Blazing the trail: Social innovation supporting wildfire-resilient territories in Catalonia (Spain).

Mediterranean territories have co-evolved and been shaped by fire throughout history. However, global environmental change conditions are increasing the size, intensity and severity of wildfires, which have gone from a regular natural disturbance to a serious threat for civil protection, surpassing firefighting capacities. Therefore, building resilience in fire-prone territories is an increasingly relevant policy and management objective. However, the notion of resilience has been criticized for paying insufficient attention to key social issues such as socio-political dynamics, power imbalances and societal change. At the same time, social science contributions to wildfire research are still rather limited. In this paper, we bridge social innovation theory to resilience theory in order to create a territorially embedded and socially sensitive framework for assessing socio-ecological resilience. From this perspective, we then examine how Forest Defence Groups (ADFs, by their Catalan acronym) have evolved from grassroots, bottom-up initiatives to well-established bottom-linked institutions and we evaluate their contributions to socio-ecological resilience in the territories where they operate. Our results show that ADFs contribute in several aspects to socio-ecological resilience and that the pave the way for opening up spaces of dialogue and collaboration through which local communities can engage with the issues that directly affect them, such as wildfires.

Infection with an apathogenic fowl adenovirus serotype-1 strain (CELO) prevents adenoviral gizzard erosion in broilers.

Gizzard erosion in broilers due to an infection with virulent fowl adenovirus serotype 1 (FAdV-1) is an emerging disease. Although experimental studies were performed, a possible prevention strategy was not reported so far. The present study was set up to determine (i) a possible influence of birds' age at time of inoculation on the pathogenicity of a European FAdV-1 field strain (PA7127), (ii) the virulence of a apathogenic FAdV-1 strain (CELO), and (iii) its capability to protect SPF broilers from adenoviral gizzard erosion caused by the field virus. Oral infection of birds with PA7127 at 1-, 10- and 21-days of life, resulted in reduced weight gain compared to non-infected birds, with significance for birds infected at day-old. Independent of the birds' age at time of inoculation, clinical signs appearing approximately one week after challenge coincided with gizzard lesions. Birds infected exclusively with CELO at the first day of life did not show any clinical signs or pathological changes in the gizzard, confirming the apathogenicity of this European FAdV-1. A similar result was obtained for birds orally infected at the first day of life with CELO and challenged three weeks later with the pathogenic PA7127 strain. Therefore, complete protection of adenoviral gizzard erosion in broilers by vaccination of day-old birds could be demonstrated for the first time, although virus excretion was detected post challenge. Establishment of an amplification refractory mutation system quantitative PCR (ARMS-qPCR) facilitated the identification of the FAdV-1 strain and presence of challenges virus was confirmed in one sample.

Subclinical circulation of avian hepatitis E virus within a multiple-age rearing and broiler breeder farm indicates persistence and vertical transmission of the virus.

In a prospective longitudinal study, a broiler breeder flock and its progeny were monitored for the presence of avian hepatitis E virus (HEV) RNA and antibodies. The flock was part of a multiple-age farm where the presence of avian HEV with clinical signs (increased mortality and decreased egg production) was demonstrated in several previous production cycles. Samples were taken twice at the rearing site and several times at the production site from broiler breeders including cockerels and day-old chicks. The samples were investigated by conventional and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and histological methods. At all time points, samples from the hens were positive for avian HEV RNA. The birds did not show any clinical signs, even though histopathological lesions of non-specific aetiology in the liver and spleen could be demonstrated. A significant increase in the number of positive birds and viral load was seen in week 45, in accordance with an increase in antibody titres. In comparison, cockerels investigated in week 62 tested negative by RT-PCR and ELISA. Avian HEV RNA was also detected in day-old chicks hatched from eggs laid in week 25, indicating vertical transmission. All partial helicase and capsid sequences retrieved within this study clustered together and were identical to previous sequences obtained from the same multiple-age farm. In conclusion, avian HEV persisted on the farm over years and circulated between the rearing and the production sites without causing any clinical signs although high viral loads in the adult hens were observed.

Vertical transmission and clinical signs in broiler breeders and broilers experiencing adenoviral gizzard erosion.

The present report documents an outbreak of adenoviral gizzard erosion in 22 broiler flocks in Germany. The clinical picture was characterized by uneven growth of affected broilers that resulted in considerably lower than average weight at slaughtering. Fowl adenovirus serotype 1 (FAdV-1) was isolated from gizzard lesions and histological examinations demonstrated FAdV-1-positive intranuclear inclusion bodies in gizzard epithelial cells of affected broilers by in-situ hybridization. Birds from all affected flocks originated from one broiler breeder farm. During production of affected birds, broiler breeders were between 27 and 32 weeks old. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and specific virus neutralization assay of sera from parent birds demonstrated an acute FAdV-1 infection within the first 5 weeks of the production cycle. Clinically, broiler breeders exhibited a moderate fall in the hatchability of their chicks, while egg production remained normal. No further clinical signs could be observed. Genetically identical FAdV-1 strains were isolated from gizzards of embryos at the lowest point of hatchability and from affected broiler flocks raised on independent farms. For the first time, direct detection of viable FAdV-1 from gizzards of embryos and progenies of one FAdV-1-seropositive broiler breeder farm in the course of an outbreak of adenoviral gizzard erosion could be demonstrated, highlighting the importance of vertical transmission of this disease. Additionally, growth retardation and subsequent reduced average weight at the time of slaughter of broiler chickens underline the economic impact of adenoviral gizzard erosion for poultry production.

TaqMan real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay for universal detection and quantification of avian hepatitis E virus from clinical samples in the presence of a heterologous internal control RNA.

Avian hepatitis E virus (HEV) isolates could be separated into at least three genotypes. In this study, the development of the first duplex TaqMan real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay for detection and quantification of avian HEV is presented. Primers and probes binding within relatively conserved open reading frame 3 (ORF3) were designed. Tenfold dilution series of in vitro-transcribed avian HEV RNA were used as the standard for quantification. A 712-bp region of the green fluorescent protein gene was transcribed in vitro and used as a heterologous internal control for both RNA isolation and real-time RT-PCR. The duplex real-time RT-PCR for avian HEV had an efficiency of 1.04, a regression squared value of 0.996, and a sensitivity of approximately 3.6 × 10(3) copies per reaction mixture when in vitro-transcribed RNA was used as the template. The presence of in vitro-transcribed heterologous internal control RNA did not affect amplification of avian HEV RNA compared to that achieved by the single assay. The sensitivity of the real-time RT-PCR assay was comparable to that of conventional RT-PCR, and it was shown to be highly specific, as tissues from uninfected chickens, mammalian HEVs, and other viral genomes did not produce positive signals. All tested field samples with virus belonging to different avian HEV genotypes were successfully detected with this new duplex TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assay.