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Test EVERY Cow in the Food Chain

Test EVERY Cow in the Food Chain
Like Other Countries Do

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

FDA: Antibotics in Animals a Health Threat to Humans

Agency Suggests Limits on Antibiotics in Animals Because of Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria

By Daniel J. DeNoon

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Laura J. Martin, MDJune 28, 2010 -- Giving animals antibiotics in order to increase food production is a threat to public health and should be stopped, the FDA said today.

The federal agency says it has the power to ban the practice, but it's starting by issuing "draft guidance" in hopes the food industry will make voluntary changes. After a 60-day public comment period, the guidance will become FDA policy.

The guidance is based on two principles:

Antibiotics should be given to food animals only to protect their health.
All animal use of antibiotics should be overseen by veterinarians.
"We are seeing the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens," FDA Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein, MD, said at a news conference. "FDA believes overall weight of evidence supports the conclusion that using medically important antimicrobial drugs for production purposes is not appropriate."

Sharfstein said it's a public health issue when antibiotics important for human health are given to animals on a massive scale. Such use encourages the growth of drug-resistant bacteria that can cause hard-to-treat human disease.

Like humans, animals sometimes need antibiotics to fight or prevent specific infections. The FDA says it has no problem with this.

But producers regularly give antibiotics to food animals because it makes them gain weight faster or makes them gain more weight from the food they eat. This is the practice the FDA wants to end.

Sharfstein hopes that by offering the carrot of voluntary guidelines, industry will avoid the stick of new regulations.

"We are not expecting people to change tomorrow. This is the first step in FDA establishing principles from which we could move to other steps, such as oversight," Sharfstein said. "This does not tell people what to do, it establishes principles and tells people how to achieve those principles."

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Cattle Die Off - Bangladesh

UNDIAGNOSED DEATHS, BOVINE - BANGLADESH: (CHANDPUR) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Sat 26 Jun 2010
Source: The Independent, Bangladesh [edited]



Cattle diseases have broken out in 2 upazilas [subdistricts] of the
district during the last 7 days, thus making the poor farmers quite
panicky. The upazilas are Haimchar and Faridganj.

Faridganj Upazila Livestock and Animal Resource officer Pabitra Kumar
Saha told this correspondent that in different villages of 12 No
Chardukhia union under Faridganj upazila, about 1000 cattle have been
attacked with a bacterial disease called Torka during the 7 days in
different areas of this upazila.

Due to extreme heat, this bacteria has broken out in the grass etc.,
and after eating this grass, cattle are being attacked with this
disease, and they are dying day by day due to the diseases related to
this bacteria, added the Livestock Officer. The farmers take
preventive measures to save their cows , bulls and goats by
anti-bacteria vaccines available at the Upazila Livestock and Animal
Resources Office in Faridganj.

On the other hand, in different villages of the neighbouring Haimchar
upazila, as many as 35 cows and bulls have died of the said Torka
disease during the last 7 to 8 days, said sources in Haimchar
upazilla Livestock and Animal Resources office. This information was
confirmed by Faridganj Upazila Livestock and Animal Resource Officer
Pabitra Kr Saha.

The panicky farmers are passing their days in great anxiety with
their cows, bulls and goats, said many farmers in Faridganj and
Haimchar upazilas.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Those acquainted with the vernacular names of animal diseases in
Bangladesh are hereby requested to clarify the term Torka, which --
according to the above source -- is a bacterial disease affecting
cattle and goats (infectious pleuropneumonia?!). Three other names of
animal diseases in Bangladesh, which have been mentioned in local
media on previous occasions, are Gola Phula, Badla and Khurarog. The
latter is, apparently, FMD; information on the scientific names of
Torka, as well as of Gola Phula and Badla, will be appreciated. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Avian influenza (25): Bangladesh, OIE 20100501.1412
Anthrax, human, bovine - Bangladesh: (TA) susp, RFI 20100421.1291
2009
----
Anthrax, human, bovine - Bangladesh: (RJ) 20090831.3068
Foot & mouth disease, bovine - Bangladesh: susp., RFI 20090823.2974
2007
----
Avian influenza (60): Bangladesh 20070327.1062
2004
----
Nipah virus - Bangladesh (2004)(04) 20041122.3124]
...............................................sb/arn/msp/dk

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Saturday, June 26, 2010

Anthrax, HUMAN, BOVINE - Kazakhstan: (PAVLODAR

Maybe the US Can Help, why not? Its not like they cant REPAY US - Kazakhstan has the Largest Oil Reserves in the Caspian Sea; http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kazakhstan's_oil_industry

**********************************************

A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: 23 Jun 2010
Source: News agency "Medportal" [trans. Artak Stepanyan, edited]



The Ministry of Emergencies of Kazakhstan has reported that a 2nd
patient has died from anthrax in the Pavlodar oblast of Kazakhstan.
This patient was a woman who died on 21 June 2010.

The cause of the anthrax outbreak was slaughtering of a sick bull and
distribution of the beef to the residents of Karakol and Rebrovka
villages. The man who slaughtered the bull felt sick already on 11
June 2010. He did not apply for medical help and tried self
treatment. He was later transported to the hospital 19 June in a bad
condition and died next day.

Sometime later several other patients were also hospitalized,
including the woman who died recently. A total of 5 more patients
with confirmed anthrax are still in the hospital. There are about 80
contact persons in 2 villages and all are receiving preventive antibiotics.

The sanitary services confiscated and destroyed several kilograms of
contaminated beef.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED moderator Nilufar Rakmanova

[Pavlodar is on the north eastern border of Kazakhstan; see:
;
. Historically it has had its
share of anthrax outbreaks in the past, especially along the border
with Russia; see:
. - Mod.MHJ]

[see also:
2009
----
Anthrax, human - Kazakhstan (02): (WK) 20090731.2690
Anthrax, human - Kazakhstan (WK) 20090624.2305
Anthrax, human, bovine - Kazakhstan: (Zhambyl) 20080915.2886
2004
----
Anthrax, human & livestock - Kazakhstan (North) 20040709.1844]
.......................dk/mhj/ejp/dk


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using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
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Giving Blood, The G8, Nat'l Security & Mad Cow Disease

There won't be blood

By John Allemang From Saturday's Globe and Mail

A shortage during the G20 underscores the irrational restrictions Canadians still face around blood donation
I want to donate blood, I really do. But the only way I can give the gift of life is if I tell a lie - and I just can't bring myself to do that.

