Local versus National News about COVID-19 in Spain:Coverage and Public Engagement

In this study, we evaluated the differences between national and local newspapers coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain using a dataset of 421,438 Facebook posts. We assessed the trends in the interest in COVID-19 of local and national newspapers, measured as the proportion of COVID-19 news; and also, the trends in the interest of their readers, measured as the proportion of interactions related to COVID-19. While the overall interest in COVID-19 in local and national newspapers was similar and high, some differences were observed between several of the pandemic phases. National news media interest was higher during the long central phases of the pandemic, but certain news fatigue was observed by the end of 2021. Local news media interest seemed more constant throughout the pandemic. Surprisingly, the overall interest of national and local newspapers was consistently lower than the interest of their readers. Our study also shows homogenous responses among local newspapers during the key phases of the pandemic and heterogeneous responses in the remaining phases. Finally, we found that in the case of local media, their news and interactions were more correlated with the national epidemiological indicators (i.e., cases and deaths) than with the local indicators.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Trends in the interest in COVID-19 news of the local media and their readers: The case of Spain

The COVID-19 has caused not just an unprecedented sanitary crisis but a social crisis, which has affected, among many other fields, the local journalism, which had to adapt to meet the public’s information needs about coronavirus. In this study we analyzed the evolution of local news about COVID-19 in Spain throughout the pandemic by examining local news articles in social media. Using a unique dataset of over 230k Facebook posts published by Spanish local media organizations during 2020 and 2021, we found evidence that the interest of local media in COVID-19, measured as the proportion of the news related to COVID-19, changed as the pandemic evolved. Our results also show that the interest that local media readers had in COVID-19, measured as the proportion Facebook interactions related to COVID-19, was even higher, and also evolved during the pandemic. Although the interest in COVID-19 of local media and their readers essentially progressed in parallel, we also identified some periods in which they behaved differently. While a fatigue with COVID-19 related news would be expected after 2 years of pandemic, a clear decrease of interest was not observed neither in journalists nor in readers.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Field-captured Aedes vexans (Meigen, 1830) is a competent vector for Rift Valley fever phlebovirus in Europe

BACKGROUND: Aedes vexans (Meigen) is considered a nuisance species in central Europe and the Mediterranean region. It is an anthropophilic and mammalophilic floodwater mosquito involved in the transmission of several arboviruses. Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a relevant mosquito-borne zoonosis, affecting mainly humans and ruminants, that causes severe impact in public health and economic loses. Due to globalization and climate change, the European continent is threatened by its introduction. The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the vector competence of a European field-collected Ae. vexans population. METHODS: Aedes vexans field-collected larvae were reared in the laboratory under field-simulated conditions. To assess the vector competence for Rift Valley fever phlebovirus (RVFV) transmission, adult F0 females were exposed to infectious blood meals containing the 56/74 RVFV strain. Additionally, intrathoracic inoculations with the same virus strain were performed to evaluate the relevance of the salivary gland barriers. Natural circulation of alphavirus, flavivirus and phlebovirus was also tested. RESULTS: To our knowledge, an autochthonous Ae. vexans population was experimentally confirmed as a competent vector for RVFV for the first time. This virus was capable of infecting and disseminating within the studied Ae. vexans mosquitoes. Moreover, infectious virus was isolated from the saliva of disseminated specimens, showing their capacity to transmit the virus. Additionally, a natural infection with a circulating Mosquito flavivirus was detected. The co-infection with the Mosquito flavivirus seemed to modulate RVFV infection susceptibility in field-collected Ae. vexans, but further studies are needed to confirm its potential interference in RVFV transmission. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that field-collected European Ae. vexans would be able to transmit RVFV in case of introduction into the continent. This should be taken into consideration in the design of surveillance and control programmes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Role of Birds of Prey in West Nile Virus Epidemiology

