Bovine fascioliasis in Brazil: Economic impact and forecasting.

Fasciola hepatica causes liver damage and poor growth in cattle and other animals, including humans. Although the disease occurs throughout the country, it is hyperendemic in cattle in the South of Brazil. This work aimed to determine the economical loss by carcass weight variance using data from all the states where F. hepatica is found, as well as to run a disease forecast analysis for the Rio Grande do Sul State. We found a direct loss of approximately US$ 210 million/year from infected cattle in Brazil and the ARIMA model analysis revealed that an increase of fascioliasis is most probable if no parasite control program is adopted.

Decrease in tick bite consultations and stabilization of early Lyme borreliosis in the Netherlands in 2014 after 15 years of continuous increase.

BACKGROUND: Nationwide surveys have shown a threefold increase in general practitioner (GP) consultations for tick bites and early Lyme borreliosis from 1994 to 2009 in the Netherlands. We now report an update on 2014, with identical methods as for the preceding GP surveys. METHODS: To all GPs in the Netherlands, a postal questionnaire was sent inquiring about the number of consultations for tick bites and erythema migrans diagnoses (most common manifestation of early Lyme borreliosis) in 2014, and the size of their practice populations. RESULTS: Contrasting to the previously rising incidence of consultations for tick bites between 1994 and 2009, the incidence decreased in 2014 to 488 consultations for tick bites per 100,000 inhabitants, i.e., 82,000 patients nationwide. This survey revealed a first sign of stabilization of the previously rising trend in GP diagnosed erythema migrans, with 140 diagnoses per 100,000 inhabitants of the Netherlands. This equals about 23,500 annual diagnoses of erythema migrans nationwide in 2014. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the constantly rising incidence of GP consultations for tick bites and erythema migrans diagnoses in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2009, the current survey of 2014 showed a first sign of stabilization of erythema migrans diagnoses and a decreased incidence for tick bite consultations.

Physician reported incidence of early and late Lyme borreliosis.

BACKGROUND: Lyme borreliosis is the most common vector-borne disease in Europe and North America. The objective of this study is to estimate the incidence of tick bites and Lyme borreliosis, representative of our entire country, including erythema migrans, disseminated Lyme borreliosis and persisting symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis. METHODS: A questionnaire on clinical diagnoses of Lyme borreliosis was sent to all GPs, company physicians, and medical specialists. To adjust for possible misclassification and telescoping bias, we sent additional questionnaires to categorize reported cases according to likelihood of the diagnosis and to exclude cases diagnosed outside the target period. RESULTS: Adjusted annual incidence rate for disseminated Lyme borreliosis was 7.7 GP reports per 100,000 inhabitants, and for persisting symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis was 5.5 GP reports per 100,000 inhabitants, i.e. approximately 1,300 and 900 cases respectively. GP consultations for tick bites and erythema migrans diagnoses were 495 and 132 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively, i.e. 82,000 and 22,000 cases in 2010. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported nationwide physician survey on the incidence of tick bites and the whole range of manifestations of Lyme borreliosis, including persisting symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis. This is crucial for complete assessment of the public health impact of Lyme borreliosis.

Fasciola hepatica in bovines in Brazil: data availability and spatial distribution.

Fasciolosis is a disease of importance for both veterinary and public health. For the first time, georeferenced prevalence data of Fasciola hepatica in bovines were collected and mapped for the Brazilian territory and data availability was discussed. Bovine fasciolosis in Brazil is monitored on a Federal, State and Municipal level, and to improve monitoring it is essential to combine the data collected on these three levels into one dataset. Data were collected for 1032 municipalities where livers were condemned by the Federal Inspection Service (MAPA/SIF) because of the presence of F. hepatica. The information was distributed over 11 states: Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The highest prevalence of fasciolosis was observed in the southern states, with disease clusters along the coast of Paraná and Santa Catarina and in Rio Grande do Sul. Also, temporal variation of the prevalence was observed. The observed prevalence and the kriged prevalence maps presented in this paper can assist both animal and human health workers in estimating the risk of infection in their state or municipality.

Fasciola hepatica IN BOVINES IN BRAZIL: DATA AVAILABILITY AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION / Fasciola hepatica em bovinos no Brasil: disponibilidade de dados e distribuição espacial

Fasciolosis is a disease of importance for both veterinary and public health. For the first time, georeferenced prevalence data of Fasciola hepatica in bovines were collected and mapped for the Brazilian territory and data availability was discussed. Bovine fasciolosis in Brazil is monitored on a Federal, State and Municipal level, and to improve monitoring it is essential to combine the data collected on these three levels into one dataset. Data were collected for 1032 municipalities where livers were condemned by the Federal Inspection Service (MAPA/SIF) because of the presence of F. hepatica. The information was distributed over 11 states: Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The highest prevalence of fasciolosis was observed in the southern states, with disease clusters along the coast of Paraná and Santa Catarina and in Rio Grande do Sul. Also, temporal variation of the prevalence was observed. The observed prevalence and the kriged prevalence maps presented in this paper can assist both animal and human health workers in estimating the risk of infection in their state or municipality.