My altruistic urges were stirred by an appeal from the Toronto branch of Canadian Blood Services. Appointments at the agency's city-centre clinics were down by 50 per cent this week, apparently in anticipation of the disruptions caused by the G20 summit.

Some good should come out of the G20, I decided. When a billion-dollar exercise in hypersecurity compromises our blood supply, then the notion of public safety is completely out of whack. Giving blood to those who need it would be a much more satisfying gesture than chanting slogans at sullen peace officers.

But then I read the fine print on the donation form. In the distant past, it turns out, I did something so risky that Canadian Blood Services now refuses my donation: I spent time in Britain.

From 1980 to 1996, I was in England for a total of three and a half months. During that period, some cattle in Britain were foolishly fed sheep's brains, and some of those cattle developed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as mad-cow disease.

"It is possible," says the Canadian Blood Services website, "that people were exposed to BSE through food in the mid-to-late 1980s."

According to the risk-assessment measures followed by the administrators of Canada's blood supply, my sojourns in Britain puts me at greater risk both of developing the neurogenerative disease known as vCJD - variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of mad-cow - and of passing it on to you though my possibly tainted blood.

Unlike HIV, for example, there is currently no available test for vCJD in blood donors. And since the symptoms may take a considerable time to reveal themselves, the fact that I'm outwardly healthy and lucid after all these years is no proof that I haven't been infected by the delicious steak I ate at an Oxford bistro in 1992. Though it's not known whether vCJD can be transmitted by blood, I'm officially considered hazardous to Canadians - just like prostitutes, intravenous-drug users, people who have recently been in jail and, most controversially, men who have had sex with men.

Like the G20 security bosses, the people who watch over blood donations err on the side of caution. Given the consequences of getting it wrong (remembering especially the tainted-blood scandal of the 1980s), they follow what's called the precautionary principle: When there's a shortage of good scientific evidence, it's better to overreact.

But when it comes to determining safety risks at the donor level, the blood agency's assessments can look highly arbitrary. Why not ban everyone who travelled to Britain from 1980 to 1996, and not just those who stayed three months or more? Because that would severely limit blood donations - too many Canadians made that trip. Why not distinguish between vegetarians and meat-eaters, or follow other countries that have set the rate at six months rather than three? Of course, in Britain there is no exclusion based on long-term residence - when everyone is affected, you don't have the luxury.

But then, says Greta Bauer, an epidemiologist with the Schulich School of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, "We don't really know if there's any association between having been in the U.K. for three months and developing vCJD. How can you test for that? There's isn't a clear criterion for shaping that policy. It seems to have developed more along the lines of, 'We should do something. But what should it be?' " Such bureaucratic hesitation can be defended when so little is known about vCJD. But the lifetime ban for male donors who have had sex with men at any time since 1977 is proving much harder to justify.


" It's all quite irrational "- Mark Wainberg, head of the McGill University AIDS Centre


Dr. Wainberg is also co-author of a recent paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that argued against the lifetime ban - which was devised in 1983, before the development of highly sensitive tests now used to screen donated blood and detect HIV.

A categorical deferral like this, based on elevated HIV rates among gay men, is easy to implement, unapologetically discriminatory and broadly unfair - the same principle is applied to men who engage in unprotected anal sex with multiple partners as to monogamous male couples who have tested HIV-negative.

But other groups with elevated rates of HIV, such as native people, are (rightly) not singled out for exclusion. Nor are heterosexuals whose behaviour shades into risky categories held to the same standards. Provided she can claim to know the sexual background of her partners over the past six months, a highly sexually active woman is still a respectable donor.

Other countries do it differently, which helps to prove that the policy-making is arbitrary: In New Zealand, the deferral period for gay male donors is five years after a sexual encounter classified as risky; in Australia, it's only one year. Dr. Wainberg wants Canada to move in the same direction, both for social reasons (discrimination is wrong, and leads to a loss of donors) and for scientific ones (the risks to blood recipients do not change significantly).

Canadian Blood Services knows all this: The agency commissioned an excellent study on risk management from the University of Ottawa and then shelved it when the authors recommended a shift to a five-year deferral period. Its hesitation to change the dubious status quo doesn't surprise Prof. Bauer in the least.

The agency was created in the wake of the tainted-blood scandal, "and they've had to do a lot of PR work to get Canadians to trust the blood supply. So they're put in a difficult place if they do something that's popularly perceived to jeopardize the blood supply."

Scientists know better: The risk of HIV-infected blood escaping detection in Canada is now as close to zero as is humanly possible. So why not change the policy, enlarge the donor base and do some good for a long-stigmatized group?

Because in the politics of blood, change is too high-risk.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS - USA (02): (FLORIDA) SENTINEL AVIAN

****************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: 22 Jun 2010
Source: WPTV.com [edited]



Encephalitis detected in Martin County
--------------------------------------
For the 1st time in 30 years mosquito control officials have found
traces of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in Martin County. Two
chickens living on farmland along Cove Road tested positive for the disease.

"It could be what happens every year you get a little bit of an
undercurrent of mosquito disease and then it goes away or it may be
that this is just the beginning of mosquito disease. We don't know
yet," said Gene Lemire, Mosquito Control director for the county.

Lemire says the breed [species of mosquito] that carries the disease
lives inland, in swampy areas, and does not come out during the day.

