Adverse reactions from consumption of oral rabies vaccine baits in dogs in Finland

Background Oral rabies vaccination of wildlife has effectively reduced the incidence of rabies in wildlife and has led to the elimination of rabies in large areas of Europe. The safety of oral rabies vaccines has been assessed in both target (red fox and raccoon dog) and several non-target species. Case presentation Since 2011, the competent authority in Finland has received a few reports of dogs experiencing adverse reactions that have been assumed to be caused by the consumption of baits containing oral rabies vaccine. The dogs usually exhibited gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting, inappetence, constipation or diarrhoea) or behavioral symptoms (restlessness, listlessness and unwillingness to continue hunting). Conclusions Nevertheless, these adverse reactions are transient and non-life threatening. Even though the adverse reactions are unpleasant to individual dogs and their owners, the benefits of oral rabies vaccination clearly outweigh the risks

Efficacy of rabies vaccines in dogs and cats and protection in a mouse model against European bat lyssavirus type 2

Background: Rabies is preventable by pre- and/or post-exposure prophylaxis consisting of series of rabies vaccinations and in some cases the use of immunoglobulins. The success of vaccination can be estimated either by measuring virus neutralising antibodies or by challenge experiment. Vaccines based on rabies virus offer cross-protection against other lyssaviruses closely related to rabies virus. The aim was to assess the success of rabies vaccination measured by the antibody response in dogs (n = 10,071) and cats (n = 722), as well as to investigate the factors influencing the response to vaccination when animals failed to reach a rabies antibody titre of ≥ 0.5 IU/ml. Another aim was to assess the level of protection afforded by a commercial veterinary rabies vaccine against intracerebral challenge in mice with European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) and classical rabies virus (RABV), and to compare this with the protection offered by a vaccine for humans. Results: A significantly higher proportion of dogs (10.7%, 95% confidence interval CI 10.1–11.3) than cats (3.5%; 95% CI 2.3–5.0) had a vaccination antibody titre of 60 cm or larger resulted in a higher risk of failing to reach an antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml. When challenged with EBLV-2 and RABV, 80 and 100% of mice vaccinated with the veterinary rabies vaccine survived, respectively. When mice were vaccinated with the human rabies vaccine and challenged with EBLV-2, 75–80% survived, depending on the booster. All vaccinated mice developed sufficient to high titres of virus-neutralising antibodies (VNA) against RABV 21–22 days post-vaccination, ranging from 0.5 to 128 IU/ml. However, there was significant difference between antibody titres after vaccinating once in comparison to vaccinating twice (P < 0.05). Conclusions: There was a significant difference between dogs and cats in their ability to reach a post vaccination antibody titre of ≥ 0.5 IU/ml. Mice vaccinated with RABV-based rabies vaccines were partly cross-protected against EBLV-2, but there was no clear correlation between VNA titres and cross-protection against EBLV-2. Measurement of the RABV VNA titre can only be seen as a partial tool to estimate the cross-protection against other lyssaviruses. Booster vaccination is recommended for dogs and cats if exposed to infected bats

Streptococcus pneumoniae antimicrobial resistance decreased in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area after routine 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination of infants in Finland

Since the introduction of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) into the Finnish national vaccination program in September 2010, the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in children has decreased steeply in Finland. We studied the antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive and non-invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) isolated in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area during 2009-2014. We divided the data into two age groups: isolates from patients <5 years old and ae5 years old. We also studied the serotype distribution of invasive isolates and of a subset of non-invasive multidrug-resistant isolates. The invasive isolate numbers recovered from patients aged <5 years old declined from 33/228 (15%) in 2009 to 8/208 (4%) in 2014 (p <0.001) and non-invasive isolate numbers declined during the same time period from 221/595 (37%) to 119/432 (28%) (p <0.001). At the same time, the proportion of penicillin non-susceptible non-invasive isolates in this age group decreased from 25% (56/220) to 13% (15/119) (p = 0.001) and multidrug-resistant isolates from 22% (49/220) to 6% (7/119) (p <0.001), respectively. The number of PCV10 serotype isolates also decreased among the serotyped multidrug-resistant non-invasive isolates. Among patients aged ae5 years old, the isolate numbers did not show a similar decreasing trend compared to the younger group and, further, the number of non-PCV10 serotype isolates increased in invasive cases. To conclude, the antimicrobial non-susceptibility of pneumococcus has decreased markedly, especially among young patients (<5 years old), following PCV10 implementation in Finland.Peer reviewe

Does a currency union need a capital market union?

