Engaging scientists and veterinarians in strengthening biosecurity systems.

The engagement of both scientists and veterinarians in strengthening biosecurity systems is of paramount importance to ensure resilience and sustainability. Such commitment from scientists and veterinarians begins during their university education, is nurtured by the examples set by their mentors, and continues into their careers through professional development and the wisdom gained from experience. Resilient and sustainable biosecurity systems also require an organisational culture that encourages, recognises and rewards scientists and veterinarians who are committed to biosecurity education, research, outreach and preparedness. At present, such involvement is complicated by the range of definitions of biosecurity used in the life sciences and veterinary medicine, and by the various international organisations with biosecurity responsibilities. Biosecurity represents both a public and a private good. However, the priority given to biosecurity education, research, outreach and implementation differs widely among the public, private and academic sectors. The public sector has the broadest engagement and the broadest mandate for biosecurity. The private sector's approach to biosecurity is governed by business decisions and whether or not they produce consumer goods. In the academic sector, although biosecurity education is gaining increased attention in universities, there are disincentives to research in this field. Strategies for encouraging greater involvement from scientists and veterinarians include agreeing on an inclusive definition of biosecurity, developing teaching materials and experiential learning approaches for use in undergraduate curricula and postgraduate professional development, train-the-trainer programmes, increased involvement of government scientists and veterinarians in university education and professional development, and the fostering of public-private-academic partnerships around shared interests in biosecurity education, research, outreach and implementation.

La participation des chercheurs et des vétérinaires au renforcement des systèmes de biosûreté est d'une importance capitale pour garantir la résilience et la durabilité de ces systèmes. Les chercheurs et les vétérinaires qui s'engagent dans ce domaine le font dès leur formation universitaire, grâce à l'émulation de leurs mentors, et cet engagement se poursuit tout au long de leur carrière grâce au perfectionnement professionnel et à la sagesse acquise avec l'expérience. La durabilité et la résilience des systèmes de biosûreté nécessitent également une culture organisationnelle qui encourage, reconnaisse et récompense les chercheurs et les vétérinaires qui s'engagent dans des activités d'enseignement, de recherche, de vulgarisation et de préparation dans le domaine de la biosûreté. À l'heure actuelle, cette participation est rendue plus complexe par les nombreuses définitions données à la biosûreté dans les sciences du vivant et en médecine vétérinaire, ainsi que par le grand nombre d'organisations internationales compétentes en matière de biosûreté. La biosûreté constitue à la fois un bien public et un bien privé. Néanmoins, suivant que l'on se trouve dans le secteur public, privé ou universitaire, la priorité accordée à l'enseignement, à la recherche, à la vulgarisation et à la mise en œuvre de la biosûreté varie considérablement. Le secteur public compte avec la participation la plus large et détient le mandat le plus vaste en matière de biosûreté. L'approche du secteur privé est gouvernée par des décisions commerciales et dépend de la possibilité ou non de produire des biens commercialisables relevant de la biosûreté. Dans le secteur universitaire, l'enseignement de la biosûreté prend de l'ampleur mais certains facteurs découragent la recherche dans ce domaine. Parmi les stratégies permettant d'accroître la participation des chercheurs et des vétérinaires, l'auteur cite la mise au point d'une définition concertée et inclusive de la biosûreté ; le développement de matériels didactiques et de méthodes d'apprentissage par l'expérience destinés à l'enseignement supérieur et à la formation professionnelle ; la mise en place d'une offre de formation des formateurs ; une meilleure participation des chercheurs et des vétérinaires du service public dans l'enseignement supérieur et la formation professionnelle ; enfin, la promotion de partenariats de recherche public-privé autour de sujets d'intérêt commun relatifs à la biosûreté et à l'enseignement, la recherche, la vulgarisation et la mise en œuvre dans ce domaine.