He says typically the mosquito will bite a bird which is infected
with equine encephalitis then go on to bite either a horse or a human
to pass it along. [Horses cannot pass the disease to humans and
humans cannot pass it horses. The mosquito can pass the disease to
either its equine victim or its human victim. - Mod.TG]

If a human contracts the disease it results in flu-like symptoms --
like headache, fever, dizziness and fatigue -- but for a horse it can
be more serious, even deadly. [Occasionally infection in humans can
lead to severe central nervous system disease and death. - Mod.DK].

"Horses can be vaccinated and should be and they won't get the
disease," said Lemire.

Health officials encourage the rest of us to practice the 5 "D's"

* Dusk and Dawn -- Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are seeking
blood, for many species this is during the dusk and dawn hours.

* Dress -- Wear clothing that covers skin.

* DEET -- When the potential exists for exposure to mosquitoes,
repellents containing DEET are recommended. Products with
concentrations up to 30 percent DEET are generally recommended for
most situations. (It is not recommended to use DEET on children
younger than 2 months old. Instead, infants should be kept indoors or
mosquito netting used over carriers when mosquitoes are present).
Always read the manufacturer's directions carefully before you put on
a repellent.

* Drainage -- Check around your home to rid the area of standing
water, where mosquitoes can lay their eggs.

Horse owners are encouraged to vaccinate their animals to prevent
viral infection.

Information is also available at:


Lemire says his staff has stepped up surveillance and spraying in the
southern part of Martin County wear they detected the disease, but he
says because the inland mosquito population is still relatively low
he's going to hold off on the aerial attacks at least for now.

[Byline: Bryan Garner]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[Now is the time to vaccinate those horses. The disease is usually
fatal to horses. While it takes at least 2 weeks to develop a
protective titer, the EEE titer is a shorted-lived titer, requiring
revaccination in about 4-6 months. For those along the Eastern
seaboard and the Gulf coast, where the mosquito population is likely
to live longer, it is often recommended to revaccinate in 3, or 4 or
6 months. - Mod.TG]

[see also:
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA: (FL) 20100527.1755
2009
----
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (22): (NC) 20091217.4260
Eastern equine encephalitis - USA (21): (NH), mosquito
surveillance 20091114.3943
Eastern equine encephalitis - Canada (04): (NS) 20091107.3845
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - Belize (02): (CY) 20091025.3690
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - Belize (CY) OIE 20091019.3593
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (20): (RI) 20091014.3543
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - Canada: (NS) 20091001.3416
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (17): (NY) human 20091001.3413
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (15): (NH) emu 20090929.3397
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (10): (ME) 20090905.3127
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine, alpaca - USA: (NC, VA) 20090828.3034
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (05): (MO, VA) 20090714.2507
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA (03): (FL) 20090701.2378
Eastern equine encephalitis, equine - USA: (GA) 20090613.2197]
....................tg/ejp/dk


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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Cattle Blight in Kazakhstan - Pay Close Attention to Text in Red and Think About Germ Warfare, NWO and Population Control as You Read

FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE, BOVINE - KAZAKHSTAN (02): (AQMOLA)
********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Fri 18 Jun 2010
Source: Interfax-Kazakhstan [edited]

FMD outbreak reported in Novodolinka
------------------------------------
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) has affected the cattle of the Novodolinka
village in Akmola [Aqmola] region.

According to the Kazakh Emergency Ministry, 241 cases have been reported
during the livestock examination last Tuesday [16 Jun 2010]. The Ministry
says, however, that no mass die-off has occurred.

On 16 Jun 2010 the akim of Ereimentau district quarantined the village. [An
akim is the head of a local government in Kazakhstan; akims are appointed
or selected to the post in an order defined by the president. - Mod.AS]
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[The information above generally conforms with the information included in
Kazakhstan's notification to the OIE (see posting 20100618.2041), with one
difference: the number of clinical cases, out of the 639 susceptible
cattle, was 140 (22 per cent) according to the OIE report (Agriculture
Ministry), compared with 241 cases (38 per cent) according to the media
(Emergency Ministry) report. Either way, such numbers are indicative of an
infection in the affected farm which has undergone 2 or even 3 incubation
periods following the very 1st infection (index case). Thus the actual
"start" date was, most probably, days to weeks earlier than 9 Jun 2010 as
stated. The virus could have circulated in the herd weeks before the
implementation of the quarantine measures on 16 Jun 2010. The disease was,
reportedly, confirmed on 15 Jun 2010 and notified to the OIE on 17 Jun
2010. At that date it was still not serotyped. The serotype is still
anticipated.

Since May 2010, mass morbidity and mortality were observed in saiga
antelopes in Kazakhstan (an endangered species). Based on past experience
in Kazakhstan, one of the possible causes of the health problem in saiga
could have been FMD, requiring investigative effort (see postings below).
According to information obtained on 31 May 2010, Kazakhstan's National
Monitoring Centre and Reference lab for diagnosis and veterinary medicine
in Astana, was -- at that point in time -- pursuing tests of samples from
the sick or dead saigas; final results of the said tests are awaited with
interest.

The global weight of major epizootics and the strategic position of
Kazakhstan within the Asian realm are demonstrated by the started
construction of a USD 103 million reference laboratory for the study of
contagious animal and human diseases in Almaty. The Central Reference
Laboratory is a joint project between the US Department of Defense and the
Republic of Kaz
akhstan
. - Mod.AS

The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Kazakhstan can be seen at
. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[see also:
Foot & mouth disease, bovine - Kazakhstan: OIE, RFI 20100618.2041
Undiagnosed die-off, antelopes - Kazakhstan (04): toxin susp. RFI
20100531.1815
Undiagnosed die-off, antelopes - Kazakhstan (03): infectious, RFI
20100525.1740
Undiagnosed die-off, antelopes - Kazakhstan (02): infectious, RFI
20100524.1726
Undiagnosed die-off, antelopes - Kazakhstan: (west), RFI 20100522.1702]

.................arn/mj/sh



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ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
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using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
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VENEZUELAN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS - PANAMA (03): (DARIEN) FATAL

************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Sat 19 Jun 2010
Source: Hora Cero [in Spanish, trans. Mod.TY, edited]



The [Panama] Ministry of Health has confirmed that 2 children from Darien
province have been added to the group of 8 individuals hospitalized with
equine encephalitis. The ministry indicated that they are children of 3
months and 13 years of age residing in Santa Librada de Yaviza and Punuloso
de Meteto. 6 of the ill individuals are under medical observation. The
total number of ill people is 28, most without serious illnesses.