We compare risk sharing in response to demand and supply shocks in four types of currency unions: segmented markets; a money market union; a capital market union; and complete financial markets. We show that a money market union is efficient at sharing domestic demand shocks (deleveraging, fiscal consolidation), while a capital market union is necessary to share supply shocks (productivity and quality shocks). In a numerical exercise, we find that the welfare gain of moving from segmented markets to a money market union is of roughly similar magnitude to that of moving from a money market to a capital market union

Changes in rates of arthroscopy due to degenerative knee disease and traumatic meniscal tears in Finland and Sweden

Background and purpose — Knee arthroscopy is commonly performed to treat degenerative knee disease symptoms and traumatic meniscal tears. We evaluated whether the recent high-quality randomized control trials not favoring arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee disease affected the procedure incidence and trends in Finland and Sweden. Patients and methods — We conducted a bi-national registry-based study including all adult (aged ≥18 years) inpatient and outpatient arthroscopic surgeries performed for degenerative knee disease (osteoarthritis (OA) and degenerative meniscal tears) and traumatic meniscal tears in Finland between 1997 and 2012, and in Sweden between 2001 and 2012. Results — In Finland, the annual number of operations was 16,389 in 1997, reached 20,432 in 2007, and declined to 15,018 in 2012. In Sweden, the number of operations was 9,944 in 2001, reached 11,711 in 2008, and declined to 8,114 in 2012. The knee arthroscopy incidence for OA was 124 per 105 person-years in 2012 in Finland and it was 51 in Sweden. The incidence of knee arthroscopies for meniscal tears coded as traumatic steadily increased in Finland from 64 per 105 person-years in 1997 to 97 per 105 person-years in 2012, but not in Sweden. Interpretation — The incidence of arthroscopies for degenerative knee disease declined after 2008 in both countries. Remarkably, the incidence of arthroscopy for degenerative knee disease and traumatic meniscal tears is 2 to 4 times higher in Finland than in Sweden. Efficient implementation of new high-quality evidence in clinical practice could reduce the number of ineffective surgeries

Mechanical symptoms as an indication for knee arthroscopy in patients with degenerative meniscus tear : a prospective cohort study

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Conservation Genetic Resources for Effective Species Survival (ConGRESS): Bridging the divide between conservation research and practice

Policy makers and managers are increasingly called upon to assess the state of biodiversity, and make decisions regarding potential interventions. Genetic tools are well-recognised in the research community as a powerful approach to evaluate species and population status, reveal ecological and demographic processes, and inform nature conservation decisions. The wealth of genetic data and power of genetic methods are rapidly growing, but the consideration of genetic information and concerns in policy and management is limited by the currently low capacity of decision-makers to access and apply genetic resources. Here we describe a freely available, user-friendly online resource for decision-makers at local and national levels (http://congressgenetics.eu), which increases access to current knowledge, facilitates implementation of studies and interpretation of available data, and fosters collaboration between researchers and practitioners. This resource was created in partnership with conservation practitioners across the European Union, and includes a spectrum of taxa, ecosystems and conservation issues. Our goals here are to (1) introduce the rationale and context, (2) describe the specific tools (knowledge summaries, publications database, decision making tool, project planning tool, forum, community directory), and the challenges they help solve, and (3) summarise lessons learned. This article provides an outlook and model for similar efforts to build policy and management capacity. © 2013 Elsevier GmbH.ConGRESS is funded by European Commission grant FP7-ENV-2009-1 244250 (Knowledge Transfer and Uptake of EU Research Results

Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the mnemonic effect of songs after stroke

