Studies on the dissemination of Salmonella in nine broiler-chicken flocks.

The salmonella status of nine different broiler-chicken flocks was studied from the day before the chickens were placed in the house until their sixth week of age. The presence of salmonella serotypes in dust, litter, feces, water, and feed was investigated. Dust from different sites was sampled and appeared to be contaminated with salmonellae even after six of the nine houses were disinfected. Defects in the cleaning and disinfection of air inlets and fans seemed to be an important factor for the recontamination of the house. Chickens were often contaminated at the hatchery, and in two houses the percentage of contamination had increased to as much as 82 7% and 88 8% at six weeks of age. Swabbing of intact and fresh feces appeared to be a more reliable technique than culturing the litter for evaluating the shedder state of the flock, and it appeared also to be more rapid and simple than the collection of cloacal swabs.

Serological survey of leptospiral antibodies in swine in Quebec.

The prevalence of reactors to different serovars of Leptospira interrogans was determined in 117 swine premises in Quebec. A total of 926 sera were tested, using the microscopic agglutination method, against six leptospiral serovars: pomona, icterohaemorrhagiae, grippotyphosa, hardjo, canicola and ballum. Of the sera tested, 30 (3.2%) reacted to one of the three following serovars: pomona (2%), icterohaemorrhagiae (1.1%) and ballum (0.1%).

Attitudes toward clinical guidelines among obstetricians in Northern Ireland.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the attitudes of, and the influences on decisions made by, obstetricians in Northern Ireland in order to understand the feasibility of applying guidelines to obstetric practice. DESIGN: Cross-sectional postal survey. SETTING: Northern Ireland. POPULATION: Consultants, senior registrars, registrars, and senior house officers in obstetrics in Northern Ireland (n = 170). Responses were received from 68 x 8% (n = 117), with complete data available for 67 x 1% (n = 114). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An attitudes score was constructed by consolidating responses to a variety of statements about guidelines. Individual responses to guidelines statements and the standardised attitudes T-score were analysed by demographic and practice characteristics. RESULTS: Attitudes toward guidelines were generally positive, with women practitioners more likely to have positive attitudes toward guidelines than did their male counterparts. Younger obstetricians were more likely to report that practitioners should incorporate guidelines into their practices. Doctors who responded that their decisions were influenced by specific tools related to guidelines, such as computerised databases, during the previous three months had more positive attitudes toward guidelines than doctors who did not use such tools. Furthermore, doctors based in teaching hospitals were more likely than others to have been influenced by the guidelines of professional societies. CONCLUSIONS: Generally guidelines appear to be quite well received, with doctors reporting that their practice often is influenced by them. Doctors who reported that their decisions were influenced by guidelines had an especially positive attitude toward them. However, some tools which target the application of evidence-based methods (e.g. computerised databases) are used infrequently by obstetricians. The challenge remains to encourage the further development of guidelines and tools that are useful and appropriate for practitioners.