Risk assessment for Toxoplasma gondii in the Danish pig industry

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is capable of infecting most mammals including man. In humans, toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic but may have serious consequences for pregnant women or immuno-compromised patients. Contact with infected cats and cat litter, contaminated soil and Infected meat are risk factors for toxoplasmosis. Although the prevalence of Toxoplasma in pig production has declined significantly dunng the past 30 years, it has recently been suggested that a large part of human cases of toxoplasmosis may be ascribed to meat, mcluding pork and pork products. Moreover, perinatal screening of pregnant women and infants for Toxoplasma has proven to be of limited value. This has raised the question of how to survey for Toxoplasma· in humans or meat? Therefore, the role of meat, including pigs and pork, as a risk factor for human toxoplasmosis was assessed by the Danish Meat Association . The release assessment showed that outdoor-reared pigs as well as sows and boars were at higher risk of infection with Toxoplasma. With respect to exposure, consumption of mildly cured pork products and inadequately heat-treated pork were associated with increased risk. Knowledge on elimination or survival of Toxoplasma in cured pork products is sparse, which is unsatisfactory given current trends toward lower salt content and lower cooking temperatures. It was concluded that, aside from consumption of raw pork, which is rare in Denmark and not recommended for other reasons, certain mildly cured ready-to-eat pork products, that have not been heat-treated, may constitute a risk for toxoplasmosis, if not frozen prior to manufacturing. Information on the effects of cunng on survival of Toxoplasma in meat is sparse and therefore deserves further research. However, most of the pork used for manufacturing in Denmark onginates from pigs raised indoors and for logistic reasons it is frozen prior to processing, thereby reducing the risk for human toxoplasmosis

NEW HEALTHY MEAT PRODUCTS CONTAINING VEGETABLES

The aim of this study was to develop new healthy meat products that can create a new market platform, for example a new meat snack product. Two new healthy meat spreads consisting of 40% pork and 40-50% butternut and carrot or green pea and split pea were developed. The products can, for example, be used as a dip for snacks or as a sandwich spread. The products had a very low fat content between 0.7-3.8%, a low salt level (1.1%) and a protein content between 11.3-14.8%. The products were produced by chopping pork filet, vegetables and seasoning and mixing them to a smooth texture. The products were either pasteurised/vacuum-packed or preserved by addition of 1% sodium lactate and MA-packed. The MA-packed product had a shelf-life between 7-21 days, and the pasteurised product a shelf-life of at least 28 days. A sensory test showed a significant increase in sour taste in the pea product after 21 days' storage at 5°C, whereas few changes were observed in the butternut products. A consumer test showed that pea spread was the most preferred product. For consumption, most consumers chose dip (54%) or sandwich spread (46%) as the best use for the spreads

The Evolutionary Dynamics of the Lion Panthera leo Revealed by Host and Viral Population Genomics

The lion Panthera leo is one of the world's most charismatic carnivores and is one of Africa's key predators. Here, we used a large dataset from 357 lions comprehending 1.13 megabases of sequence data and genotypes from 22 microsatellite loci to characterize its recent evolutionary history. Patterns of molecular genetic variation in multiple maternal (mtDNA), paternal (Y-chromosome), and biparental nuclear (nDNA) genetic markers were compared with patterns of sequence and subtype variation of the lion feline immunodeficiency virus (FIVPle), a lentivirus analogous to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In spite of the ability of lions to disperse long distances, patterns of lion genetic diversity suggest substantial population subdivision (mtDNA ΦST = 0.92; nDNA FST = 0.18), and reduced gene flow, which, along with large differences in sero-prevalence of six distinct FIVPle subtypes among lion populations, refute the hypothesis that African lions consist of a single panmictic population. Our results suggest that extant lion populations derive from several Pleistocene refugia in East and Southern Africa (∼324,000–169,000 years ago), which expanded during the Late Pleistocene (∼100,000 years ago) into Central and North Africa and into Asia. During the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (∼14,000–7,000 years), another expansion occurred from southern refugia northwards towards East Africa, causing population interbreeding. In particular, lion and FIVPle variation affirms that the large, well-studied lion population occupying the greater Serengeti Ecosystem is derived from three distinct populations that admixed recently

Pan-African Genetic Structure in the African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer): Investigating Intraspecific Divergence

