Malaria in the State of Amazonas: a typical Brazilian tropical disease influenced by waves of economic development

In Brazil, more than 99% of malaria cases are reported in the Amazon, and the State of Amazonas accounts for 40% of this total. However, the accumulated experience and challenges in controlling malaria in this region in recent decades have not been reported. Throughout the first economic cycle during the rubber boom (1879 to 1912), malaria was recorded in the entire state, with the highest incidence in the villages near the Madeira River in the Southern part of the State of Amazonas. In the 1970s, during the second economic development cycle, the economy turned to the industrial sector and demanded a large labor force, resulting in a large migratory influx to the capital Manaus. Over time, a gradual increase in malaria transmission was observed in peri-urban areas. In the 1990s, the stimulation of agroforestry, particularly fish farming, led to the formation of permanent Anopheline breeding sites and increased malaria in settlements. The estimation of environmental impacts and the planning of measures to mitigate them, as seen in the construction of the Coari-Manaus gas pipeline, proved effective. Considering the changes occurred since the Amsterdam Conference in 1992, disease control has been based on early diagnosis and treatment, but the development of parasites that are resistant to major antimalarial drugs in Brazilian Amazon has posed a new challenge. Despite the decreased lethality and the gradual decrease in the number of malaria cases, disease elimination, which should be associated with government programs for economic development in the region, continues to be a challenge.

Evaluating the interaction of faecal pellet deposition rates and DNA degradation rates to optimize sampling design for DNA-based mark-recapture analysis of Sonoran pronghorn.

Knowledge of population demographics is important for species management but can be challenging in low-density, wide-ranging species. Population monitoring of the endangered Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) is critical for assessing the success of recovery efforts, and noninvasive DNA sampling (NDS) could be more cost-effective and less intrusive than traditional methods. We evaluated faecal pellet deposition rates and faecal DNA degradation rates to maximize sampling efficiency for DNA-based mark-recapture analyses. Deposition data were collected at five watering holes using sampling intervals of 1-7 days and averaged one pellet pile per pronghorn per day. To evaluate nuclear DNA (nDNA) degradation, 20 faecal samples were exposed to local environmental conditions and sampled at eight time points from one to 124 days. Average amplification success rates for six nDNA microsatellite loci were 81% for samples on day one, 63% by day seven, 2% by day 14 and 0% by day 60. We evaluated the efficiency of different sampling intervals (1-10 days) by estimating the number of successful samples, success rate of individual identification and laboratory costs per successful sample. Cost per successful sample increased and success and efficiency declined as the sampling interval increased. Results indicate NDS of faecal pellets is a feasible method for individual identification, population estimation and demographic monitoring of Sonoran pronghorn. We recommend collecting samples <7 days old and estimate that a sampling interval of four to seven days in summer conditions (i.e., extreme heat and exposure to UV light) will achieve desired sample sizes for mark-recapture analysis while also maximizing efficiency [Corrected].

Data warehouse for assessing animal health, welfare, risk management and -communication.

The objective of this paper is to give an overview of existing databases in Denmark and describe some of the most important of these in relation to establishment of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administrations' veterinary data warehouse. The purpose of the data warehouse and possible use of the data are described. Finally, sharing of data and validity of data is discussed. There are databases in other countries describing animal husbandry and veterinary antimicrobial consumption, but Denmark will be the first country relating all data concerning animal husbandry, -health and -welfare in Danish production animals to each other in a data warehouse. Moreover, creating access to these data for researchers and authorities will hopefully result in easier and more substantial risk based control, risk management and risk communication by the authorities and access to data for researchers for epidemiological studies in animal health and welfare.