This week [week of 14 Jun 2010], the Ministries of Health and of
Agricultural Development declared public health and animal health alerts.

--
communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail


[The total number of ill individuals in this report is not clear, but it
appears that out of a total of 28, 10 have needed hospital treatment. A 17
Jun 2010 report indicated that 5 children and "a number" of horses had
contracted equine encephalitis in the Darien area (see ProMED-mail archive
no. 20100617.2034). In any event, the number of individuals reported ill
with equine encephalitis has increased. As in previous reports, the
specific etiological agent is not mentioned, but presumably it is
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), as has been reported to OIE
for horses in Panama with VEEV, subtype unspecified
().

It would be of interest, assuming that the disease is VEEV, to know which
VEEV subtype is involved, as subtype IAB or IC can cause massive equine
epizootics over wide geographic areas with spillover to many humans.
Subtype ID usually causes a few sporadic cases. Mod.TG has an excellent
summary of VEE in ProMED-mail archive no. 20100617.2034. It is worth noting
that eastern equine encephalitis has also been detected in Panama.

Darien in southernmost Panama can be seen on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail
interactive map at . - Mod.TY]

[see also:
Venezuelan equine encephalitis - Panama (02): (DR) fatal 20100617.2034
Venezuelan equine encephalitis - Panama: (DR) fatal 20100613.1984
Venezuelan equine encephalitis, equine - Panama: (DR) OIE 20100609.1934
2009
---
Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis, equine - Belize: OIE 20091010.3513
Venezuelan equine encephalitis, equine - Belize, Costa Rica: OIE 20090925.3364
2003
---
Venezuelan equine encephalitis, equines - Venezuela 20031013.2579
Venezuelan equine encephalitis, human - Colombia 20030816.2039
Venezuelan equine enceph. - Nicaragua, Honduras (02): RFI 20030301.0506
2002
---
Venezuelan equine encephalitis - Honduras 20020320.3775
Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever - Venezuela (02) 20020204.3479
1999
---
Venezuelan equine encephalitis - Colombia (02) 19990420.0656
1998
---
Venezuelan equine encephalitis - Panama (02) 19981204.2332
Equine encephalitis - Panama (Darien) (02) 19981015.2046
Equine encephalitis - Panama (Darien) 19980827.1700]

.................sh/ty/mj/jw/sh

Friday, June 18, 2010

Hong Cong Warns US "Watch Your Pigs More Closely"

INFLUENZA PANDEMIC (H1N1) (42): REASSORTMENT IN SWINE
*****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Fri 18 Jun 2010
Source: The New York Times online [edited]



Study criticizes swine flu follow-up
------------------------------------
There is too little genetic surveillance of last year's human pandemic flu,
which has gone on to infect pigs in China and is readily mixing with other
flus there, according to a study which was released on Thursday [17 Jun
2010] by researchers in Hong Kong.

No dangerous new strain has emerged, said several experts who saw the
study. But in January [2010] the researchers found a new strain with one of
the pandemic flu's surface proteins -- the outer spikes and knobs it uses
to attach to cells. That was a reminder of how easily another swine strain
capable of spreading among people could emerge.

"Just because we've just had a pandemic does not mean we've decreased our
chances of having another," said Dr Carolyn B Bridges, an epidemiologist in
the flu division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We
have to stay vigilant." While there is "a long global history" of testing
humans in many countries to see how human flu strains shift each year,
there are "major gaps" in testing pigs, Dr Bridges said. That is important
because pigs can catch both human and bird flus. Flus easily swap their 8
genes and any new combination might be able to spread among pigs and
eventually reach another human.

Pigs in the giant hog-raising barns of the United States and Western Europe
are tested regularly, but the millions of pigs on small farms and in big
operations in Asia and Latin America seldom are. Commercial hog operations
do constant testing so they can formulate new vaccines and snuff out flu
outbreaks. Flu seldom kills pigs, but it makes them lose weight, which cuts
into profits.

In the new study, published online in the journal Science [abstract
reproduced below], the Hong Kong researchers sequenced viruses they found
by regularly swabbing pigs' snouts at the territory's largest
slaughterhouse, which gets pigs from all over southern China. That testing,
supported by a United States government grant, has gone on for 12 years.
"The message from our paper is not an inevitable disaster around the
corner, but the need for continued vigilance," Malik Peiris, a flu expert
at the University of Hong Kong and one of the study's authors, said in an
email message.

Among the globe-circulating flus that pigs could, in theory, catch are 6
swine flus, several human seasonal ones and at least 2 avian ones. The
latter include the feared H5N1, which has killed 60 per cent of the 500
people known to have caught it since 2003 but thus far almost never spreads
from person to person, and an H9N2, which has been found in about a dozen
humans but caused only mild disease so far.

Last year's pandemic was originally dubbed a "swine flu" because the 8
genes in its makeup had been seen before in American or Eurasian pigs
during the previous 10 years, though never in the exact combination that
was making people sick in Mexico. It has not been found in any stored
samples from people or pigs, so where it came from remains a mystery. It
has now reached 200 countries and is still infecting more people every day,
though most cases are mild to moderate. It is now clear that it is also
circulating freely in pigs in China and sometimes mixing genes with at
least 2 other long-known swine flus.

"The implication of this study is that we have to be very careful," said Dr
Peter Palese, a flu researcher at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "On
the other hand, I could argue that it hasn't happened yet. It's not clear
that any of these new swine viruses have the potential to go into humans
and cause problems."

[byline: Donald G McNeil Jr]

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[The paper upon which this article is based was published on 18 Jun: D
Vijaykrishna, LLM Poon, HC Zhu, SK Ma, OTW Li, CL Cheung, et al.
Reassortment of pandemic H1N1/2009 influenza A virus in swine. Science
2010; 328 (5985),
.

