BSE: a European problem

From 1985 to 1990, Great Britain exported 57 900 pure breeding cattle at an age that allows for BSE infection during calf-hood and early adolescence. These cattle were exported throughout Europe. It is calculated that had these animals remained in the UK, 1668 would have developed BSE. Only a proportion of these cases have been reported clearly indicating that a European approach to the BSE problem is require

Acquisitions nouvelles dans la connaissance d'<em>Haematoxenus separatus</em> (Sporozoa, Theileriidae) du mouton en Tanzanie

L'évolution des rechutes d'Haematoxenus separatus, après splénectomie de deux moutons porteurs de parasites, est décrite. Le parasite a été trouvé pour la première fois chez un mouton non splénectomisé. Deux autres moutons, indemnes du parasite, ont été utilisés après splénectomie pour des expériences de transmission de stade à stade par les tiques. Quatre essais avec Amblyomma variegatum et un avec Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ont donné des résultats négatifs. Par contre, Rhipicephalus evertsi a transmis le parasite deux fois sur deux. Aussi bien les Haematoxenus typiques que les organismes sans voile, présents chez tous les moutons porteurs, ont été transmis par R. evertsi, et on ne sait toujours pas s'il s'agit de deux espèces différentes ou non; les proportions des organismes avec et sans voile sont variables de mouton à mouton et, chez un même mouton, dans le temps. Bien que les deux moutons splénectomisés, auxquels le parasite a été transmis par R. evertsi, aient montré une anémie marquée, ils ont guéri, et il est peu probable que la pathogénicité d'H. separatus pour les moutons intacts soit importante. Utilisant de l'antigène préparé à partir de sang contenant un mélange d'Haematoxenus typiques et d'organismes sans voile, il a été possible de démontrer, au moyen de la technique d'immunofluorescence indirecte, l'apparition d'anticorps après transmission du parasite par R. evertsi. Il n'a pas été possible de transmettre le parasite à une chèvre splénectomisée par injection de sang infect

Afghanistan and the development of alternative systems of animal health in the absence of effective government

This case study describes the efforts by both non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies to develop an alternative system for delivering animal health services in Afghanistan, during a period in which there was effectively no government. The authors examine the period from the mid-1980s to the year 2003. During this time, Afghanistan experienced war and severe civil unrest, resulting in the collapse of the veterinary infrastructure. As most trained animal health professionals had fled the country, an initial emphasis was placed on training intermediate and lower-level veterinary auxiliary personnel, as well as on the implementation of emergency treatment and vaccination campaigns. Gradually this programme has developed from an emergency-oriented approach to a more development-oriented process, resulting in a community-based system of animal health care in more than 250 districts (out of approximately 360). Some 500 paraveterinarians, trained for a period of five months, play a pivotal role in this programme, supported in outlying villages by trained vaccinators and basic veterinary workers. In this paper, the authors present an estimation of the impact of this programme. Essential elements of the programme are, as follows: ¿ the recruitment of trainees from areas where need has been identified ¿ an emphasis on practical and problem-oriented training ¿ the deployment of staff in so-called `veterinary field units¿, supervised by more highly qualified staff and monitors ¿ a guaranteed supply of veterinary medicines, anthelmintics and vaccines ¿ a gradually increasing rate of cost recovery. The ultimate objective of the programme is to establish a self-sustaining system, based on the `user-pays¿ principle. The paper concludes by describing the present-day problems of the animal health infrastructure in Afghanistan. Not only must the new government try to regain its central position, it must also assimilate two decades of development in the veterinary sector, which has occurred largely outside governmental control