Salmonella sp. in pigs’ skin, external and internal carcass surface at slaughterhouse

Salmonella spp. is one of the major foodborne pathogen in Europe, being pork meat the second main vehicle of human infection. In this study it was analysed the occurrence of Salmonella spp. on pigs’ skin and in the respective carcasses surfaces (internal and external). For that, matched samples were collected in 120 animals. In each animal, sponge swabs were performed on the skin and in the corresponding carcass surfaces (approximate area 1000 cm2). A total of 360 samples were microbiologically analyzed according to ISO 6579. Salmonella isolates (45) were serotype by Kauffmann-White scheme at the National Reference Laboratory for Salmonella in Portugal. The main serotype identified was the monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium: S. 4,[5],12:i:- (46.7%), followed by S. Rissen (42.2%) and S. Derby (11.1%). The highest value of Salmonella occurrence was observed in pigs’ skin (29.2%; 35/120) underlining its importance as a potential source of Salmonella contamination to slaughterhouse. Nevertheless, since from these 34 pigs, only 2 presented this bacteria in the respective carcass external surface, the achieved results minimizes its importance for the direct contamination of the respective carcass. Salmonella sp. occurred more in the internal carcass surface (13.3 %; 16/120) than in the external (4.1%; 5/120) and, only in two cases, Salmonella sp. was simultaneously found in both carcass surfaces, equating different contamination sources. Curiously, S. 4,[5],12:i:-, a preoccupant serotype, was only identified in the pigs’ skin (12/34; 35.3%) and in the internal carcass surface (9/16; 56.3%). In these pigs, 4 presented simultaneously this serotype in both matched samples. This study suggest that more attention should be dedicated the skin as an important source of Salmonella contamination and to the internal carcass surface, which analysis is not under mandatory control defined in the Commission Regulation 2073⁄2005

Salmonella sp. in edible offal (liver and tongue) from pigs slaughtered for consumption

During this study, 120 samples from slaughtered pigs (tongue swabs, n=40; liver swabs, n=40; liver parenchyma, n=40) were collected in a slaughterhouse. Salmonella sp. was isolated using conventional microbiological methods and strains were analyzed using serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and macrorestriction profiling (MRP) by Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), to identify clonal relationships and potential contamination sources

Consensus Document on Coding of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Examinations in Portugal

Um dos obstáculos a uma utilização mais frequente e apropriada da ressonância magnética cardíaca (RMC) em Portugal tem sido a ausência de códigos específicos que descrevam adequadamente os exames tal como são efetuados actualmente. Este documento de consenso fornece recomendações para a atualização e uniformização dos códigos empregues na RMC. São igualmente feitas recomendações quanto às técnicas e códigos a utilizar nas indicações clínicas mais frequentes

Documento de consenso sobre codificação de exames de ressonância magnética cardíaca em Portugal

One of the obstacles to more frequent and appropriate use of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in Portugal has been the lack of specific codes that accurately describe these examinations as they are currently performed. In this consensus document, recommendations are made for updating and standardizing CMR codes in Portugal. Guidance on which techniques and codes should be used in the most common clinical scenarios is also provided

Progression of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 upon vaccination in an industrial rabbitry: a laboratorial approach

[EN] Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) emerged recently in several European countries, leading to extensive economic losses in the industry. In response to this new infection, specific inactivated vaccines were developed in Europe and full and rapid setup of protective immunity induced by vaccination was reported. However, data on the efficacy of these vaccines in an ongoing-infection scenario is unavailable. In this study we investigated an infected RHDV2 indoor industrial meat rabbitry, where fatalities continued to occur after the implementation of the RHDV2 vaccination, introduced to control the disease. The aim of this study was to understand if these mortalities were RHDV2-related, to discover if the dead animals showed any common features such as age or time distance from vaccination, and to identify the source of the outbreak. Anatomo-pathological analysis of vaccinated animals with the virus showed lesions compatible with systemic haemorrhagic disease and RHDV2-RNA was detected in 85.7% of the animals tested. Sequencing of the vp60 gene amplified from liver samples led to the recognition of RHDV2 field strains demonstrating that after the implementation of vaccination, RHDV2 continued to circulate in the premises and to cause sporadic deaths. A nearby, semi-intensive, RHDV2 infected farm belonging to the same owner was identified as the most probable source of the virus. The main risk factors for virus introduction in these two industries were identified. Despite the virus being able to infect a few of the vaccinated rabbits, the significant decrease in mortality rate observed in vaccinated adult rabbits clearly reflects the efficacy of the vaccination. Nonetheless, the time taken to control the infection also highlights the importance of RHDV2 vaccination prior to the first contact with the virus, highly recommendable in endemic areas, to mitigate the infection’s impact on the industry.The authors would like to thank Dr. Fidélia Aboim (Municipal veterinarian) for gathering information on the mortality of wild rabbits in several legal hunting parks and to Maria João Teixeira, Fátima Cordeiro and Ricardino Ferreira for their technical assistance. This study was partially funded by a grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) SFRH/79225/2011.Carvalho, C.; Duarte, E.; Monteiro, J.; Afonso, C.; Pacheco, J.; Carvalho, P.; Mendonça, P.... (2017). Progression of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 upon vaccination in an industrial rabbitry: a laboratorial approach. World Rabbit Science. 25(1):73-85. doi:10.4995/wrs.2017.5708.SWORD738525

Prosociality in business: a human empowerment framework

This study introduces a human empowerment framework to better understand why some businesses are more socially oriented than others in their policies and activities. Building on Welzel’s theory of emancipation, we argue that human empowerment—comprised of four components: action resources, emancipative values, social movement activity, and civic entitlements—enables, motivates, and entitles individuals to pursue social goals for their businesses. Using a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs from 43 countries, we report strong empirical evidence for two ecological effects of the framework components on prosociality. We find that human empowerment (1) lifts entrepreneurs’ willingness to choose a social orientation for their business, and (2) reinforces the gender effect on prosociality in business activity. We discuss the human empowerment framework’s added value in understanding how modernization processes fully leverage the potential of social business activities for societies

Study on Salmonella sp. in the head part of carcasses from slaughtered pigs

To define the importance of the head part of pigs’ carcasses as a potential vehicle of Salmonella, 105 carcasses were sampled at one abattoir. The results revealed the presence of Salmonella sp. in 25 samples (23.8%), which corresponds to a higher value than those previously presented by the same authors in similar studies in pig carcasses (12,9%). By means of serotyping, were identified 5 different serotypes: S. Typhimurium (9, 36%), S. London (6 24%), S. Rissen (6 24%), S. Agona (3, 12%) and S. Goldcoast (1, 4%). This study underlines the importance that the head part of the pigs’ carcass can take as a source of Salmonella throughout meat chain and a potential vehicle, direct or indirect, to the final consumer. For this reason, the authors suggest that increased hygienic measures should be adopted during head processing and cutting, especially if its meat will be subsequently used for sausage or smoked meat (Figure 1) production that could be consumed without any kind of heat treatment.</p