Abstract: "The emergence of pandemic H1N1/2009 influenza demonstrated that
pandemic viruses could be generated in swine. Subsequent reintroduction of
H1N1/2009 to swine has occurred in multiple countries. Through systematic
surveillance of influenza viruses in swine from a Hong Kong abattoir, we
characterize a reassortant progeny of H1N1/2009 with swine viruses.

"Swine experimentally infected with this reassortant developed mild illness
and transmitted infection to contact animals. Continued reassortment of
H1N1/2009 with swine influenza viruses could produce variants with
transmissibility and altered virulence for humans. Global systematic
surveillance of influenza viruses in swine is warranted."

The outcome of this research, depending on one's inclination can be
regarded as alarming (frequent reassortment of influenza pandemic (H1N1)
virus genome sub-units in swine), or reassuring (low risk of generation of
variants pathogenic in humans). An example of the glass half full / glass
half empty paradox. Nonetheless there is a clear need to extend influenza
virus surveillance in swine. - Mod.CP]

[see also:
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (41): New Zealand 20100618.2042
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (40): WHO update 104 20100612.1970
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (39): WHO update 103 20100605.1867
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (38): WHO 20100603.1841
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (37): Guillain-Barre syndrome risk 20100602.1837
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (36): WHO update & seasonal 20100530.1798
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (35): Singapore 20100530.1795
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (34): Indian variants 20100525.1741
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (33): WHO update, corr. 20100527.176
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (32): WHO update 20100501.1418
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (31): UK (Scotland) D222G mut 20100422.1310
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (30): WHO update 20100417.1250
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (20): China, update 20100303.0702
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (11): WHO statement to CE 20100126.0289
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (10): PAHO update 20100121.0240
Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (01): China, 2009 20100105.0040]

...................cp/ejp/sh



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Monday, June 14, 2010

EPA Orders Feedlot Cattle Co to Clean Up Their Act

EPA Orders Simplot Cattle Feeding Company to change stock watering practice at Grand View, ID, feedlot to protect the Snake River

Release date: 06/11/2010

Contact Information: Edward Kowalski, EPA/Seattle 206-553-6695, kowalski.edward@epa.gov; Mark MacIntyre, EPA/Seattle, 206-553-7302, macintyre.mark@epa.gov

(Seattle – June 11, 2010) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued the Simplot Cattle Feeding Company a legal order to halt discharges from its nearly 700-acre feedlot complex near Grand View, Idaho. Simplot confines between 30,000 and 65,000 cattle year round at this feedlot facility near the Snake River in southeastern Idaho.

EPA’s order directs Simplot to immediately cease all discharge of pollutants to waters of the U.S. This action is particularly important because the Snake River has been designated as “impaired” for both bacteria and nutrients.

Today’s Order stems from Simplot's use of a constant flow stock watering system. When not used for irrigation (usually from November to March), a portion of this water is diverted to pasture, irrigation ditches, or into the Ted Trueblood Wildlife Refuge, all of which ultimately flow into the Snake River. Simplot water samples pulled from the facility’s discharge were shown to contain 1600 colonies of fecal bacteria per 100 ml of sample.

Simplot is covered under an NPDES CAFO permit, and by discharging 1500 gallons per minute from the production area, they are violating their permit. While EPA recognizes that many producers use similar systems at their facilities, CAFO regulations apply to feedlots and dairies. They do not typically apply to rangeland. If watering system flows are re-used and/or do not leave the facility, they are not considered a discharge.

According to Edward Kowalski, Director of EPA’s office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle, when pollution is discharged to surface waters from watering systems, EPA will take appropriate action.

“Simplot’s watering system adds fecal bacteria to the Snake River,” said EPA’s Kowalski. “It discharges a tremendous volume of contaminated water to a river already impaired by bacteria and nutrient pollution. By re-routing overflows or storing water for future use, producers can take care of their livestock and protect Idaho water quality.”

Pollutants commonly associated with animal waste or manure often includes nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, organic matter, pathogens and sediments. These pollutants can choke rivers and streams with algae, kill fish by reducing oxygen in the water and transmit waterborne diseases.

To comply with the Order, Simplot must cease all discharges to the Snake River and its tributaries immediately.

For more information about animal feeding operations, visit http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/cafofinalrule.cfm

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/9C0F9D2367106C238525773F007AC2C9

Saturday, June 12, 2010

UN Urges World to Eat Less Meat & Dairy




A cattle ranch in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The UN says agriculture is on a par with fossil fuel consumption because both rise rapidly with increased economic growth.

Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace

A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.

As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.

It says: "Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products."

Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, said: "Animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as [burning] fossil fuels."

The recommendation follows advice last year that a vegetarian diet was better for the planet from Lord Nicholas Stern, former adviser to the Labour government on the economics of climate change. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has also urged people to observe one meat-free day a week to curb carbon emissions.

The panel of experts ranked products, resources, economic activities and transport according to their environmental impacts. Agriculture was on a par with fossil fuel consumption because both rise rapidly with increased economic growth, they said.

Ernst von Weizsaecker, an environmental scientist who co-chaired the panel, said: "Rising affluence is triggering a shift in diets towards meat and dairy products - livestock now consumes much of the world's crops and by inference a great deal of freshwater, fertilisers and pesticides."

Both energy and agriculture need to be "decoupled" from economic growth because environmental impacts rise roughly 80% with a doubling of income, the report found.

Achim Steiner, the UN under-secretary general and executive director of the UNEP, said: "Decoupling growth from environmental degradation is the number one challenge facing governments in a world of rising numbers of people, rising incomes, rising consumption demands and the persistent challenge of poverty alleviation."

The panel, which drew on numerous studies including the Millennium ecosystem assessment, cites the following pressures on the environment as priorities for governments around the world: climate change, habitat change, wasteful use of nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilisers, over-exploitation of fisheries, forests and other resources, invasive species, unsafe drinking water and sanitation, lead exposure, urban air pollution and occupational exposure to particulate matter.