Reported human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) in Europe increased dramatically in 2018. Lineage 1 strains had been circulating in Euro-Mediterranean countries since the early 1990s. The subsequent introduction of WNV lineage 2 has been responsible for the remarkable upsurge of European WNV outbreaks since 2004, including the dramatic increase in human cases observed since 2018. The virus exists in a natural cycle between mosquitoes and wild birds, with humans and horses acting as dead-end hosts. As the key vertebrate hosts in the transmission cycle of WNV, avian species have been the focus of surveillance across many countries. Raptors appear particularly susceptible to WNV infection, resulting in higher prevalence, and in some cases exhibiting neurological signs that lead to the death of the animal. In addition, birds of prey are known to play an important role as WNV reservoir and potentially amplifying hosts of infection. Importantly, raptor higher susceptibility/prevalence may indicate infection through predation of infected prey. Consequently, they are considered important target species when designing cost-effective surveillance for monitoring both seasonal WNV circulation in endemic countries and its emergence into new areas, where migrating raptors may play a critical role in virus introduction. This review summarizes the different aspects of the current knowledge of WNV infection in birds of prey and evaluates their role in the evolution of the epizootic that is spreading throughout Europe

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the surveillance system for tuberculosis in cattle in Spain

In Spain, the eradication of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle has had some setbacks and therefore we need to re-evaluate the current surveillance strategies. The Spanish cattle TB surveillance system consists of three components: a) routine skin testing, b) slaughterhouse surveillance, and c) pre-movement controls. Our objectives were to assess the effectiveness of the whole surveillance system and evaluate the relative contribution of each of those components, both at national and at the province level. The effectiveness was estimated based on both the sensitivity of detection per year and the time until detection. Moreover, we evaluated the impact of different factors on that effectiveness. We used a stochastic model that simulated the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-complex (MTC) infection within cattle herds that was modified to incorporate the three components of TB surveillance. Input data, at the province level, on cattle movements off-farm or the frequency of the routine screening were provided by the Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Under the current conditions, 96.1% of Spanish herds were detected within one year after their infection (i.e. mean sensitivity of TB surveillance), although that detection took on average 178 days. The surveillance system effectiveness was highly dependent on the routine skin testing, responsible for the detection of almost 90% of the infected herds, while slaughterhouse surveillance and pre-movement controls contributed only to the identification of a small proportion of infected herds. We observed substantial differences in the effectiveness of the surveillance components among Spanish provinces, although in general, the sensitivities were high. The most influential factor on the efficiency of TB detection in Spain was, by far, the frequency of routine controls, followed by the sensitivity of the test used. In a context of reduced funding for cattle TB eradication, the frequency of testing should be adapted based on risk-based surveillance strategies, i.e. efforts should focus on herds more likely to be infected, but also in herds more likely to infect other herds. While slaughterhouse surveillance seems a cost-effective strategy, the use of pre-movement testing at least in areas of low incidence should be further evaluated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Risk factors associated withStreptococcus suiscases on pigfarms in Spain

Background Streptococcus suis can cause meningitis, polyarthritis and acute death in piglets. However, the risk factors associated with S. suis infection remain incompletely understood. Therefore, a longitudinal study was carried out, in which six batches from two Spanish pig farms with S. suis problems were repeatedly examined to determine possible risk factors. Methods A prospective case–control study was conducted, and potential risk factors were evaluated using mixed-effects logistic regression models. The explanatory variables included: (a) concomitant pathogens; (b) biomarkers associated with stress, inflammation and oxidative status; (c) farm environmental factors; and (d) parity and S. suis presence in sows. Three models were built to study the effect of these variables, including two to assess the risk factors involved in the subsequent development of disease. Results Risk factors for S. suis-associated disease included porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus co-infection at weaning (odds ratio [OR] = 6.69), sow parity (OR = 0.71), haptoglobin level before weaning (OR = 1.01), relative humidity (OR = 1.11) and temperature (OR = 0.13). Limitations Laboratory diagnosis was done at the batch level, with individual diagnosis based on clinical signs only. Conclusions This study confirms the multifactorial nature of S. suis-associated disease, with both environmental factors and factors related to the host involved in disease development. Controlling these factors may, therefore, help prevent the appearance of disease.Program for Innovative Global Prevention of Streptococcus suis (PIGSs), from program Horizon 2020 of the European Commission. Carlos Neila-Ibáñez was funded by the same project, Grant/Award Number: 727966info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evidence of Prolonged Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Endemicity by Retrospective Serosurvey, Eastern Spain

We conducted a retrospective serosurvey for antibodies against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in wild ungulates along the eastern Mediterranean Coast of Spain. The virus has been endemic in this region since 2010 but is mainly restricted to geographic clusters with extremely high seropositivity associated with high density of bovids.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Transmission of Similar Mcr-1 Carrying Plasmids among Different Escherichia coli Lineages Isolated from Livestock and the Farmer