La participación de científicos y veterinarios en el refuerzo de los sistemas de seguridad biológica reviste cardinal importancia para asegurar la resiliencia y la sostenibilidad. Esta participación, que empieza en el momento de la formación universitaria, se ve impulsada por los ejemplos que ofrece el profesorado y continúa a lo largo de toda la carrera gracias al perfeccionamiento profesional y a las enseñanzas que depara la experiencia. Para que los sistemas de seguridad biológica sean duraderos y resilientes se precisa también una cultura organizativa que aliente, reconozca y recompense a los científicos y veterinarios que intervienen en labores de pedagogía, investigación, difusión y preparación en relación con la seguridad biológica. A día de hoy, esta participación se ve complicada por las dispares definiciones que se dan de «seguridad biológica¼ en las ciencias de la vida y la medicina veterinaria y por la existencia de varias organizaciones internacionales con responsabilidades en la materia. La seguridad biológica representa un bien de interés a la vez público y privado. No obstante, los sectores público, privado y universitario no coinciden ni de lejos en el grado de prioridad que otorgan a la enseñanza, la investigación, la difusión y la aplicación de la seguridad biológica. El sector público exhibe la participación y el mandato más amplios en la materia. Los planteamientos del sector privado al respecto responden a decisiones empresariales y a su utilidad, o no, para traducirse en bienes de consumo. En los medios universitarios, si bien se presta cada vez más atención a la enseñanza de la seguridad biológica, hay factores que desincentivan la investigación en la materia. Las estrategias para alentar una mayor participación de científicos y veterinarios pasan especialmente por consensuar una definición integradora de «seguridad biológica¼, elaborar material pedagógico y métodos de aprendizaje experimental e introducirlos en los programas de estudios universitarios y de perfeccionamiento profesional de posgrado, instituir programas de formación del profesorado, impulsar una mayor intervención de científicos y veterinarios del sector público en la enseñanza universitaria y de perfeccionamiento profesional y potenciar la colaboración público-privada en la universidad en torno a temas de interés común relacionados con la enseñanza, la investigación, la difusión y la aplicación de la seguridad biológica.

Science, politics and animal health policy: epidemiology in action.

Public policy decisions underlie society's response to current animal health issues ranging from emerging diseases and public health threats to food safety concerns and sustainable animal agriculture strategies. Despite strong calls for "science-based" decisions, animal health policy most commonly emerges at the interface of science and politics. Too often scientists' disdain for politics limits their involvement in formulating policy. By contrast, epidemiologists are ideally qualified to bring scientific skills to complex policy issues through analytical, macro-epidemiological approaches that consider the economic, legal, and cultural context of policy issues as well as the biological and medical aspects. Risk analysis provides a systematic approach to evaluating animal health issues and comparing policy options. Capturing these opportunities for applied epidemiology requires an understanding of the policy-making process as well as the basic principles of epidemiology. Furthermore, epidemiology training programs must incorporate communications skill building and experiential learning opportunities in a team environment.

Risk factors associated with early respiratory disease complex in broiler chickens.

Early respiratory disease complex (ERDC) is a term coined to describe an acute disease characterized by depression, respiratory distress, and increased mortality in 2-to-3-wk-old broiler chickens. Postmortem lesions include airsacculitis, fibrinous pericarditis, and perihepatitis. Colisepticemia is the primary cause of death. In order to investigate the association between ERDC and farm management factors, a retrospective case-control study was conducted by collecting data covering a 6-mo period (January-June 1997) from four broiler integrators on the Delmarva peninsula. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses revealed that flock size was positively associated (P = 0.02) and layout time was negatively associated (P = 0.05) with ERDC.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: case-control studies of calf feeding practices and meat and bonemeal inclusion in proprietary concentrates.

Following the identification of meat and bonemeal as the most likely source of exposure for the occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Great Britain case-control studies were initiated to investigate this hypothesis. These involved a comparison of the consumption of specific proprietary calf feedstuffs, and whether or not meat and bonemeal had been included, between animals born in 1983-84 in BSE-unaffected herds and confirmed cases of BSE also born in 1983-84. The feeding of proprietary concentrates containing meat and bonemeal was found to be a statistically significant risk factor for the occurrence of BSE. These studies therefore support the initial hypothesis that BSE occurred as a result of exposure to a scrapie-like agent via meat and bonemeal.

Assessment of national systems for the surveillance and monitoring of animal health.

Continued growth in international trade and the developing concepts of zoning and risk assessment demand effective assessment of national surveillance and monitoring systems for animal health. The ideal national epidemiological delivery system incorporates surveillance for disease agents, host monitoring and environmental assessment. An extensive veterinary infrastructure is necessary to support the ideal epidemiological delivery system. While the full spectrum of epidemiological services is represented worldwide, a standardized approach to assessing national surveillance and monitoring systems is proposed, in order to meet the emerging demand for scientifically-based import regulations.

Macroepidemiological contributions to quantitative risk assessment.

Macroepidemiology is the study of all inputs into national patterns and determinants of disease, including economic, social, and political factors. Macroepidemiology complements and enhances the usefulness of quantitative risk assessment by increasing risk communication and understanding among policy-makers and the affected public. Macroepidemiological applications include qualitative risk assessment, mapping of relative risk within a country and assessment of surveillance systems.