Agriculture, particularly meat and dairy products, accounts for 70% of global freshwater consumption, 38% of the total land use and 19% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, says the report, which has been launched to coincide with UN World Environment day on Saturday.

Last year the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said that food production would have to increase globally by 70% by 2050 to feed the world's surging population. The panel says that efficiency gains in agriculture will be overwhelmed by the expected population growth.

Prof Hertwich, who is also the director of the industrial ecology programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said that developing countries – where much of this population growth will take place – must not follow the western world's pattern of increasing consumption: "Developing countries should not follow our model. But it's up to us to develop the technologies in, say, renewable energy or irrigation methods."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

BOVINE NEONATAL PANCYTOPENIA -EUROPE: BVD VACCINE SUSPECTED

***********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


[1]
Date: Fri 4 Jun 2010
Source: Farmers Weekly interactive [edited]



Following its decision to voluntarily withdraw its BVD [bovine viral
diarrhea] vaccine Pregsure BVD from the German market due to a
possible link to bovine neonatal pancytopaenia (BNP) -- the condition
previously known as bleeding calf syndrome -- Pfizer Animal Health has
now ceased supplying the product in all European states.

In a statement, Pfizer said the temporary action was taken as a
prudent step while the company and other stakeholders continue a
comprehensive investigation of the possible causes of BNP and any
possible link to the use of Pregsure BVD.

Speaking on behalf of the company, Edward Fergusson said Pfizer was
funding an epidemiological survey aimed at identifying the common risk
factors between the reported cases of BNP. "Pfizer is actively
conducting a robust investigation of BNP in conjunction with vet
research institutions."

Responding to the decision, SAC [Scottish Agricultural College; see
item 2] said it welcomed the decision as it would help SAC and other
investigators understand better the origins of the disease and help
monitor its epidemiology. SAC advises farmers not to stop using their
proven vaccination programmes and says Pfizer should be consulted for
advice concerning unused doses of Pregsure BVD.

[Byline: Jonathan Long]

--
Communicated by:
Sabine Zentis
Gut Laach
52385 Nideggen, Germany


******
[2]
Date: Fri 4 Jun 2010
Source: SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) News Release Ref. No:
10N40 [edited]



SAC welcomes Pfizer's decision to voluntarily stop selling Pregsure
BVD in all EU Member States, including the UK.

It has been suggested that the use of Pregsure BVD may be associated
with BNP (bovine neonatal pancytopenia), commonly known as bleeding
calf syndrome. Pfizer's decision will help SAC and other investigators
understand better the origins of the disease and help monitor its
epidemiology.

We note that no direct causal link between the use of Pregsure BVD and
BNP has been proven. What causes this syndrome is unknown, but it is
believed many factors may be involved. SAC advises farmers not to stop
using their proven vaccination programmes. Pfizer should be consulted
for advice concerning unused doses of Pregsure BVD vaccine.

So far this year [2010], SAC has confirmed 72 calves with BNP or
bleeding calf syndrome. These calves came from 61 farms (6 dairy farms
and 55 beef suckler farms) with submissions received by all of
Scotland's 8 Disease Surveillance Centres. Four of the beef farms
involved had cases diagnosed in their calves in 2009.

SAC Consulting Veterinary Services was 1st presented with a suspected
case of BNP in April 2009. There had been reports of the condition
elsewhere in Europe during 2008. In 2009, SAC confirmed 48 cases of
BNP on 35 farms in Scotland. The condition is confirmed by postmortem
examination and the study of bone marrow cells.

Together with colleagues in the Veterinary Laboratories agency (VLA),
the Dick Vet [Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies]in Edinburgh,
the Moredun Research Institute and overseas, SAC is working to gain a
better understanding of BNP. Preparations are being made by the
partners for a case-control study based on knowledge gained through
the post mortems of suspect BNP cases previously offered free of
charge to farmers and their vets and which, for the moment, are
continuing.

Affected calves are aged less than 28 days. They can have a persistent
fever with bleeding from the nose, gums, ear-tag holes and injection
sites. There may even be intestinal bleeding, with calves passing
dark, tarry dung. Most calves were growing well before showing
clinical signs, with no history of prior problems. However, it should
be stressed that some calves can die without any noticeable signs of
bleeding.

SAC vets are grateful for the cooperation of farmers and their vets.
It is believed the increase in numbers during 2010 may be due in part
to raised awareness of the condition amongst producers. We continue to
urge any farmers who believe they have a case to contact their own
vets 1st.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Bovine neonatal pancytopenia (BNP, popularly named "bleeding calf
disease," also neonatal haemorrhagic diathesis) is a disease of
unclear aetiology affecting calves under 4 weeks of age, characterised
by thrombocytopenia, leucopenia and multiple unexplained haemorrhages.
Since early 2007, this condition has been reported in several European
countries, including Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland),
Belgium, France, Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Ireland.
Investigations concerning the syndrome are being carried out in
several of the said countries.

The French Buiatrics Association hosted, during its European Buiatrics
Forum held in Marseilles, France 1-3 Dec 2009, a Satellite Symposium
on the syndrome; see at 20091209.4195. Have the proceedings been
published? [Buiatrics = the study of cattle and their diseases].

References
1. KAPPE, E. C., HALAMI, M. Y., SCHADE et al (2010). Bone marrow
depletion with haemorrhagic diathesis in calves in Germany:
characterization of the disease and preliminary investigations on its
aetiology. Berliner und Munchener Tierarztliche Wochenschrift 123,
31-41.
2. PARDON, B., STEUKERS, L., DIERICK, J. et al (2010). Haemorrhagic
diathesis in neonatal calves: an emerging syndrome in Europe.
Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 57, 135-146.
3. C. Sanchez-Miguel, M. McElroy & E. Walsh (2010). Bovine neonatal
pancytopenia in calves in Ireland. Vet Rec. 166(21),664.

