Policies for the vaccination of cats and dogs in New Zealand veterinary practices

<p>AIMS: To determine current practices and attitudes towards vaccination of dogs and cats of veterinarians in New Zealand; the methods used for informing clients on which vaccines to use, and the preferred site for vaccination of cats.</p> <p>METHODS: A postal questionnaire was sent to all 483 listed veterinary practices in New Zealand during February 2012. Some questions were specific to pet dogs, cats, or working farm dogs. Responses were categorised according to practice type and geographical region of the respondent. Factors associated with respondent recommendation of annual vaccination with modified live viral (MLV) vaccines were examined using logistic regression analysis. Vaccines that were considered to be essential for every animal were defined as core; those that may be recommended for animals whose location or lifestyle placed them at risk, were defined as non-core.</p> <p>RESULTS: There were 204 useable returns, equivalent to a response rate of 42.2%, distributed across the country. Annual vaccination with MLV vaccines of dogs was recommended by 54/198 (27.3%) respondents, and of cats by 107/181 (59.1%) respondents. Factors associated with the recommendation of annual administration of MLV vaccines to dogs included being a companion animal practice, a desire for policies on vaccination to be left to individual clinics, and having one veterinarian in the practice. Administration of the final vaccination for puppies was recommended at ≥14 weeks old by 55/185 (29.7%) respondents, and for kittens at ≥13 weeks old by 42/183 (23%) respondents. Of respondents that administered MLV vaccines annually, 62/103 (60.2%) believed reducing the frequency of vaccination would reduce income, and 52/103 (50.5%) considered it would have a negative effect on animal health. Advice to enable clients to decide which non-core vaccines were administered was given by 181/199 (91%) respondents. Factors considered when recommending a vaccine included consideration of risk to individual patients (190/203; 93.6%), requirements of boarding kennels/catteries (165/203; 81.3%) and clinic vaccination policy (142/203; 70%). The preferred site for administering MLV vaccines to cats was the dorsal neck or inter-scapular region (137/198; 69.2%). Amongst respondents, 18 wanted disease surveillance information to allow for truly informed decisions to be made about vaccination.</p> <p>CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Veterinarians can now compare their own vaccination practices and attitudes with those of veterinarians nationally, and internationally. There is a need for national surveillance information and for continued education of the public and commercial kennel and cattery owners for optimal vaccination strategies to be developed.</p

Epidemiology of vaginal prolapse in mixed-age ewes in New Zealand

<div><p>AIMS: Identify environmental, animal, and management factors associated with risk of vaginal prolapse in ewes, to enable farmers and advisors to make pragmatic decisions based on empirical observations for control of the condition.</p><p>METHODS: Two longitudinal studies conducted over 2 years to identify factors associated with incidence of prolapse in (i) cohorts of 200 individually identified mixed-age (MA) ewes, and (ii) all MA ewes, on voluntarily participating sheep-breeding farms in Hawkes Bay (HB) and Southland regions of New Zealand.</p><p>RESULTS: The overall annual incidences of prolapse on 113 farms in 2000 and 88 in 2001 were 1.21 and 0.82 per 100 MA ewes, respectively, and 1.05 for both years combined. A total of 406 prolapses were recorded among 36,695 individually identified cohort ewes. Individual farm incidences for both years varied from 0–5.9 (mean=1.56, median=1.39) on Southland and 0–3.9 (mean=0.75, median=0.54) per 100 ewes on HB farms.</p><p>The crude relative risk of a prolapse occurring in a MA ewe was 5.31 times higher for ewes carrying twins and 11.3 times higher for ewes carrying triplets, than single lambs. Flocks made up of predominantly pure or crossbred Perendale ewes appeared to be at lower risk than flocks with other breeds. Shearing in the 3 months leading up to mating appeared to be protective, as was shearing in the second half of pregnancy. The risk was higher on farms with moderate to steep terrain than on farms with flat terrain. The identified risk factors in the individually identified cohorts were: access to salt and feeding of swedes in the latter part of pregnancy, moderate to steep lambing paddocks, multiple lambs detected at scanning, and weight gain between start of mating and scanning.</p><p>The condition recurred in 2001 in six (35%) of 17 study ewes that had prolapsed during 2000. Culling policies for female offspring of affected ewes did not influence incidence at the farm level; nor did feeding hay or grain in late pregnancy. Furthermore, there was no association between incidence and body condition scores measured prior to and after mating, at scanning, or at time of set stocking.</p><p>CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Vaginal prolapse is an inevitable consequence of sheep reproduction and its incidence is expected to increase as reproductive rates increase. This study provides some firm leads as to the relative importance of risk factors and gives guidance for risk reduction, e.g. by identification and separate management of ewes carrying twins or triplets, using flat paddocks for lambing, and guarding against gain in weight between the start of mating and scanning.</p></div

