigs (4%) is directly delivered to a slaughter company in Germany (Thönes) and 1% is sold via farm home sales. For each farm an arbitrary Toxoplasma risk factor analysis was performed. Factors included the type of outdoor run (concrete or soil), feeding goat or sheep whey, number of cats, access of cats to outdoor run, stables and feed, rodent control and covering roughage fed to the animals. Calculation of the total risk score (summation of chance times severity scores for several factors) showed that many farmers already used management factors that decreased the risk for Toxoplasma infection. Analysis of a possible relation between risk score and farm size showed that a poor score was often seen on small farms. Because these farms mainly sell their meat in a frozen condition via home sales, this is not considered to represent a problem for food safety. Further research is needed to investigate whether the risk for Toxoplasma can be maintained via on farm prevention or whether a Toxoplasma monitoring program should be implemented at slaughter, possibly with post slaughter decontamination. The fact that a recent report by the RIVM on food related infections has concluded that Toxoplasmosis has a markedly higher disease burden than Campylobacter or Salmonella, emphasizes the priority this subject should be given on the research agenda

Role of rodents in transmission of Salmonella and Campylobacter

Salmonella and Campylobacter are generally regarded as the most important food-borne pathogens in the world. Reduction or elimination of these pathogens in the first part of the food chain (on the farm) is important to prevent disease among consumers of animal products. In organic farming, elimination becomes more difficult, as food animals are allowed outdoors and have easy access to potential sources of hazardous pathogens. Whilst rodents are often associated by organic farmers with infrastructural damage and eating or spoiling of stored feed and products, their zoonotic risks are frequently underestimated. They can amplify the number of pathogens in the environment and transfer them to food animals. Thus organic farmers should be aware of the need for rodent control from a food safety perspective. Preferably, rodent control should form an integral part of a total package of hygiene measures to prevent transfer of food-borne pathogens. These should also include e.g. control of wild birds and flies and obligatory disinfection of boots/clothes and equipment for farm workers and visitors

Vliegenbestrijding in de biologische varkenshouderij: een enquête en evaluatie van een meetmethode = Fly control on organic pig farms: a survey and evaluation of a monitoring method

Organic farming is associated with biological solutions for pest control. Flies can be such a nuisance on organic pig farms that the farmers turn to chemical weapons for controlling the problem. This became apparent after an interview of 39 organic pig farmers. Half of the farmers used chemicals to control flies and only five mentioned the use of natural predators. Manure management on many farms was irregular and was not adequate for optimal fly control. Some farmers circulated the manure in an attempt to drown fly larvae and pupae. Monitoring methods to quantitate flies in the stables showed that the sticky traps was preferred over the spotcard method

Animal-friendly production systems may cause re-emergence of Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasmosis is still one of the most common parasitic infections in the world, although in Europe improvements in hygiene and the introduction of ‘total’ indoor farming in livestock production have rapidly diminished the problem during the past decades. As a result of public dislike, however, introduction of alternative and more acceptable animal-friendly livestock production systems including outdoor access are gaining ground. Potentially these systems can lead to increased prevalence of certain zoonotic diseases, including Toxoplasmosis. To retain prevalence of this disease in humans at current levels, emphasis should be on disease control at farm-level. This article provides an analysis of various risk factors for farm animals to get infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Access of cats to the farm premises, the use of compost and goat whey, and rodent control were identified as possible risk factors that should be addressed. Consumers should be aware of the fact that Toxoplasma infection, besides through meat, can also be caused by the uptake of contaminated water, soil, fruit and vegetables

Toxoplasma gondii infecties in de varkenshouderij : verslag van een inventariserende telefonische enquête betreffende de aanwezigheid van risicofactoren bij biologische en scharrelvarkenshouders

Per telefoon is navraag gedaan naar het voorkomen van risicofactoren als katten op het bedrijf, muizen en ratten, oppervlaktewater als drinkwater, mogelijkheden voor besmetting via het voer, en mogelijkheden voor besmetting via de uitloop van varkens