The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) exhibits extreme morphological variability, which has led to controversies about the validity and taxonomic status of the various recognized subspecies. The present study aims to clarify these by inferring the pan-African spatial distribution of genetic diversity, using a comprehensive set of mitochondrial D-loop sequences from across the entire range of the species. All analyses converged on the existence of two distinct lineages, corresponding to a group encompassing West and Central African populations and a group encompassing East and Southern African populations. The former is currently assigned to two to three subspecies (S. c. nanus, S. c. brachyceros, S. c. aequinoctialis) and the latter to a separate subspecies (S. c. caffer). Forty-two per cent of the total amount of genetic diversity is explained by the between-lineage component, with one to seventeen female migrants per generation inferred as consistent with the isolation-with-migration model. The two lineages diverged between 145 000 to 449 000 years ago, with strong indications for a population expansion in both lineages, as revealed by coalescent-based analyses, summary statistics and a star-like topology of the haplotype network for the S. c. caffer lineage. A Bayesian analysis identified the most probable historical migration routes, with the Cape buffalo undertaking successive colonization events from Eastern toward Southern Africa. Furthermore, our analyses indicate that, in the West-Central African lineage, the forest ecophenotype may be a derived form of the savanna ecophenotype and not vice versa, as has previously been proposed. The African buffalo most likely expanded and diverged in the late to middle Pleistocene from an ancestral population located around the current-day Central African Republic, adapting morphologically to colonize new habitats, hence developing the variety of ecophenotypes observed today

Risk assessment for Toxoplasma gondii in the Danish pig industry

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is capable of infecting most mammals including man. In humans, toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic but may have serious consequences for pregnant women or immuno-compromised patients. Contact with infected cats and cat litter, contaminated soil and Infected meat are risk factors for toxoplasmosis. Although the prevalence of Toxoplasma in pig production has declined significantly dunng the past 30 years, it has recently been suggested that a large part of human cases of toxoplasmosis may be ascribed to meat, mcluding pork and pork products. Moreover, perinatal screening of pregnant women and infants for Toxoplasma has proven to be of limited value. This has raised the question of how to survey for Toxoplasma· in humans or meat? Therefore, the role of meat, including pigs and pork, as a risk factor for human toxoplasmosis was assessed by the Danish Meat Association . The release assessment showed that outdoor-reared pigs as well as sows and boars were at higher risk of infection with Toxoplasma. With respect to exposure, consumption of mildly cured pork products and inadequately heat-treated pork were associated with increased risk. Knowledge on elimination or survival of Toxoplasma in cured pork products is sparse, which is unsatisfactory given current trends toward lower salt content and lower cooking temperatures. It was concluded that, aside from consumption of raw pork, which is rare in Denmark and not recommended for other reasons, certain mildly cured ready-to-eat pork products, that have not been heat-treated, may constitute a risk for toxoplasmosis, if not frozen prior to manufacturing. Information on the effects of cunng on survival of Toxoplasma in meat is sparse and therefore deserves further research. However, most of the pork used for manufacturing in Denmark onginates from pigs raised indoors and for logistic reasons it is frozen prior to processing, thereby reducing the risk for human toxoplasmosis.</p

Mercaptopurine/Methotrexate Maintenance Therapy of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia:Clinical Facts and Fiction

The antileukemic mechanisms of 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) and methotrexate (MTX) maintenance therapy are poorly understood, but the benefits of several years of myelosuppressive maintenance therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia are well proven. Currently, there is no international consensus on drug dosing. Because of significant interindividual and intraindividual variations in drug disposition and pharmacodynamics, vigorous dose adjustments are needed to obtain a target degree of myelosuppression. As the normal white blood cell counts vary by patients’ ages and ethnicity, and also within age groups, identical white blood cell levels for 2 patients may not reflect the same treatment intensity. Measurements of intracellular levels of cytotoxic metabolites of 6MP and MTX can identify nonadherent patients, but therapeutic target levels remains to be established. A rise in serum aminotransferase levels during maintenance therapy is common and often related to high levels of methylated 6MP metabolites. However, except for episodes of hypoglycemia, serious liver dysfunction is rare, the risk of permanent liver damage is low, and aminotransferase levels usually normalize within a few weeks after discontinuation of therapy. 6MP and MTX dose increments should lead to either leukopenia or a rise in aminotransferases, and if neither is experienced, poor treatment adherence should be considered. The many genetic polymorphisms that determine 6MP and MTX disposition, efficacy, and toxicity have precluded implementation of pharmacogenomics into treatment, the sole exception being dramatic 6MP dose reductions in patients who are homozygous deficient for thiopurine methyltransferase, the enzyme that methylates 6MP and several of its metabolites. In conclusion, maintenance therapy is as important as the more intensive and toxic earlier treatment phases, and often more challenging. Ongoing research address the applicability of drug metabolite measurements for dose adjustments, extensive host genome profiling to understand diversity in treatment efficacy and toxicity, and alternative thiopurine dosing regimens to improve therapy for the individual patient