P1252: Predicting the response of DLBCL cells to BH3-mimetics using systems biology

Poster</p

Pregnancy rates of beef cattle are not affected by <i>Campylobacter fetus</i> subsp. <i>venerealis</i> real-time PCR-positive breeding sires in New Zealand

<div><p></p><p>AIMS: <i>Campylobacter fetus</i> subspecies <i>venerealis</i> (<i>C. fetus venerealis</i>) is the causal agent of bovine genital campylobacteriosis, a venereal disease that is asymptomatic in bulls but responsible for reproductive wastage in female cattle. In New Zealand, a commercial real-time PCR assay was introduced in 2007 to identify the DNA of this pathogen in preputial scrapings; however, concerns were raised about the specificity of the test following anecdotal reports of a high number of test-positive bulls with no apparent relationship to reproductive performance. The objective of this study, therefore, was to examine the association between real-time PCR assay results from beef breeding bulls and pregnancy rates in beef herds using these bulls.</p><p>METHODS: Veterinarians from four veterinary practices selected beef cattle herds with relatively high and low pregnancy rates between December 2008 and February 2009. Preputial scrapings were collected from bulls used for mating in those herds. Samples were tested using the real-time PCR assay under consideration. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were used to assess the relationship between pregnancy rates in each mob (15-month-old heifers, 27-month-old heifers and mixed-age cows) and the percentage of real-time PCR-positive bulls in each mob.</p><p>RESULTS: Sixty-four (28.8%) of 222 bulls tested positive, 130 (58.6%) tested negative, and 28 (12.6%) returned an inconclusive result to the real-time PCR assay. The percentage of bulls testing real-time PCR-positive in these mobs was not associated with pregnancy rates (p=0.757) after controlling for mob, average body condition score of cows, cow to bull ratio, length of the mating period, and farm.</p><p>CONCLUSION: Real-time PCR assay results were not associated with pregnancy rates, suggesting that the specificity of the real-time PCR assay was too low to be used to reliably detect <i>C. fetus venerealis</i>. This study adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that <i>C. fetus venerealis</i> strains are either absent from, or present at clinically insignificant levels of endemicity among, beef breeding herds in New Zealand.</p><p>CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The real-time PCR assay that was assessed in this study should not be used for the detection of <i>C. fetus venerealis</i> in bulls or for investigations of low conception rates in cattle in New Zealand. During the course of this survey, sequencing analysis of an apparent <i>C. fetus venerealis</i> isolate from the intestines of a Friesian bull turned out to be <i>Campylobacter hyointestinalis</i>. As a consequence, this real-time PCR assay for <i>C. fetus venerealis</i> is no longer being offered by diagnostic laboratories in New Zealand.</p></div

Successful treatment of primary cutaneous diffuse large B cell lymphoma leg type with single agent venetoclax

Successful treatment of primary cutaneous diffuse large B cell lymphoma leg type with single agent venetocla

A prediction model for short-term neonatal outcomes in severe early-onset fetal growth restriction.

