Efficacy of cabergoline in a double-blind randomized clinical trial on milk leakage reduction at drying-off and new intramammary infections across the dry period and postcalving.

The abrupt cessation of milking at dry-off may induce milk leakage, which may increase the risk of new intramammary infections (IMI). This study assessed the efficacy of 1 i.m. injection of 5.6 mg of cabergoline (Velactis, Ceva Santé Animale, Libourne, France) at drying-off on milk leakage after dry-off and new IMI across the dry period and postcalving compared with a placebo (negative control) and an intramammary antibiotic treatment (positive control) under field conditions. The study was a double-blind, randomized, 3-arm, multicenter, clinical trial performed under Good Clinical Practice conditions. Data from 900 dairy cows of various breeds from 63 farms in France, Germany, and Hungary were analyzed. Only quarters with no bacterial growth at drying-off and a cow somatic cell count ≤200,000 cells/mL were included. Quarters infected with major or minor pathogens or cows with high somatic cell count at time of inclusion were excluded. Cows that qualified for the study were visited 7 times in total before and after drying-off and after calving. Presence (yes/no) of milk leakage was recorded on the day after dry-off. A new infected quarter (new IMI) was defined as one with a major pathogen present in any one of the 2 postcalving samples. Two mixed logistic regression models were fitted to the data to evaluate the efficacy of cabergoline in the reduction of milk leakage and new IMI. One i.m. injection of cabergoline at drying-off significantly reduced the incidence of milk leakage the day after dry-off compared with both placebo and antibiotic treatment. Cabergoline-treated cows significantly reduced the risk of new IMI by major pathogens across the dry period and postcalving by 21% when compared with placebo cows (20.5 vs. 26.0%, respectively). However, when milk leakage was added to the model, the significance of cabergoline was reduced. We interpreted this to show that milk leakage is an intervening variable between treatment with cabergoline and lower risk of new IMI. The antibiotic treatment significantly decreased the odds of new IMI compared with both cabergoline and placebo. However, because several countries are currently disallowing the preventive use of antibiotics at dry-off in noninfected quarters, the dry-off facilitator cabergoline may therefore be of particular value to reduce the risk of new IMI across the dry period.

Simulation of Cross-border Impacts Resulting from Classical Swine Fever Epidemics within the Netherlands and Germany.

The cross-border region of the Netherlands (NL) and the two German states of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) and Lower Saxony (LS) is a large and highly integrated livestock production area. This region increasingly develops towards a single epidemiological area in which disease introduction is a shared veterinary and, consequently, economic risk. The objectives of this study were to examine classical swine fever (CSF) control strategies' veterinary and direct economic impacts for NL, NRW and LS given the current production structure and to analyse CSF's cross-border causes and impacts within the NL-NRW-LS region. The course of the epidemic was simulated by the use of InterSpread Plus, whereas economic analysis was restricted to calculating disease control costs and costs directly resulting from the control measures applied. Three veterinary control strategies were considered: a strategy based on the minimum EU requirements, a vaccination and a depopulation strategy based on NL and GER's contingency plans. Regardless of the veterinary control strategy, simulated outbreak sizes and durations for 2010 were much smaller than those simulated previously, using data from over 10 years ago. For example, worst-case outbreaks (50th percentile) in NL resulted in 30-40 infected farms and lasted for two to four and a half months; associated direct costs and direct consequential costs ranged from €24.7 to 28.6 million and €11.7 to 26.7 million, respectively. Both vaccination and depopulation strategies were efficient in controlling outbreaks, especially large outbreaks, whereas the EU minimum strategy was especially deficient in controlling worst-case outbreaks. Both vaccination and depopulation strategies resulted in low direct costs and direct consequential costs. The probability of cross-border disease spread was relatively low, and cross-border spread resulted in small, short outbreaks in neighbouring countries. Few opportunities for further cross-border harmonization and collaboration were identified, including the implementation of cross-border regions (free and diseased regions regardless of the border) in case of outbreaks within close proximity of the border, and more and quicker sharing of information across the border. It was expected, however, that collaboration to mitigate the market effects of an epidemic will create more opportunities to lower the impact of CSF outbreaks in a cross-border context.

