Development and implementation of a monitoring system for PRRSV status classification and study of the PRRSV stability on production parameters in Spanish breeding herds

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is an endemic swine disease causing significant production and economic losses. Knowledge of PRRS epidemiology at breeding farms is crucial to develop control strategies against this disease. In that regard, classifying breeding herds according to PRRS virus (PRRSV) status provides great applied knowledge for developing disease control programs and to evaluate the production impact of PRRSV infection in breeding sows. The aim of this study was to establish a systematic monitoring program for PRRSV in Spanish sow farms and to evaluate the production differences between stable and unstable breeding herds. Thirty-five breeding herds belonging to a large integrated Spanish group were classified according to a standardized PRRSV infection status using sampling programs and terminology currently adopted in the United States swine industry, during a one-year study period (February 2017-March 2018). Differences in abortions (ABTHS), born-alive piglet (BAR) and pre-weaning mortality (PWMR) rates and in the number of weaned piglets/1000 sows (WPTHS) between unstable and stable farms were evaluated using a general linear mixed model on a weekly basis. According to monitoring, 15 farms achieved a stable PRRSV status after the first 4 consecutive samplings and 20 farms were classified as unstable. One of the farms maintained a stable status throughout the whole monitoring period. Among the 20 farms classified as unstable at the beginning of the monitoring protocol, 9 farms never reached the stable status and 11 farms reached stable status afterwards during the monitoring period. Regarding production differences between PRRSV farm status, significant improvement due to the achievement of PRRSV stability were observed on BAR (+1.08%), PWMR (-0.95) and WPTHS (+25.2). On a yearly basis, PRRSV stabilization would represent an increase of 1.3 piglets/sow/year. Systematic monitoring for PRRSV in breeding herds established a basis of knowledge of PRRSV epidemiology at the farm level and provided key data to classify farms according to PRRSV status. This classification allows veterinarians and producers to evaluate the production productivity benefit of the achievement of PRRSV stability in breeding herds

GA4GH: International policies and standards for data sharing across genomic research and healthcare.

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) aims to accelerate biomedical advances by enabling the responsible sharing of clinical and genomic data through both harmonized data aggregation and federated approaches. The decreasing cost of genomic sequencing (along with other genome-wide molecular assays) and increasing evidence of its clinical utility will soon drive the generation of sequence data from tens of millions of humans, with increasing levels of diversity. In this perspective, we present the GA4GH strategies for addressing the major challenges of this data revolution. We describe the GA4GH organization, which is fueled by the development efforts of eight Work Streams and informed by the needs of 24 Driver Projects and other key stakeholders. We present the GA4GH suite of secure, interoperable technical standards and policy frameworks and review the current status of standards, their relevance to key domains of research and clinical care, and future plans of GA4GH. Broad international participation in building, adopting, and deploying GA4GH standards and frameworks will catalyze an unprecedented effort in data sharing that will be critical to advancing genomic medicine and ensuring that all populations can access its benefits

Development and implementation of a monitoring system for PRRSV status classification and study of the PRRSV stability on production parameters in Spanish breeding herds

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is an endemic swine disease causing significant production and economic losses. Knowledge of PRRS epidemiology at breeding farms is crucial to develop control strategies against this disease. In that regard, classifying breeding herds according to PRRS virus (PRRSV) status provides great applied knowledge for developing disease control programs and to evaluate the production impact of PRRSV infection in breeding sows. The aim of this study was to establish a systematic monitoring program for PRRSV in Spanish sow farms and to evaluate the production differences between stable and unstable breeding herds. Thirty-five breeding herds belonging to a large integrated Spanish group were classified according to a standardized PRRSV infection status using sampling programs and terminology currently adopted in the United States swine industry, during a one-year study period (February 2017-March 2018). Differences in abortions (ABTHS), born-alive piglet (BAR) and pre-weaning mortality (PWMR) rates and in the number of weaned piglets/1000 sows (WPTHS) between unstable and stable farms were evaluated using a general linear mixed model on a weekly basis. According to monitoring, 15 farms achieved a stable PRRSV status after the first 4 consecutive samplings and 20 farms were classified as unstable. One of the farms maintained a stable status throughout the whole monitoring period. Among the 20 farms classified as unstable at the beginning of the monitoring protocol, 9 farms never reached the stable status and 11 farms reached stable status afterwards during the monitoring period. Regarding production differences between PRRSV farm status, significant improvement due to the achievement of PRRSV stability were observed on BAR (+1.08%), PWMR (-0.95) and WPTHS (+25.2). On a yearly basis, PRRSV stabilization would represent an increase of 1.3 piglets/sow/year. Systematic monitoring for PRRSV in breeding herds established a basis of knowledge of PRRSV epidemiology at the farm level and provided key data to classify farms according to PRRSV status. This classification allows veterinarians and producers to evaluate the production productivity benefit of the achievement of PRRSV stability in breeding herds.</p

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population.The aim of this study was to inform vaccination prioritization by modelling the impact of vaccination on elective inpatient surgery. The study found that patients aged at least 70 years needing elective surgery should be prioritized alongside other high-risk groups during early vaccination programmes. Once vaccines are rolled out to younger populations, prioritizing surgical patients is advantageous

GA4GH: International policies and standards for data sharing across genomic research and healthcare

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) aims to accelerate biomedical advances by enabling the responsible sharing of clinical and genomic data through both harmonized data aggregation and federated approaches. The decreasing cost of genomic sequencing (along with other genome-wide molecular assays) and increasing evidence of its clinical utility will soon drive the generation of sequence data from tens of millions of humans, with increasing levels of diversity. In this perspective, we present the GA4GH strategies for addressing the major challenges of this data revolution. We describe the GA4GH organization, which is fueled by the development efforts of eight Work Streams and informed by the needs of 24 Driver Projects and other key stakeholders. We present the GA4GH suite of secure, interoperable technical standards and policy frameworks and review the current status of standards, their relevance to key domains of research and clinical care, and future plans of GA4GH. Broad international participation in building, adopting, and deploying GA4GH standards and frameworks will catalyze an unprecedented effort in data sharing that will be critical to advancing genomic medicine and ensuring that all populations can access its benefits