[see also:
Bovine neonatal pancytopenia - Germany (02): BVD vaccine susp. 20100603.1845
Bovine neonatal pancytopenia - Germany: vaccinal etiology susp. 20100409.1142
2009
----
Undiagnosed disease, fatal, bovine - Europe (07): Belgium, treatment
20091209.4195
Undiagnosed disease, fatal, bovine - Europe (06): review 20091207.4168
Undiagnosed disease, fatal, bovine - Europe (05): Germany 20091031.3769
Undiagnosed disease, fatal, bovine - Europe (04): Germany 20091018.3578
Undiagnosed disease, fatal, bovine - Europe (03): France 20091006.3465
Undiagnosed disease, fatal, bovine - Europe (02): RFI 20091005.3459
Undiagnosed disease, fatal, bovine - Europe: RFI 20091003.3441
Undiagnosed disease & deaths, bovine - UK: (Scotland) RFI 20090923.3345
Undiagnosed disease & deaths, bovine - Germany (03): ongoing 20090329.1214
Undiagnosed disease & deaths, bovine - Germany (02): sugg. etiology
20090208.0566
Undiagnosed disease & deaths, bovine - Germany: RFI 20090202.0470]
..............................................arn/msp/jw
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using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
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Monday, June 7, 2010

INFLUENZA SEASONAL (H1N1) VIRUS: OSELTAMIVIR RESISTANCE

*******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Fri 4 Jun 2010
Source: Reuters Health News [edited]



Researchers reported on Thursday [3 Jun 2010] that 2 extra mutations
set the stage for the seasonal influenza virus to evolve into a form
that now resists 3 of the 4 drugs designed to fight it. Their study,
published in the journal Science, provides a way for scientists to
keep an eye out for dangerous mutations in new flu viruses, including
the ongoing pandemic of H1N1 swine flu [influenza pandemic (H1N1)
virus infection].

Only 4 drugs are on the market to treat flu and 2, the adamantines,
are useless against virtually all circulating strains because the
viruses have evolved resistance. Tamiflu, known generically as
oseltamivir, is the current drug of choice. It comes as a pill. An
inhaled drug that works in a similar manner is called Relenza, or
zanamivir generically. Both can help reduce flu symptoms if taken
quickly and can keep the most vulnerable patients out of the hospital,
or keep them alive if they are severely ill. But 2 years ago the
common circulating strain of seasonal H1N1 developed resistance to
Tamiflu.

Doctors were surprised, because the mutation that help the virus evade
the effects of Tamiflu also usually made it a weak virus that did not
infect or spread well. "People have known about this H274Y mutation
[in the neuraminidase protein] for over a decade, but the mutation
seemed to interfere with the virus's ability to replicate and be
transmitted," Jesse Bloom of the California Institute of Technology
[Caltech], who led the study, said in a statement. "Something happened
to make the Tamiflu-resistant virus also capable of replicating and
spreading like wild-type flu viruses."

Bloom and Dr David Baltimore, an expert on AIDS and on the genetic
functions of cells and viruses at Caltech, led a study to find out how
this happened. They found that 2 other mutations in the virus allowed
it not only to evade the effects of Tamiflu but also to survive and
spread. In addition, the mutations took place before the 3rd and final
mutation allowing the virus to evade the drugs. This means that
scientists can monitor flu viruses for the initial 2 mutations to give
early warning that they are about to become drug resistant.

This is important in planning for both seasonal influenza and
pandemics. Seasonal flu kills between 250 000 and 500 000 people every
year globally. H1N1 'swine' flu [influenza pandemic (H1N1) virus
infection] may have been just slightly more deadly -- statistics will
take years to gather -- but it affects younger adults and children in
contrast to seasonal flu, which kills more elderly people. Currently
'swine flu' is easily treated by Tamiflu but that could change at any
time. So doctors need drugs on hand to save lives and if one drug will
be useless, they need to know that because flu must be treated within
days of onset for treatment to be useful.

Earlier on Thursday [3 Jun 2010] the World Health Organization said
the H1N1 pandemic was not yet over although its most intense activity
has passed in many parts of the world.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[The following is the abstract of the paper in Science referred to in
the preceding Reuters report
()

Bloom JD, Gong LI, Baltimore D (California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA): Permissive Secondary Mutations Enable the Evolution of
Influenza Oseltamivir Resistance. Science. 2010 Jun 4; 328(5983):
1272-75
----------------------------------------------------------------
"The His274 --- >Tyr274 (H274Y) mutation confers oseltamivir
resistance on N1 influenza neuraminidase but had long been thought to
compromise viral fitness. However, beginning in 2007/2008, viruses
containing H274Y rapidly became predominant among human seasonal H1N1
isolates. We show that H274Y decreases the amount of neuraminidase
that reaches the cell surface and that this defect can be counteracted
by secondary mutations that also restore viral fitness. Two such
mutations occurred in seasonal H1N1 shortly before the widespread
appearance of H274Y. The evolution of oseltamivir resistance was
therefore enabled by "permissive" mutations that allowed the virus to
tolerate subsequent occurrences of H274Y. An understanding of this
process may provide a basis for predicting the evolution of
oseltamivir resistance in other influenza strains."

The following commentary accompanies the paper above (Holmes EC.
Science. 2010 Jun 4; 328(5983): 1243-4;


"The evolution of antiviral drug resistance sounds like a simple
Darwinian story. The high mutation rate that characterizes RNA viruses
ensures that drug-resistant mutations are generated continuously, and
the global use of antivirals provides the selection pressure for these
mutations to sweep through viral populations. In some cases, however,
reality is more complex. The mutations that confer antiviral
resistance may have a detrimental effect on viral fitness in the
absence of the drug so that secondary fitness-restoring mutations must
occur to enable the large-scale spread of resistance. More puzzling,
drug resistance can also occur in the absence of the main agent of
selection -- the widespread use of antiviral drugs. Both of these
evolutionary conundrums are apparent in one of the most important
cases of antiviral resistance in recent years -- the global spread of
resistance to oseltamivir in seasonal H1N1 influenza A virus. Bloom et
al. (above) show that in a "permissive" genetic background, seasonal
H1N1 virus avoids the fitness costs normally associated with
oseltamivir resistance."