Sung melody provides a mnemonic cue that can enhance the acquisition of novel verbal material in healthy subjects. Recent evidence suggests that also stroke patients, especially those with mild aphasia, can learn and recall novel narrative stories better when they are presented in sung than spoken format. Extending this finding, the present study explored the cognitive mechanisms underlying this effect by determining whether learning and recall of novel sung vs. spoken stories show a differential pattern of serial position effects (SPEs) and chunking effects in non-aphasic and aphasic stroke patients (N = 31) studied 6 months post-stroke. The structural neural correlates of these effects were also explored using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and deterministic tractography (DT) analyses of structural MRI data. Non-aphasic patients showed more stable recall with reduced SPEs in the sung than spoken task, which was coupled with greater volume and integrity (indicated by fractional anisotropy, FA) of the left arcuate fasciculus. In contrast, compared to non-aphasic patients, the aphasic patients showed a larger recency effect (better recall of the last vs. middle part of the story) and enhanced chunking (larger units of correctly recalled consecutive items) in the sung than spoken task. In aphasics, the enhanced chunking and better recall on the middle verse in the sung vs. spoken task correlated also with better ability to perceive emotional prosody in speech. Neurally, the sung > spoken recency effect in aphasic patients was coupled with greater grey matter volume in a bilateral network of temporal, frontal, and parietal regions and also greater volume of the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF). These results provide novel cognitive and neurobiological insight on how a repetitive sung melody can function as a verbal mnemonic aid after stroke.</p

Elämänlaadun ja toimintakyvyn muutokset ikääntyneillä aivoverenkiertohäiriön sairastaneilla kävelyn ja käden tehostetun käytön kuntoutuksen aikana

65–85-vuotiaiden aivoverenkiertohäiriön (AVH:n) sairastaneiden (n = 270) kuntoutustutkimus toteutettiin osana Kelan kehittämishanketta. Kontrolloimattomassa seurantatutkimuksessa selvitettiin laitos- ja avomuotoisen kävely- ja käsikuntoutuksen aikana tapahtuneita muutoksia elämänlaadussa ja toimintakyvyssä. Kävelykuntoutus sisälsi painokevennettyä ja muuta kävelyharjoittelua. Käsikuntoutus sisälsi halvaantuneen käden tehostetun käytön harjoittelua. Kävelykuntoutuksen perusjakson kesto laitos- ja avokuntoutuksessa oli 20/18 vrk, käsikuntoutuksen 14/13 vrk. Seurantajaksot I (6 vrk) ja II (2 vrk, loppumittaukset) toteutettiin 6 ja 12 kuukauden kuluttua perusjakson päättymisestä. Alkutilanteessa kävelyn avokuntoutujissa itsenäisesti käveleviä (FAC) oli enemmän kuin laitoskuntoutujissa. Laitoskuntoutujilla itsenäisesti kävelevien määrä kasvoi 45 %:sta 63 %:iin. Molemmilla ryhmillä kävelymatka (6 min) piteni. Laitoskuntoutujilla motorinen ja kognitiivinen toiminta (FIM) paranivat. Avokuntoutujien motoriset ja prosessitaidot (AMPS) paranivat. Laitoskuntoutujien elämänlaatupisteet ympäristön osa-alueella (WHOQOL-BREF) nousivat. Alkutilanteessa yläraajan toimintakyky (WMFT) oli käden laitoskuntoutujilla parempi kuin avokuntoutujilla. Molemmissa ryhmissä halvaantuneen yläraajan toimintakyky koheni. Laitoskuntoutujien puristusvoima (dynamometri) ja avokuntoutujilla motoriset taidot (AMPS) paranivat. Tutkittavien iän, sukupuolen, sairastamisajan ja toimintakyvyn lähtötason yhteyttä tutkittiin toimintakykyä kuvaavien mittareiden muutoksiin. Vain alhainen lähtötaso ennakoi parempaa edistymistä mittaustuloksissa. Ikääntynyttä AVH:n sairastanutta kannattaa kuntouttaa kävelyn, halvaantuneen yläraajan käytön sekä päivittäisistä toiminnoista suoriutumisen parantamiseksi

Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis, Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns in Discrimination of Sporadic and Outbreak-Related Strains of Yersinia enterocolitica

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