Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Welfare of Animals in Australia.

We report on the various responses in Australia during 2020 to minimize negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of animals. Most organizations and individuals with animals under their care had emergency preparedness plans in place for various scenarios; however, the restrictions on human movement to contain the spread of COVID-19, coupled with the economic impact and the health effects of COVID-19 on the skilled workforce, constituted a new threat to animal welfare for which there was no blueprint. The spontaneous formation of a national, multisectoral response group on animal welfare, consisting of more than 34 organizations with animals under their care, facilitated information flow during the crisis, which helped to mitigate some of the shocks to different organizations and to ensure continuity of care for animals during the pandemic. We conclude that animal welfare is a shared responsibility, and accordingly, a multisectoral approach to animal welfare during a crisis is required. Our experience demonstrates that to safeguard animal welfare during crises, nations should consider the following: a national risk assessment, clear communication channels, contingency plans for animal welfare, a crisis response group, and support systems for animal care providers. Our findings and recommendations from the Australian context may inform other countries to ensure that animal welfare is not compromised during the course of unpredictable events.

Exosomal MicroRNAs in Milk from Mothers Delivering Preterm Infants Survive in Vitro Digestion and Are Taken Up by Human Intestinal Cells.

SCOPE: This study investigates the ability of preterm milk exosomes to survive gastric/pancreatic digestion, internalization by intestinal epithelia, and the microRNAs (miRNAs) contents. METHODS AND RESULTS: At average infant age 1 week and 6 days, milk is collected from mothers who delivered preterm and term infants (n = 10). Milk is exposed to conditions simulating infant gut digestion. Exosomes are isolated and lysed, and the exposed miRNAs are sequenced. Preterm milk exosomes survive in vitro digestion, and can be taken up by intestinal epithelia. Three hundred and thirty miRNAs are identified as preterm milk exosome miRNAs, and in vitro digestion does not have a pronounced effect on their expression. The abundant miRNAs in preterm milk exosomes are similar to those from term milk. Twenty-one low abundance miRNAs are specifically expressed in preterm milk exosomes compared to early term milk in the current study and what previously is found in mature term milk. CONCLUSION: These results for the first time reveal the survivability of preterm milk exosomes following simulated gastric/pancreatic digestion. The authors demonstrate the richness of the miRNAs content in these exosomes. The results improve the knowledge of preterm milk biology and the molecular basis by which exosome miRNAs may uniquely affect preterm infants during early development.

Highlights from the advanced wound healing stream at the LINK Congress.

Sarah Kahn, Editor of the British Journal of Nursing, discusses some highlights of the recent Hartmann LINK for Wound Healing Congress, which was organised in collaboration with the Journal of Wound Care.

Support for nurses: paying it forward.

Sarah Kahn, Deputy Editor, BJN, speaks to Joan Pons Laplana who was awarded third place at this year's BJN Awards for Nurse of the Year. Joan had not wanted to become a nurse, but by sheer luck (realised in retrospect) that is what he ended up doing. Today, he uses his motivation to raise funds and share nursing knowledge.

Delayed magnetic mismatch negativity field, but not auditory M100 response, in specific language impairment.

Recent studies show that electrophysiological markers of auditory processing such as the cortical 100 ms response (M100) and the mismatch field, derived from magnetoencephalography, might be used to identify children with autism spectrum disorders--M100 peak latency--and to stratify children with autism according to the degree of language impairment--mismatch field peak latency. The present study examined the latency of right superior temporal gyrus M100 and mismatch field in a cohort of children and young adolescents with specific language impairment (n=17), in comparison with age-matched and nonverbal intelligence quotient-matched typically developing controls (n=21). Neither group showed symptoms associated with autism. Although M100 latency (reflecting early auditory processing) did not distinguish controls from children with specific language impairment, the later 'change detection' mismatch field response was significantly delayed (by >50 ms) in the specific language impairment group. Linear discriminant analysis confirmed the role of mismatch field latency (92%) but not M100 latency (8%) in distinguishing groups. The present results lend support to the claim that a delayed M100 is specific to autism spectrum disorders (with relative independence of degree of language impairment) and that a delayed mismatch field reflects an abnormality more generally associated with language impairment, suggesting that mismatch field delay in the present specific language impairment group and previously reported in autistic children with language impairment may be indicative of a common neural system dysfunction.