Isolation of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis from washed bovine ova after in vitro exposure.

To establish whether Mycobacterium paratuberculosis could be cultured from Dulbecco phosphate-buffered saline solution (DPBSS) and to test 3 sampling methods, DPBSS supplemented with 2% fetal bovine serum was inoculated with M paratuberculosis at concentrations of 10(4), 10(3), 10(2), 10(1), and 10(0) colony-forming units/ml. The inoculated media was sampled after mixing, after centrifugation, and after centrifugation and decontamination with 0.75% hexadecylpyridinium chloride. The samples were inoculated onto 3 slants of Herrolds egg yolk medium supplemented with sodium pyruvate and mycobactin J and 1 slant without mycobactin J. Mycobacterium paratuberculosis was isolated following all 3 sampling methods for all concentrations. Treatment with hexadecylpyridinium chloride decreased the number of colonies isolated. To test the efficacy of a 10-step wash procedure for removing M paratuberculosis from bovine ova, washed zona pellucida intact bovine ova were incubated in DPBSS supplemented with 2% fetal bovine serum containing concentrations of 10(4), 10(3), 10(2), 10(1), and 10(0) colony-forming units of M paratuberculosis/ml for 12 hours at 22 C. Ten zona pellucida intact ova were removed from each concentration and washed by passing through 10 changes of DPBSS supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum. The media from each wash step was inoculated onto slants of Herrolds egg yolk medium. The ova were included with the tenth wash step. Mycobacterium paratuberculosis was isolated from 1 of 10 tenth-wash steps at the 10(4) concentration and 5 of 10 tenth-wash steps at 10(3).

Patterns of ionizing radiation exposure among women veterinarians.

Radiation detection devices (film badges) were distributed to a random sample of 118 women in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, who had graduated from a US veterinary school between 1970 and 1980, inclusive. Ionizing radiation exposure exceeded 15 mrem/mo in 17% of the women monitored. The maximal recorded whole-body dose was 44.2 mrem/quarter-year, which was well below the maximal permissible doses of 1,250 mrem/quarter-year for nonpregnant women and 500 mrem/quarter-year for pregnant women. Associations between the women's safety beliefs or behaviors and recorded exposure were not observed; however, the school from which the women graduated was an important determinant of safety behavior.

Scrotal circumference measurements on young Holstein bulls.

Scrotal circumference was measured on all young Holstein bulls entering an artificial insemination center over a 57-month period. A total of 3,008 measurements were taken on 723 bulls between the ages of 5 and 18 months. Mean scrotal circumference, standard deviation, and 10th and 25th percentile statistics were calculated for each one-month interval between 5 and 18 months of age. Scrotal circumference increased as a logarithmic function of age and was best described by a quadratic regression equation. This information provides the veterinary practitioner with indices for normal scrotal circumference measurements for young Holstein bulls, and an estimate of the scrotal circumference growth curve.

Intramammary antibiotic treatment at the end of lactation for prophylaxis and treatment of intramammary infections in ewes.

Ewes treated by intramammary infusion of cephapirin benzathine at the end of lactation were less likely to develop new intramammary infections by early in the next lactation. A controlled clinical trial involving 135 treated ewes and 145 untreated control ewes evaluated the prophylactic and treatment efficacy of intramammary antibiotic treatment of ewes at the time of weaning lambs. Milk samples for bacteriologic examination and identification of intramammary infections were collected at weaning of lambs and 1 to 3 weeks into the subsequent lactation. Untreated ewes were 2.6 times more likely than treated ewes to develop new intramammary infections between sampling times. Existence of an intramammary infection in one mammary gland significantly increased the risk of the other mammary gland becoming infected. Treatment also appeared to be associated with a higher cure rate of existing infections.

Patterns of nonclinical intramammary infection in a ewe flock.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most frequent bacterial isolates from nonclinical intramammary infections (NIMI) in a ewe flock. The prevalence of NIMI was 22.9% of the udder halves at lambing and decreased to 12.5% or less between week 2 and week 6 of lactation. The decrease was due mainly to the elimination of infections involving coagulase-negative staphylococci. The frequency of new NIMI in the first 6 weeks of lactation was less than 1% of the noninfected udder halves per week. The prevalence of NIMI increased steadily from 16.1% of the udder halves at the time of weaning the lambs to 29% at postweaning week 3. The new infection rate averaged 9.7% per week during the postweaning 3 weeks. The principal bacterial isolate in the new NIMI was coagulase-negative staphylococcus. Nonclinical intramammary infection in a ewe flock was monitored by bacteriologic cultural examinations of milk samples obtained from both udder halves of 24 ewes during early lactation and of 31 ewes in the same flock during the early postweaning period. The patterns of NIMI were similar to the patterns reported in cattle.