Colistin use has mostly been stopped in human medicine, due to its toxicity. However, nowadays, it still is used as a last-resort antibiotic to treat hospital infections caused by multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae. On the contrary, colistin has been used in veterinary medicine until recently. In this study, 210 fecal samples from pigs (n = 57), calves (n = 152), and the farmer (n = 1) were collected from a farm where E. coli harboring mcr-1-mcr-3 was previously detected. Samples were plated, and mcr-genes presence was confirmed by multiplex-PCR. Hybrid sequencing which determined the presence and location of mcr-1, other antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence factors. Eighteen colistin resistant isolates (13 from calves, four from pigs, and one from the farmer) contained mcr-1 associated with plasmids (IncX4, IncI2, and IncHI2), except for two that yielded mcr-1 in the chromosome. Similar plasmids were distributed in different E. coli lineages. Transmission of mcr-1 to the farmer most likely occurred by horizontal gene transfer from E. coli of calf origin, since plasmids were highly similar (99% coverage, 99.97% identity). Moreover, 33 virulence factors, including stx2 for Shiga toxin E. coli (STEC) were detected, highlighting the role of livestock as a reservoir of pathotypes with zoonotic potential.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Feed additives for the control of post-weaning Streptococcus suis disease and the effect on the faecal and nasal microbiota

Medicated feed is a common strategy to control the occurrence of Streptococcus suis disease in swine production, but feed additives may constitute an alternative to metaphylaxis. In a farm with post-weaning S. suis disease, the following additives were tested: lysozyme (Lys), medium chain fatty acids plus lysozyme (FA + Lys), FA plus a natural anti-inflammatory (FA + antiinf) and amoxicillin (Amox). During the course of the study, FA + antiinf and Amox groups showed lower prevalence of clinical signs compatible with S. suis disease than the rest of the groups. Piglets from the FA + antiinf group showed high diversity and richness in their nasal and faecal microbiota. Diet supplements did not have major effects on the faecal microbiota, where the genus Mitsuokella was the only differentially present in the FA + Lys group. In the nasal microbiota, piglets from FA + antiinf presented higher differential abundance of a sequence variant from Ruminococcaceae and lower abundance of an unclassified genus from Weeksellaceae. In general, we detected more significant changes in the nasal than in the feacal microbiota, and found that parity of the dams affected the microbiota composition of their offspring, with piglets born to gilts exhibiting lower richness and diversity. Our results suggest that additives could be useful to control post-weaning disease when removing antimicrobials in farms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Epidemiological investigation of bovine tuberculosis herd breakdowns in Spain 2009/2011

We analyzed the most likely cause of 687 bovine tuberculosis (bTB) breakdowns detected in Spain between 2009 and 2011 (i.e., 22% of the total number of breakdowns detected during this period). Seven possible causes were considered: i) residual infection; ii) introduction of infected cattle from other herds; iii) sharing of pastures with infected herds; iv) contiguous spread from infected neighbor herds; v) presence of infected goats in the farm; vi) interaction with wildlife reservoirs and vii) contact with an infected human. For each possible cause a decision tree was developed and key questions were included in each of them. Answers to these key questions lead to different events within each decision tree. In order to assess the likelihood of occurrence of the different events a qualitative risk assessment approach was used. For this purpose, an expert opinion workshop was organized and ordinal values, ranging from 0 to 9 (i.e., null to very high likelihood of occurrence) were assigned. The analysis identified residual infection as the most frequent cause of bTB breakdowns (22.3%; 95%CI: 19.4-25.6), followed by interaction with wildlife reservoirs (13.1%; 95%CI: 10.8-15.8). The introduction of infected cattle, sharing of pastures and contiguous spread from infected neighbour herds were also identified as relevant causes. In 41.6% (95%CI: 38.0-45.4) of the breakdowns the origin of infection remained unknown. Veterinary officers conducting bTB breakdown investigations have to state their opinion about the possible cause of each breakdown. Comparison between the results of our analysis and the opinion from veterinary officers revealed a slight concordance. This slight agreement might reflect a lack of harmonized criteria to assess the most likely cause of bTB breakdowns as well as different perceptions about the importance of the possible causes. This is especially relevant in the case of the role of wildlife reservoirs