A fasciolose é doença de alta importância para a saúde tanto veterinária quanto humana. Pela primeira vez, dados georreferenciados da prevalência de Fasciola hepatica em bovinos foram coletados e mapeados para o território brasileiro e a disponibilidade desses dados discutida. Fasciolose bovina no Brasil é monitorado em nível Federal, Estadual e Municipal, e para melhorar esse monitoramento é preciso juntar os dados dos três níveis para construir um único banco de dados. As informações foram coletadas de 1032 municípios onde fígados bovinos foram condenados por causa de F. hepatica pelo Serviço de Inspeção Federal (MAPA/SIF). Onze estados foram representados: Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e São Paulo. A prevalência mais alta da fasciolose foi observada nos estados do Sul, com presença de focos da doença ao longo do litoral do Paraná e Santa Catarina e no Rio Grande do Sul. Variação temporal da prevalência também foi observada. Os mapas de prevalência observada e de krigeagem aqui apresentados podem auxiliar a profissionais da área da saúde veterinária e humana a estimar o risco de infecção nos seus estados e/ou municípios.

Towards assessing fine-scale indicators for the spatial transmission risk of Fasciola hepatica in cattle.

In order to improve the spatial resolution of current risk maps for fasciolosis in cattle, more knowledge is needed with respect to farm-level factors that determine infection risk. In this study, we visited 39 dairy farms within a predefined low- and high-risk area for fasciolosis in Belgium and assessed their infection status by an indirect bulk tank milk enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Management factors were collected and all pastured lands of the farms were visited to identify and georeference potential snail habitats. The habitats were visually characterised, investigated for the presence of the intermediate host snails of Fasciola hepatica (i.e. Galba truncatula and Radix spp) and used in a geographical information system (GIS) to construct overlays including information on soil and hydrology. A linear regression model was used to evaluate associations between bulk tank milk ELISA results and farm level management and habitat factors. A logistic, mixed model was used to identify possible risk factors for the presence of intermediate host snails on a potential habitat. Potential snail habitats were found in 35 out of 39 farms. A total of 87 potential habitats were identified and on 29% of these, intermediate host snails were found. The number of potential habitats, the presence of snails, drainage of pastures, month of turnout of the cows, stocking rate, type of watering place and risk area were significantly associated with the bulk tank milk ELISA result and explained 85% of the observed variation. Intermediate host snails were more likely to be present with increasing surface of the potential habitat and on loamy soils. This study confirms the importance of farm management factors in the infection risk for F. hepatica in cattle and highlights that the combination of management factors with characterization of snail habitats is a powerful means to predict the infection risk with F. hepatica at the individual farm level. Further research is needed to investigate how this knowledge can be incorporated in nation-wide spatial distribution models of the parasite.

Epidemiology and risk factors for exposure to gastrointestinal nematodes in dairy herds in northwestern Europe.

In this survey, the epidemiology of gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes in dairy herds in five northwestern European countries was studied using a standardized Ostertagia ostertagi ELISA applied on bulk-tank milk, and a common questionnaire. The levels of exposure to GI nematodes were high in Belgium, the UK and Ireland, intermediate in Germany and low in Sweden, with a mean (95% confidence interval) ELISA result (ODR) of 0.83 (0.82-0.84) in Belgium, 0.82 (0.79-0.84) in the UK and 0.80 (0.78-0.83) in Ireland; significantly higher than the mean ODR of 0.66 (0.65-0.68) in Germany and 0.52 (0.51-0.53) in Sweden. Taking into account previous literature, these regional differences are likely to be systematic. Regional variations in exposure were significantly explained by differences in management (grazing time per day, mowing, the months of turnout, housing and anthelmintic treatment). However, after controlling for these factors, significant regional differences in levels of exposure remained, suggesting an importance for climate (temperature, rainfall) and unmeasured management factors. This study emphasizes that GI nematode-induced production losses should be considered on a large percentage of northwest European dairy herds. Proposals are made for the development of region-specific monitoring and control strategies. Further advances in this area are likely to come from intervention studies that investigate the feasibility of control measures and from studies on the potential effects of climatic conditions on shifts in levels of exposure between years and regions.