Detection of ovine intramammary infection with the California mastitis test.

The overall sensitivity of the California mastitis test (CMT) for detecting intramammary infection (the likelihood of a positive CMT score in the presence of intramammary infection) was 69.3%. The specificity of the CMT (likelihood of a negative test in the absence of intramammary infection) was 76.5%. When only infections by major ovine mastitis pathogens were considered, the sensitivity increased to 100% and the specificity decreased to 71.1%. Bacterial cultural examination and CMT scores were recorded for 526 samples of milk obtained from 106 brood ewes. Positive CMT scores were recorded for all samples from udder halves infected with major ovine mastitis pathogens (coagulase-positive staphylococci, Escherichia coli, and Pasteurella haemolytica). The CMT scores for samples from udder halves infected with coagulase-negative staphylococci were variable.

Estimation of the costs of mastitis, using National Animal Health Monitoring System and milk somatic cell count data.

Data collected by the National Animal Health Monitoring System in Ohio for a 12-month period during 1986 and 1987 were used to determine the relative magnitude of costs associated with mastitis in the following categories: milk production loss, veterinary services, drugs, producer labor, and "other" factors. The cost of milk loss associated with mastitis that was reported by producers cooperating in the National Animal Health Monitoring System program was compared with estimates based on bulk tank somatic cell counts and individual cow milk somatic cell counts. Using producer-reported estimates, milk loss accounted for about one third of the total cost associated with mastitis. When estimates of milk loss were replaced by estimates based on bulk tank somatic cell counts, milk loss accounted for over 80% of the total cost of mastitis. Estimates of the cost of milk loss based on studies relating milk yield to somatic cell counts differed considerably. Consequently, it was unclear how to best estimate the relative magnitude of the milk loss component of mastitis costs.

Serratia liquefaciens mastitis in a dairy herd.

Serratia liquefaciens mastitis was detected and investigated in a 41-cow Holstein herd. Twenty cows were treated for mastitis over a 3-month period. Serratia liquefaciens was isolated from milk samples obtained from 8 of 12 cows tested during the epizootic. Results of an epidemiologic investigation suggested that extensive frostbite of the teats decreased the udder defense. Poor milking technique and hygiene were responsible for increased exposure of the damaged teats to potential udder pathogens. Treatment of each cow resulted in initial clinical improvement, but exacerbations occurred in 75% of the cows with documented S liquefaciens infections.

Mastitis control services and utilization of milk somatic cell count data by veterinarians in Ohio.

A telephone survey was conducted of 50 randomly selected Ohio-licensed veterinarians engaged in dairy practice. The survey's purpose was to determine the extent of mastitis control services offered by practitioners and to assess their utilization of milk somatic cell count (SCC) data on individual cows available from the Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA). During the preceding year, 96% (48/50) of practitioners surveyed had performed bacteriologic culture of milk samples. Practitioners were twice as likely to have performed culture on milk from mastitic cows that failed to respond to treatment as they were to have performed culture for purposes of identifying pathogen trends within a herd. Veterinarians in predominantly dairy practices were more likely to have completed bacteriologic examination of milk in their own laboratories than were veterinarians who were engaged in less than 50% dairy practice (P = 0.016). Most veterinarians (83%) reported that coagulase test results were available or that Staphylococcus aureus was differentiated from other staphylococcal species. Streptococcus agalactiae was not differentiated from other streptococcal species by 35% of practitioners surveyed. For veterinarians with clients enrolled in the DHIA, 91% (43/47) reported looking at, discussing, or otherwise using the DHIA records. Eighty-one percent (35/43) of veterinarians who had clients using services from the DHIA reported that clients also received individual cow milk SCC results. Veterinarians engaged in predominantly, dairy practice expressed a greater familiarity with the linear score method of SCC reporting than did veterinarians whose practices were less than 50% dairy (P = 0.085); however, both groups reported a preference for raw SCC data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Estimation of the sensitivity and specificity of the agar gel immunodiffusion test for bovine leukemia virus: 1,296 cases (1982-1989).