History and evolution of HPAI viruses in southeast Asia.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been recognized as a serious viral disease of poultry since 1878. The number of outbreaks of this disease globally has increased in the past 10 years culminating in 2004 with the unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 HPAI involving nine countries in East and South East Asia. Apart from the geographical extent of this outbreak and apparent rapid spread, this epidemic has a number of unique features, among which is the carriage of highly pathogenic AI viruses by asymptomatic domestic waterfowl. When this disease first emerged it was recognized almost simultaneously in a number of countries for the first time. This created considerable concern among both veterinary and public health authorities especially as the virus was also shown to cause fatal disease in humans. This article brings together a range of information on H5N1 HPAI viruses in Asia that were collected by FAO during the past year through field projects and explores possible reasons for the emergence of the disease in late 2003 and early 2004. Key epidemiological features of the disease in different Asian countries are described in an attempt to look for, and where possible, explain similarities and differences. This includes assessment of factors that could have contributed to the spread of the disease. Molecular aspects of the viruses are examined to assess relationships between isolates from different locations and times so as to gain insights into the origins of viruses in various countries. It is apparent that the coincidence and grouping of the reports declaring the outbreaks of HPAI did not truly reflect the time course of disease emergence, which was widespread well before the outbreak. The factors that could have led to a change from infection to emergence of widespread disease in 2003-2004 are discussed. There are still some questions that remain unanswered regarding the origins of the 2004 outbreak. This article does not provide answers to all of these, but brings together what is currently known about these outbreaks and the viruses that have caused them.

Chronic wasting disease in Canada: Part 1.

The purpose of part 1 is to provide an overview of published literature (1980-2002) on chronic wasting disease (CWD) to inform Canadian readers about the disease and to explain Canadian regulatory approaches to the surveillance and control of CWD. Much of the scientific information is drawn from American publications obtained from internet searches in PubMed and Medline databases. The following keywords were used: chronic wasting disease, prion, diagnosis, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, CWD and deer, CWD and elk, and CWD and environment. The article also presents information from Canadian publications and unpublished observations, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) documents, and both government and nongovernment internet Web sites. The article highlights some different features of CWD in Canada, as compared with the situation in the United States, and mentions public health implications of the disease. It also describes the basis for development of Canada's surveillance and control program. Part 2 will detail the activities and results of the surveillance and control program during 2000 to 2002 and discuss factors that will influence the feasibility of eradicating CWD. Chronic wasting disease appears to have been introduced into Canada through the importation of infected farmed elk from the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s, at a time when little was known about the disease. Since then, eradication efforts in Canada have led to the control of the spread of CWD in the farmed elk industry. Still, management of this disease, especially in free-ranging cervids, is a challenge.

Vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease: the implications for Canada.

Vaccination of susceptible animals against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a well established strategy for helping to combat the disease. Traditionally, FMD vaccine has been used to control a disease incursion in countries where the disease has been endemic rather than in countries considered free of the disease. In 2001, the use of vaccine was considered but not implemented in the United Kingdom (1), whereas vaccine was used to help to control FMD in The Netherlands (2,3). Canadian contingency plans provide for the use of vaccine; Canada is a member of the North American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank, which could supply vaccine if needed. This article explains why Canada might use FMD vaccine to combat an outbreak and the factors that are relevant to the disposal of vaccinated animals and their products. It concludes that vaccination is an important mechanism in Canada's preparedness for an outbreak of FMD and that products from vaccinated animals are safe for human consumption.