Controlling risks of pathogen transmission by flies on organic pig farms - A review

Fly prevention and control on animal production units is necessary to prevent the transmission of pathogens that could affect animal and human health and the maintenance of good hygiene. Organic farmers are often hesitant to apply insecticides for this purpose because of their farming philosophy. Organic production systems are relatively open as pigs generally have access to the outdoors. Here, we investigate the need for fly control and analyse various possibilities that organic farmers have to reduce the number of flies on their farms. We conclude that although biological control looks promising, more research should be done concerning its side effects. Currently, optimal monitoring and prevention seem to offer the best solution

No association of CTLA-4 polymorphisms with susceptibility to Behcet disease

Background: Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is a key negative regulator of T lymphocytes and has been shown to be associated with a number of autoimmune diseases. The present study was performed to assess the association between CTLA-4 polymorphisms and Behcet disease (BD) in Chinese patients. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-eight BD patients and 207 controls were analysed for four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (21661A/G, 2318C/T, + 49G/A and CT60G/A) in the CTLA-4 gene by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The association between SNP +49A/G and BD in Chinese population as well as other ethnic groups was analysed by meta-analysis. Results: No association could be detected between CTLA-4 SNPs or haplotypes and BD. Also, no association was observed between CTLA-4 polymorphisms and BD subgroups, stratified by clinical features. A meta-analysis showed that there was no heterogeneity between studies (p = 0.60, I-2 = 0%) and that CTLA-4 SNP + 49 was not associated with BD (overall effect: Z = 0.26, p = 0.79). Conclusion: This study and a meta-analysis failed to demonstrate any association between the tested CTLA-4 polymorphisms and B

Animal health in organic livestock production systems: a review

Organic livestock production is a means of food production with a large number of rules directed towards a high status of animal welfare, care for the environment, restricted use of medical drugs and the production of a healthy product without residues (pesticides or medical drugs). The intentions of organic livestock production have been formulated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and were further implemented by EU regulation 2092/91 in the year 2000. The consequences of these rules for the health of the animals were not yet fully anticipated at the time these regulations were made and it has become clear that in some cases the rules are not clear enough, thereby even hampering the development of the production system. In this review we shall discuss the implications of these rules for animal health, whereby we shall focus on pig, poultry and dairy production systems. Disease prevention in organic farming is based on the principles that an animal that is allowed to exhibit natural behaviour is not subject to stress, is fed optimal (organic) feed, and will have a higher ability to cope with infections than animals reared in a conventional way. Fewer medical treatments would thus be necessary and if an animal would become diseased, alternative treatments instead of conventional drugs should be preferred. Although homeopathy or phytotherapy are recommended according to prevailing regulations, not many organic farmers use this treatment regimen because of lack of scientific evidence of effectiveness. Important health problems in organic livestock farming are often related to the outdoor access area, exposing the animals to various viral, bacterial and parasitic infections some of which may only influence the animals’ own welfare whereas other ones may also endanger the health of conventional livestock (e.g. Avian Influenza) or pose a food safety (Campylobacter, Toxoplasma) problem to the consumer. Many preventive measures can be taken, such as using better animal breeds, optimized rearing conditions, pre- and probiotics, and addition of acids to the drinking water. In case of infectious disease, tight vaccination schedules may prevent serious outbreaks

Cats and Goat Whey Associated with Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Pigs

In organic livestock production systems, farm-management factors are thought to play an important role in the on-farm prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii. Serological results and the results of an HACCP analysis were combined to determine important risk factors for the prevalence of this protozoan parasite. Mathematical analysis demonstrated that feeding goat whey to pigs and the presence of a high number of cats were positively correlated to T. gondii seroprevalence in pigs. Not covering roughage and the farmers' assumption that pigs can come into contact with cat feces also showed a positive relationship. In order to decrease the risk of T. gondii infecting their pigs, farmers should limit the access and number of cats on their farms and refrain from feeding goat whey to their pigs