Reduction of Coxiella burnetii prevalence by vaccination of goats and sheep, the Netherlands

Recently, the number of human Q fever cases in the Netherlands increased dramatically. In response to this increase, dairy goats and dairy sheep were vaccinated against Coxiella burnetii. All pregnant dairy goats and dairy sheep in herds positive for Q fever were culled. We identified the effect of vaccination on bacterial shedding by small ruminants. On the day of culling, samples of uterine fluid, vaginal mucus, and milk were obtained from 957 pregnant animals in 13 herds. Prevalence and bacterial load were reduced in vaccinated animals compared with unvaccinated animals. These effects were most pronounced in animals during their first pregnancy. Results indicate that vaccination may reduce bacterial load in the environment and human exposure to C. burnetii

Symptom complexes in patients with seropositive arthralgia and in patients newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis: a qualitative exploration of symptom development

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore symptoms and symptom development during the earliest phases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with seropositive arthralgia and patients newly diagnosed with RA

Роль інтелектуальної культури в процесі професійної підготовки майбутнього фахівця

Зниження рівня професійної підготовки фахівців у вищих навчальних закладах сьогодні є актуальною проблемою вищої освіти на всьому пострадянському просторі. І не в останню чергу ця проблема пов’язується з рівнем інтелекту студентської молоді

Equine cervical intervertebral disc degeneration is associated with location and MRI features

Morphology of the equine cervical intervertebral disc is different from that in humans and small companion animals and published imaging data are scarcely available. The objectives of this exploratory, methods comparison study were (a) to describe MRI features of macroscopically nondegenerated and degenerated intervertebral discs (b) to test associations between spinal location and macroscopic degeneration or MRI-detected annular protrusion and between MRI-detected annular protrusion and macroscopic degeneration, and (c) to define MRI sequences for characterizing equine cervical intervertebral disc degeneration. Ex vivo MRI of intervertebral discs was performed in 11 horses with clinical signs related to the cervical region prior to macroscopic assessment. Mixed-effect logistic regression modeling included spinal location, MRI-detected annular protrusion, and presence of macroscopic degeneration with "horse" as random effect. Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were determined. Reduced signal intensity in proton density turbo SE represented intervertebral disc degeneration. Signal voids due to presence of gas and/or hemorrhage were seen in gradient echo sequences. Presence of macroscopic intervertebral disc degeneration was significantly associated with spinal location with odds being higher in the caudal (C5 to T1) versus cranial (C2 to C5) part of the cervical vertebral column. Intervertebral discs with MRI-detected annular protrusion grades 2-4 did have higher odds than with grade 1 to have macroscopic degeneration. It was concluded that MRI findings corresponded well with gross macroscopic data. Magnetic resonance imaging of the equine cervical intervertebral disc seems to be a promising technique, but its potential clinical value for live horses needs to be explored further in a larger and more diverse population of horses

Украина — член международной комиссии по блоьшим плотинам

Within Herd Test Prevalence Affects Genetic Variation in Antibody Response to Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis in Milk of Dutch Holstein-Friesians - K.J.E. van Hulzen, M. Nielen, A.P. Koets, G. de Jong, J.A.M. van Arendonk and H.C.M. Heuven. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Worldwide, classical control strategies based on hygiene and culling of infected animals have not been able to eradicate Johne’s disease. Therefore, breeding for disease resistance may be a useful tool to contribute to control the disease. In this study, genetic parameters were estimated for the presence of a Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis specific antibody response in milk of Dutch Holstein-Friesians using subsets of data based on within herd test prevalence levels. The estimated heritability ranged from 3.1% for the complete dataset to 9.7% for herds with a minimum test prevalence of 10%. Cross-validation analysis showed that breeding values were predicted most accurately using data obtained from herds with at least 2 positive tested animals, hence a heritability of 4.1% (± 0.4)

Bridging the gap between public health and primary care in prevention of cardiometabolic diseases; background of and experiences with the Prevention Consultation in The Netherlands

Background. There is an increasing need for programmatic prevention of cardiometabolic diseases (cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease). Therefore, in the Netherlands, a prevention programme linked to primary care has been developed. This initiative was supported by the national professional organizations of GPs and occupational physicians as well as three large health foundations

Estimating the proportion of clinical mastitis attributable to subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle using two multivariable statistical approaches

The aim of this study was to quantify the proportion of first bovine CM cases attributable to high composite somatic cell counts (CSCC). Cows were followed from the first CSCC measurement postpartum until CM or censoring, using survival analysis. A conditional logistic regression model was also fitted to the data with CM cows being matched to cows without CM. Both models identified high CSCC cows to have a higher risk for subsequent CM cases than low CSCC cows. The population attributable fraction was 0.22 for primiparae and 0.17 for multiparae according to the logistic regression model, while it was 0.25 in the survival analysis. The latter approach also identified that the proportion of cows without CM would increase from 89% to 93%. Both multivariable statistical approaches showed that a substantial reduction in CM can be achieved by decreasing the prevalence of high CSCC in the dairy population