BACKGROUND: Severe early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) predisposes to fetal death, neonatal death, neonatal morbidity and neurodisability. The use of placental biomarkers has been proposed for risk stratification in pre-eclampsia, but they could be equally useful in fetal growth restriction in aiding management. OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of angiogenic biomarkers at predicting adverse pregnancy outcome in severe early-onset fetal growth restriction. STUDY DESIGN: This is a secondary analysis of the multicentre, placebo-controlled STRIDER UK randomised controlled trial of singleton pregnancies with severe early-onset fetal growth restriction. Women with FGR pregnancies between 22+0 and 29+6 weeks of gestation were randomly assigned to receive either sildenafil 25 mg three times daily or placebo until 32+0 weeks' gestation or delivery. We developed prediction models based upon maternal demographics (age, parity, blood pressure, preeclampsia, gestational hypertension), fetal biometric (estimated fetal weight) and Doppler measurements (Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA), Umbilical Artery (UA)) and maternal angiogenic biomarkers [placental growth factor (PlGF), soluble endoglin (sEng), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and sFlt-1:PlGF ratio) using both univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: A complete data set was available for 105 of 135 randomised women. Multivariate regression analysis identified estimated fetal weight (EFW) and sFlt-1:PlGF as independent predictors of livebirth (EFW OR: 1.01 (1.008, 1.021); p < 0.001 and lower sFlt-1:PlGF ratio OR: 0.53 (0.284, 0.994); p = 0.048) and overall survival (EFW OR: 1.01 (1.006, 1.015); p < 0.001 and lower sFlt-1/PlGF ratio OR: 0.51 (0.286, 0.904); p = 0.021). EFW was a consistent predictor for all outcomes other than gestation at delivery. sFlt-1:PlGF ratio was a consistent predictor for all outcomes other than neonatal morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: In severe early-onset FGR pregnancies livebirth and overall survival can be predicted using a model involving EFW and sFlt-1:PlGF ratio. This model require validation in a larger cohort but may allow informed decision making about pregnancy management, especially in previable cases

The effect of mild sleep deprivation on diet and eating behaviour in children: Protocol for the Daily Rest, Eating, and Activity Monitoring (DREAM) randomized cross-over trial

© 2019 The Author(s). Background: Although insufficient sleep has emerged as a strong, independent risk factor for obesity in children, the mechanisms by which insufficient sleep leads to weight gain are uncertain. Observational research suggests that being tired influences what children eat more than how active they are, but only experimental research can determine causality. Few experimental studies have been undertaken to determine how reductions in sleep duration might affect indices of energy balance in children including food choice, appetite regulation, and sedentary time. The primary aim of this study is to objectively determine whether mild sleep deprivation increases energy intake in the absence of hunger. Methods: The Daily, Rest, Eating, and Activity Monitoring (DREAM) study is a randomized controlled trial investigating how mild sleep deprivation influences eating behaviour and activity patterns in children using a counterbalanced, cross-over design. One hundred and ten children aged 8-12 years, with normal reported sleep duration of 8-11 h per night will undergo 2 weeks of sleep manipulation; seven nights of sleep restriction by going to bed 1 hr later than usual, and seven nights of sleep extension going to bed 1 hr earlier than usual, separated by a washout week. During each experimental week, 24-h movement behaviours (sleep, physical activity, sedentary behaviour) will be measured via actigraphy; dietary intake and context of eating by multiple 24-h recalls and wearable camera images; and eating behaviours via objective and subjective methods. At the end of each experimental week a feeding experiment will determine energy intake from eating in the absence of hunger. Differences between sleep conditions will be determined to estimate the effects of reducing sleep duration by 1-2 h per night. Discussion: Determining how insufficient sleep predisposes children to weight gain should provide much-needed information for improving interventions for the effective prevention of obesity, thereby decreasing long-term morbidity and healthcare burden. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618001671257. Registered 10 October 2018

Comparison of in silico strategies to prioritize rare genomic variants impacting RNA splicing for the diagnosis of genomic disorders

The development of computational methods to assess pathogenicity of pre-messenger RNA splicing variants is critical for diagnosis of human disease. We assessed the capability of eight algorithms, and a consensus approach, to prioritize 249 variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) that underwent splicing functional analyses. The capability of algorithms to differentiate VUSs away from the immediate splice site as being ‘pathogenic’ or ‘benign’ is likely to have substantial impact on diagnostic testing. We show that SpliceAI is the best single strategy in this regard, but that combined usage of tools using a weighted approach can increase accuracy further. We incorporated prioritization strategies alongside diagnostic testing for rare disorders. We show that 15% of 2783 referred individuals carry rare variants expected to impact splicing that were not initially identified as ‘pathogenic’ or ‘likely pathogenic’; one in five of these cases could lead to new or refined diagnoses

Equalization of four cardiovascular risk algorithms after systematic recalibration: individual-participant meta-analysis of 86 prospective studies.

