Fasciola hepatica em bovinos no Brasil: disponibilidade de dados e distribuição espacial

Fasciolosis is a disease of importance for both veterinary and public health. For the first time, georeferenced prevalence data of Fasciola hepatica in bovines were collected and mapped for the Brazilian territory and data availability was discussed. Bovine fasciolosis in Brazil is monitored on a Federal, State and Municipal level, and to improve monitoring it is essential to combine the data collected on these three levels into one dataset. Data were collected for 1032 municipalities where livers were condemned by the Federal Inspection Service (MAPA/SIF) because of the presence of F. hepatica. The information was distributed over 11 states: Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The highest prevalence of fasciolosis was observed in the southern states, with disease clusters along the coast of Paraná and Santa Catarina and in Rio Grande do Sul. Also, temporal variation of the prevalence was observed. The observed prevalence and the kriged prevalence maps presented in this paper can assist both animal and human health workers in estimating the risk of infection in their state or municipality.A fasciolose é doença de alta importância para a saúde tanto veterinária quanto humana. Pela primeira vez, dados georreferenciados da prevalência de Fasciola hepatica em bovinos foram coletados e mapeados para o território brasileiro e a disponibilidade desses dados discutida. Fasciolose bovina no Brasil é monitorado em nível Federal, Estadual e Municipal, e para melhorar esse monitoramento é preciso juntar os dados dos três níveis para construir um único banco de dados. As informações foram coletadas de 1032 municípios onde fígados bovinos foram condenados por causa de F. hepatica pelo Serviço de Inspeção Federal (MAPA/SIF). Onze estados foram representados: Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e São Paulo. A prevalência mais alta da fasciolose foi observada nos estados do Sul, com presença de focos da doença ao longo do litoral do Paraná e Santa Catarina e no Rio Grande do Sul. Variação temporal da prevalência também foi observada. Os mapas de prevalência observada e de krigeagem aqui apresentados podem auxiliar a profissionais da área da saúde veterinária e humana a estimar o risco de infecção nos seus estados e/ou municípios

The use of bulk tank milk ELISAs to assess the spatio-­temporal distribution of helminths in dairy cattle

Helminth infections in adult cattle are an important and often neglected cause of economic losses. In chapter 1, regional differences in the levels of exposure to Fasciola hepatica and gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes in Western Europe and the factors affecting their epidemiology were discussed. Country-level differences in the levels of exposure to F. hepatica and GI nematodes have been reported in Western Europe, creating a need for regionally adapted control measures. However, the extent of the regional differences is poorly known as they were assessed by unstandardized studies and diagnostic methods. The epidemiology of F. hepatica and GI nematodes is affected by climatic, environmental and herd management factors. Climate changes and recent evolutions in cattle farming methods are expected to alter these factors and thus also influence the infection risk with helminths. However, their relative importance is poorly understood and detection of altering infection patterns will require monitoring of the spatial distribution and the seasonality of the infections. Spatial distribution and forecasting models for helminth parasites may provide a means to study the importance of different risk factors and detect altering infection patterns

Physician reported incidence of early and late Lyme borreliosis

Abstract Background Lyme borreliosis is the most common vector-borne disease in Europe and North America. The objective of this study is to estimate the incidence of tick bites and Lyme borreliosis, representative of our entire country, including erythema migrans, disseminated Lyme borreliosis and persisting symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis. Methods A questionnaire on clinical diagnoses of Lyme borreliosis was sent to all GPs, company physicians, and medical specialists. To adjust for possible misclassification and telescoping bias, we sent additional questionnaires to categorize reported cases according to likelihood of the diagnosis and to exclude cases diagnosed outside the target period. Results Adjusted annual incidence rate for disseminated Lyme borreliosis was 7.7 GP reports per 100,000 inhabitants, and for persisting symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis was 5.5 GP reports per 100,000 inhabitants, i.e. approximately 1,300 and 900 cases respectively. GP consultations for tick bites and erythema migrans diagnoses were 495 and 132 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively, i.e. 82,000 and 22,000 cases in 2010. Conclusions This is the first reported nationwide physician survey on the incidence of tick bites and the whole range of manifestations of Lyme borreliosis, including persisting symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis. This is crucial for complete assessment of the public health impact of Lyme borreliosis

Decrease in tick bite consultations and stabilization of early Lyme borreliosis in the Netherlands in 2014 after 15 years of continuous increase

BackgroundNationwide surveys have shown a threefold increase in general practitioner (GP) consultations for tick bites and early Lyme borreliosis from 1994 to 2009 in the Netherlands. We now report an update on 2014, with identical methods as for the preceding GP surveys.MethodsTo all GPs in the Netherlands, a postal questionnaire was sent inquiring about the number of consultations for tick bites and erythema migrans diagnoses (most common manifestation of early Lyme borreliosis) in 2014, and the size of their practice populations.ResultsContrasting to the previously rising incidence of consultations for tick bites between 1994 and 2009, the incidence decreased in 2014 to 488 consultations for tick bites per 100,000 inhabitants, i.e., 82,000 patients nationwide. This survey revealed a first sign of stabilization of the previously rising trend in GP diagnosed erythema migrans, with 140 diagnoses per 100,000 inhabitants of the Netherlands. This equals about 23,500 annual diagnoses of erythema migrans nationwide in 2014.ConclusionsIn contrast to the constantly rising incidence of GP consultations for tick bites and erythema migrans diagnoses in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2009, the current survey of 2014 showed a first sign of stabilization of erythema migrans diagnoses and a decreased incidence for tick bite consultations.<br/