Cross-border collaboration in the field of highly contagious livestock diseases: a general framework for policy support.

This paper analyses the potential gains and the main challenges for increased cross-border collaboration in the control of highly contagious livestock diseases in regions with cross-border reliance on production and consumption of livestock commodities. The aim of this intensification of cross-border collaboration is to retain the economic advantages of cross-border trade in livestock and livestock commodities while maintaining a low risk of highly contagious livestock diseases. From these two foci, possibilities for future policy making with respect to highly contagious livestock diseases are discussed: peacetime cross-border cooperation to improve the cost-effectiveness of routine veterinary measures and crisis time cross-border harmonization of current disease control strategies. A general disease management framework was used to describe the way in which these two fields are related to and affect the epidemiological system and, consequently, how they impact the stakeholders. In addition to this framework, the importance of a good understanding of influencing factors, that is, the production structure of livestock, was stressed because these factors are important determinants of the frequency and magnitude of highly contagious livestock diseases and their economic impact. The use of the suggested integrated approach was illustrated for the extended cross-border region of the Netherlands and Germany, that is, North Rhine Westphalia and Lower Saxony. For this region, current difficulties in cross-border trade in livestock and livestock commodities and possibilities for future cross-border collaboration were examined. The concepts and ideas presented in this paper should foster future development of cross-border collaboration in animal health control.

Prospects for cost reductions from relaxing additional cross-border measures related to livestock trade.

Compared with the domestic trade in livestock, intra-communal trade across the European Union (EU) is subject to costly, additional veterinary measures. Short-distance transportation just across a border requires more measures than long-distance domestic transportation, while the need for such additional cross-border measures can be questioned. This study examined the prospects for cost reductions from relaxing additional cross-border measures related to trade within the cross-border region of the Netherlands (NL) and Germany (GER); that is, North Rhine Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The study constructed a deterministic spread-sheet cost model to calculate the costs of both routine veterinary measures (standard measures that apply to both domestic and cross-border transport) and additional cross-border measures (extra measures that only apply to cross-border transport) as applied in 2010. This model determined costs by stakeholder, region and livestock sector, and studied the prospects for cost reduction by calculating the costs after the relaxation of additional cross-border measures. The selection criteria for relaxing these measures were (1) a low expected added value on preventing contagious livestock diseases, (2) no expected additional veterinary risks in case of relaxation of measures and (3) reasonable cost-saving possibilities. The total cost of routine veterinary measures and additional cross-border measures for the cross-border region was €22.1 million, 58% (€12.7 million) of which came from additional cross-border measures. Two-thirds of this €12.7 million resulted from the trade in slaughter animals. The main cost items were veterinary checks on animals (twice in the case of slaughter animals), export certification and control of export documentation. Four additional cross-border measures met the selection criteria for relaxation. The relaxation of these measures could save €8.2 million (€5.0 million for NL and €3.2 million for GER) annually. Farmers would experience the greatest savings (99%), and most savings resulted from relaxing additional cross-border measures related to poultry (48%), mainly slaughter broilers (GER), and pigs (48%), mainly slaughter pigs (NL). In particular, the trade in slaughter animals (dead-end hosts) is subject to measures, such as veterinary checks on both sides of the border that might not contribute to preventing contagious livestock diseases. Therefore, this study concludes that there are several possibilities for reducing the costs of additional cross-border measures in both countries.

A PathWayDiagram for introduction and prevention of Avian Influenza: Application to the Dutch poultry sector.

The introduction of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) viruses is a continuing threat to the poultry sector. In times of increased risk of introduction (e.g. because of HPAI outbreaks in neighbouring countries or trade partners), decision-makers face the question whether they should intensify current preventive measures or establish new ones. To support this, a qualitative decision tool in the form of a PathWayDiagram (PWD) is presented. The PWD includes theoretically possible pathways for introduction of HPAI in the domestic commercial poultry population together with corresponding preventive measures. Hence, the PWD is a systematic checklist focused on (1) possibilities of (increased risk of) introduction and (2) possible preventive measures. It can be used in a high-alert situation, when decision-makers have to act in a relatively short time to decide on and implement a coherent set of preventive measures covering the high-risk pathways involved.