A retrospective study of the results of 12,549 agar gel immunodiffusion tests for bovine leukemia virus, conducted on 1,296 dairy bulls over an 8-year period, was performed to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of the test. The number of tests performed on each bull ranged from 5 to 35, with a mean of 9.7 tests per bull. Bulls were categorized by their agar gel immunodiffusion test responses; 1,069 (82.5%) were noninfected and 227 (17.5%) were infected. Eighteen false-positive results were reported from the noninfected bulls. Test specificity was estimated to be 99.8%. Thirty-one false-negative results were reported from the infected bulls. Test sensitivity was estimated to be 98.5%. Fifty-six bulls had 1 or more positive responses when less than 6 months old. In 26 (46%), these results were thought to be attributable to colostral immunity.

Developing an information resources management strategy for regulatory veterinary medicine: a national imperative.

Lack of a standardized information technology management strategy has resulted in state and federal information systems evolving separately, rather than in tandem. Absence of an information management strategy will eventually affect regulatory program management, epidemiologic research, and domestic and international livestock trade. Producers will ultimately pay the price for the lack of regulatory coordination of US animal health and disease information. The longer the development of state and federal information technology management strategies is postponed, the more cost-, labor-, and time-intensive correcting the deficiency will be. Development of a national information resources management environment is the first step in constructing state and federal information technology strategies.

A research feasibility assessment of regulatory information systems capacities for investigation of epidemiologic factors in pseudorabies.

Pseudorabies (PR) outbreak-investigation forms from 10 states having the most PR-infected herds were evaluated for agreement in question response-data type, information intent, and outbreak information categories. A question randomly selected from an investigation form had 0.6304 probability of being unique to a single state, and 0.0062 probability of being common to all states. Analysis of outbreak forms, on the basis of information intent, revealed that the probability of a randomly selected question being derived from an information category unique to a single state was 0.0323, whereas the probability of a question being derived from an information category shared by all states was 0.1935. A telephone survey revealed that state PR control officials did not believe additional research on between-herd spread of PR was necessary to successfully complete the eradication program. However, officials believed a better understanding of PR risk factors would enhance program effectiveness and build producer confidence.

Survey of veterinary extension in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To assess veterinary extension in the United States as perceived by veterinary extension personnel. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: Extension veterinarians in the United States. PROCEDURE: 2 surveys were designed and mailed to extension veterinarians listed by the USDA and the American Association of Extension Veterinarians. RESULTS: 34 states had > or = 1 extension veterinarian. The majority (> 60%) of extension veterinarians did not commit time to resident education and were not involved in research activities. Paradoxically, 23% of responding extension veterinarians did not report extension work. Programs for food animal producers, horse owners, and companion animal owners were provided by 100, 63, and 37% of states, respectively. Continuing education (CE) programs were provided for food animal veterinarians, equine veterinarians, and companion animal veterinarians by 96, 63, and 52% of states, respectively. Challenges facing veterinary extension included limited recognition of veterinary extension activities by universities, lack of university personnel to support CE programs, and decreased support for companion animal extension programs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Extension veterinarians need to identify and clearly articulate the mission of veterinary extension, develop more collaborative programs across regions, and continue to serve as catalysts to bring diverse constituents together. Extension veterinarians must distinguish their mission not solely as information transfer, which can be accomplished in a variety of ways outside of extension, but as a coherent and consistent program of education and policy developed on a national level and distributed locally.

Costs associated with selected preventive practices and with episodes of clinical mastitis in nine herds with low somatic cell counts.

Nine dairy herds (mean size, 149 cows) with bulk-tank milk somatic cell counts of less than 300,000 cells/ml and greater than 80% of cows with Dairy Herd Improvement Association linear somatic cell counts less than or equal to 4 were selected for study. Each herd was monitored for 12 consecutive months. Duplicate quarter-milk specimens were collected from each cow for bacteriologic culturing at beginning of lactation, cessation of lactation, and at the time of each clinical episode of mastitis. Streptococcus agalactiae was never isolated and Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from less than 1% of all quarters. There were 554 episodes of clinical mastitis. During the year of study, the incidence rate of clinical mastitis varied from 15.6 to 63.7% of cows among the 9 herds. Mean costs per cow per year in herd for mastitis prevention were: $10 for paper towels, $3 for nonlactating cow treatment, and $10 for teat disinfectants. Mean cost associated with clinical mastitis was $107/episode. Approximately 84% ($90) of the costs attributed to a clinical episode were associated with decreased milk production and nonsalable milk. Costs of medication and professional veterinary fees per clinical episode varied significantly among the 9 herds. Three of the herds did not have a veterinarian treat a clinical episode of mastitis during the year of study even though 2 of these herds had the first and third highest incidence rates of clinical mastitis. When calculated on a per cow in herd basis, mean costs of $40/cow/year were attributed to clinical mastitis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)