Aims: There is debate about the optimum algorithm for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimation. We conducted head-to-head comparisons of four algorithms recommended by primary prevention guidelines, before and after 'recalibration', a method that adapts risk algorithms to take account of differences in the risk characteristics of the populations being studied. Methods and results: Using individual-participant data on 360 737 participants without CVD at baseline in 86 prospective studies from 22 countries, we compared the Framingham risk score (FRS), Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), pooled cohort equations (PCE), and Reynolds risk score (RRS). We calculated measures of risk discrimination and calibration, and modelled clinical implications of initiating statin therapy in people judged to be at 'high' 10 year CVD risk. Original risk algorithms were recalibrated using the risk factor profile and CVD incidence of target populations. The four algorithms had similar risk discrimination. Before recalibration, FRS, SCORE, and PCE over-predicted CVD risk on average by 10%, 52%, and 41%, respectively, whereas RRS under-predicted by 10%. Original versions of algorithms classified 29-39% of individuals aged ≥40 years as high risk. By contrast, recalibration reduced this proportion to 22-24% for every algorithm. We estimated that to prevent one CVD event, it would be necessary to initiate statin therapy in 44-51 such individuals using original algorithms, in contrast to 37-39 individuals with recalibrated algorithms. Conclusion: Before recalibration, the clinical performance of four widely used CVD risk algorithms varied substantially. By contrast, simple recalibration nearly equalized their performance and improved modelled targeting of preventive action to clinical need

Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption: combined analysis of individual-participant data for 599 912 current drinkers in 83 prospective studies.

BACKGROUND: Low-risk limits recommended for alcohol consumption vary substantially across different national guidelines. To define thresholds associated with lowest risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, we studied individual-participant data from 599 912 current drinkers without previous cardiovascular disease. METHODS: We did a combined analysis of individual-participant data from three large-scale data sources in 19 high-income countries (the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, EPIC-CVD, and the UK Biobank). We characterised dose-response associations and calculated hazard ratios (HRs) per 100 g per week of alcohol (12·5 units per week) across 83 prospective studies, adjusting at least for study or centre, age, sex, smoking, and diabetes. To be eligible for the analysis, participants had to have information recorded about their alcohol consumption amount and status (ie, non-drinker vs current drinker), plus age, sex, history of diabetes and smoking status, at least 1 year of follow-up after baseline, and no baseline history of cardiovascular disease. The main analyses focused on current drinkers, whose baseline alcohol consumption was categorised into eight predefined groups according to the amount in grams consumed per week. We assessed alcohol consumption in relation to all-cause mortality, total cardiovascular disease, and several cardiovascular disease subtypes. We corrected HRs for estimated long-term variability in alcohol consumption using 152 640 serial alcohol assessments obtained some years apart (median interval 5·6 years [5th-95th percentile 1·04-13·5]) from 71 011 participants from 37 studies. FINDINGS: In the 599 912 current drinkers included in the analysis, we recorded 40 310 deaths and 39 018 incident cardiovascular disease events during 5·4 million person-years of follow-up. For all-cause mortality, we recorded a positive and curvilinear association with the level of alcohol consumption, with the minimum mortality risk around or below 100 g per week. Alcohol consumption was roughly linearly associated with a higher risk of stroke (HR per 100 g per week higher consumption 1·14, 95% CI, 1·10-1·17), coronary disease excluding myocardial infarction (1·06, 1·00-1·11), heart failure (1·09, 1·03-1·15), fatal hypertensive disease (1·24, 1·15-1·33); and fatal aortic aneurysm (1·15, 1·03-1·28). By contrast, increased alcohol consumption was log-linearly associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction (HR 0·94, 0·91-0·97). In comparison to those who reported drinking >0-≤100 g per week, those who reported drinking >100-≤200 g per week, >200-≤350 g per week, or >350 g per week had lower life expectancy at age 40 years of approximately 6 months, 1-2 years, or 4-5 years, respectively. INTERPRETATION: In current drinkers of alcohol in high-income countries, the threshold for lowest risk of all-cause mortality was about 100 g/week. For cardiovascular disease subtypes other than myocardial infarction, there were no clear risk thresholds below which lower alcohol consumption stopped being associated with lower disease risk. These data support limits for alcohol consumption that are lower than those recommended in most current guidelines. FUNDING: UK Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, National Institute for Health Research, European Union Framework 7, and European Research Council