Impact of foot-and-mouth disease on mastitis and culling on a large-scale dairy farm in Kenya

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly transmissible viral infection of cloven hooved animals associated with severe economic losses when introduced into FMD-free countries. Information on the impact of the disease in FMDV-endemic countries is poorly characterised yet essential for the prioritisation of scarce resources for disease control programmes. A FMD (virus serotype SAT2) outbreak on a large-scale dairy farm in Nakuru County, Kenya provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of FMD on clinical mastitis and culling rate. A cohort approach followed animals over a 12-month period after the commencement of the outbreak. For culling, all animals were included; for mastitis, those over 18 months of age. FMD was recorded in 400/644 cattle over a 29-day period. During the follow-up period 76 animals were culled or died whilst in the over 18 month old cohort 63 developed clinical mastitis. Hazard ratios (HR) were generated using Cox regression accounting for non-proportional hazards by inclusion of time-varying effects. Univariable analysis showed FMD cases were culled sooner but there was no effect on clinical mastitis. After adjusting for possible confounders and inclusion of time-varying effects there was weak evidence to support an effect of FMD on culling (HR = 1.7, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.88-3.1, P = 0.12). For mastitis, there was stronger evidence of an increased rate in the first month after the onset of the outbreak (HR = 2.9, 95%CI 0.97-8.9, P = 0.057)

Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Brazil Esclerose lateral amiotrófica em casais no Brasil

The origin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remains unknown, although it seems to be multifactorial. The role of environmental factors has been frequently investigated and suspicion of its influence can be obtained when clusters of a rare disease are described. OBJECTIVE: To describe conjugal cases of ALS in Brazil. METHOD: We describe 2 couples in which both spouses were affected by ALS. Both couples had lived in southeast Brazil and were married for at least 20 years. RESULTS: There was a great variability in clinical presentation of ALS in our patients. In both couples the interval between disease onsets was short. No precise environmental factors could be identified at the origin of these conjugal cases. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of ALS in couples living in the same area may be epidemiologically important, but we cannot exclude that cases may be due to a chance association.<br>A origem da esclerose lateral amiotrófica (ELA) permanece desconhecida. O papel de fatores ambientais tem sido freqüentemente investigado e a suspeição de sua influência pode ser obtida quando são descritas salvas de casos de uma doença rara. OBJETIVO: Descrever casos de ELA em casais no Brasil. MÉTODO: Apresentamos dois casais em que ambos os cônjuges forma acometidos pela ELA. Ambos os casais residiram na região sudeste do Brasil e estiveram casados por pelo menos 20 anos. RESULTADOS: Houve grande variabilidade na apresentação clínica da ELA em nossos pacientes. Em ambos os casais, o intervalo de início da doença foi curto. Nenhum fator ambiental foi identificado na etiologia destes casos conjugais. CONCLUSÃO: A ocorrência de ELA em casais que habitam a mesma região pode ser epidemiologicamente importante, mas não podemos excluir que estes casos tenham sido mera associação