Has Culling Been Properly Assessed as a Valid and Justified Control Intervention Measure for Zoonotic Diseases?

No abstract available

ADVANZ: Establishing a Pan-African platform for neglected zoonotic disease control through a One Health approach

Advocacy for neglected zoonotic diseases (ADVANZ) is a One Health Neglected Zoonotic Diseases (NZDs) project, funded by the European Commission through its 7th framework programme. The initiative aims at persuading decision makers and empowering stakeholders at local, regional, and international levels towards a coordinated fight against NZDs. ADVANZ is establishing an African platform to share experiences in the prevention and control of NZDs. The platform will compile and package existing knowledge or data on NZDs and generate evidence-based algorithms for improving surveillance and control with the ultimate aim of eliminating and eradicating these diseases. The platform will serve as a forum for African and international stakeholders, as well as existing One Health and NZD networks and harness and consolidate their efforts in the control and prevention of NZDs. The platform had its first meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa in March 2013

Are we ready for Taenia solium cysticercosis elimination in sub-Saharan Africa?

The World Health Organization announced in November 2014 at the fourth international meeting on 'the control of neglected zoonotic diseases - from advocacy to action', that intervention tools for eliminating Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis (TSTC) are in place. The aim of this work was to elucidate theoretical outcomes of various control options suggested for TSTC elimination in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over a 4-year period. Our current knowledge regarding T. solium epidemiology and control primarily builds on studies from Latin America. A simple transmission model - built on data from Latin America - has been used to predict the effect of various interventions such as mass treatment of humans, vaccination and treatment of pigs, and health education of communities, potentially leading to change in bad practices and reducing transmission risks. Based on simulations of the transmission model, even a 4-year integrated One Health approach fails to eliminate TSTC from a small community and in all simulations, the prevalence of human taeniosis and porcine cysticercosis start to rise as soon as the programmes end. Our current knowledge regarding transmission and burden of TSTC in SSA is scarce and while claiming to be tool ready, the selection of diagnostic and surveillance tools, as well as the algorithms and stepwise approaches for control and elimination of TSTC remain major challenges

Survival of Taenia saginata eggs under different environmental conditions

This study aimed to assess in vitro the transmission potential of T. saginata eggs stored in different media at various temperatures, and to optimize recovery, hatching and activation methods. A total of 42 freshwater and 42 silt samples were spiked with 100 mu l of a T. saginata egg suspension, of which half were stored at 5 degrees C and the other half at 20 degrees C. Additionally, 5 silt and 35 tap water control samples were included. Eggs were obtained from gravid proglottids passed by a human carrier following treatment. The duration of the experiment was 6 months, with three sampling time points at 2, 4 and 6 months, respectively (Study 1). In addition, two pilot studies were carried out. One included 8 samples kept in a freshwater stream for a period of 2 and 4 months, respectively, from December 2016 until February 2017 (Study 2). Another study used 6 water samples which were stored for one week in the freezer at -18 degrees C, and 6 samples that were stored outdoor from 7 to 14 February, at temperatures ranging from - 6 degrees C to 5 degrees C (Study 3). To assess survival of T. saginata eggs, recovery, hatching and activation methods were optimized. Taenia saginata eggs could be activated after 6 months of storage in water and silt at 5 degrees C. Storage at 20 degrees C significantly decreased activation of the eggs, to 4 months when stored in water and 2 months when stored in silt. Furthermore, degenerative changes in oncospheres were observed when eggs were stored at 20 degrees C, which were associated with an increased loss of oncospheres during activation. Eggs could be activated after 4 months of storage in the stream at temperatures ranging from - 10 degrees C to 17 degrees C, as well as after one week of constant freezing at - 18 degrees C, or repeated freezing and thawing from - 6 degrees C to 5 degrees C. This study indicates that T. saginata eggs can survive a Northern European winter, and thus pose a significant risk of transmission, and that in vitro activation is a more accurate method for assessing the transmission potential of T. saginata eggs, than recovery, integrity and hatching. Studies will be needed to assess how accurate the in vitro activation correlates to in vivo infectivity to ensure an accurate assessment of the transmission potential at a larger scale for surveillance purposes