The mutations which have favoured the spread of oseltamivir resistance
in seasonal (H1N1) influenza virus fortunately have yet to appear in
the pandemic strain of H1N1 influenza virus (or any other N1 type
influenza virus as far as is known), but their recognition may
encourage a more cautious approach to the use of Tamiflu and Relenza.
- Mod.CP]

[see also:
2009
----
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (85): Tamiflu resistance, Japan 20090706.2429
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (84): Tamiflu resistance, China (HK)
20090706.2428
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (78): Tamiflu resistance, DK 20090630.2359
Influenza A(H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance (02): N.Hemisphere
20090325.1166
Influenza A(H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance: Korea 20090113.0136
2008
----
Influenza virus, oseltamivir resistance (06): Japan 20080228.0812
Influenza A (H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance (05): China (HK)
20080203.0438
Influenza A (H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance (03): corr. 20080203.0430
Influenza A (H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance (04): CA, USA 20080202.0428
Influenza A (H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance (03): Europe 20080201.0399
Influenza A (H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance (02): Europe 20080129.0371
Influenza A (H1N1) virus, oseltamivir resistance - Norway 20080128.0361
2006
----
Avian influenza, human (162): oseltamivir resistance 20061010.2907
Avian influenza, human (155): Thailand, Indonesia 20060927.2757 2005]
........................................cp/mj/jw
*##########################################################*
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ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
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or archived material.
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EQUINE PIROPLASMOSIS - USA (04): (TEXAS, TEXAS ex NEW MEXICO

***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: 6 Jun 2010
Source: Bloodhorse.com [edited]



Two horses at Lone Star Park have tested positive for equine
piroplasmosis, a tick-borne disease caused by parasites that affects
horses, donkeys, mules, and zebras. In addition, a 3rd horse that
left Lone Star and had been shipped to New Mexico also tested
positive for the disease.

According to officials at the Texas track, one of the horses, Seven
Shooter, is trained by 2010 leading trainer Bret Calhoun, while
another, Street Positioning, is trained by Kevin Favre. Brian House
trains the horse that left for New Mexico.

As a result, horses in Calhoun's barn, as well as Favre's and House's
horses, have been restricted from racing and training with other
horses by the Texas Animal Health Commission, whose representative,
Bobby Crozier, is on the grounds at Lone Star.

"Right now, we are cooperating fully with the efforts of both the
Texas Animal Health Commission and the Texas Racing Commission," Lone
Star president and general manager Drew Shubeck said in a statement.
"We are following the direction (of Crozier), who has instructed us
to place restrictions on the horses of the affected trainers. We will
continue to work with the TAHC and Dr. Ken Quirk, the chief
veterinarian for the Texas Racing Commission, to resolve this issue
as quickly as possible."

"While we work toward resolution of the problem, we don't anticipate
any disruption in our racing schedule, which runs through 18 Jul
2010. We are also in discussions to make some adjustments in our
daily training schedule to allow the quarantined horses access to the
track for morning workouts."

Though equine piroplasmosis is primarily transmitted to horses by
ticks, the blood-borne disease has been spread mechanically from
animal to animal by contaminated needles. Once infected, an equine
can take 7 to 22 days to show signs of illness.

Cases of equine piroplasmosis can be mild or acute, depending on the
virulence of the parasite. Acutely affected equines can have fever,
anemia, jaundiced mucous membranes, swollen abdomens, and labored
breathing. Equine piroplasmosis can also cause roughened hair coats,
constipation, and colic.

In its milder form, equine piroplasmosis causes equines to appear
weak and show lack of appetite.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Equine piroplasmosis results from infection by the protozoa _Babesia
caballi_ or _B. equi_ (phylum Apicomplexa). The 2 organisms may
infect an animal concurrently.

Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne protozoal infection of horses.
Piroplasmosis may be difficult to diagnose, as it can cause variable
and nonspecific clinical signs. The symptoms of this disease range
from acute fever, inappetence, and malaise, to anemia and jaundice,
sudden death, or chronic weight loss and poor exercise tolerance. The
disease may be fatal in up to 20 percent of previously unexposed
animals. The tick vectors exist in the United States, and epidemics
of piroplasmosis were seen in Florida in the 1960s.

The incubation period for _B. equi_ infections is 12 to 19 days, and
infections are more severe. For _B. caballi_ infections, it is 10 to
30 days.

The clinical signs of piroplasmosis are variable and often
nonspecific. In rare peracute cases, animals may be found dead or
dying. More often, piroplasmosis presents as an acute infection, with
a fever, inappetence, malaise, labored breathing, congestion of the
mucus membranes, and small, dry feces. Anemia, jaundice,
hemoglobinuria, sweating, petechial hemorrhages on the conjunctiva, a
swollen abdomen, and posterior weakness or swaying may also be seen.
Subacute cases may have a fever (sometimes intermittent),
inappetence, malaise, weight loss, signs of mild colic, and mild
edema of the distal limbs. The mucus membranes can be pink, pale
pink, or yellow, and may have petechiae or ecchymoses. In chronic
cases, common symptoms include mild inappetence, poor exercise
tolerance, weight loss, transient fevers, and an enlarged spleen
(palpable on rectal examination). Foals infected in utero are usually
weak at birth, and rapidly develop anemia and severe jaundice.

In acute cases, the animal is usually emaciated, jaundiced, and
anemic. The liver is typically enlarged and dark orange-brown. The
spleen is enlarged, and the kidneys are pale and flabby. Petechial
hemorrhages may be seen in the kidneys, and subepicardial and
subendocardial hemorrhages in the heart. There may also be edema in
the lungs and signs of pneumonia.

The differential diagnosis for piroplasmosis includes surra, equine
infectious anemia, dourine, African horse sickness, purpura
hemorrhagica, and various plant and chemical toxicities.

Equine piroplasmosis can be diagnosed by identification of the
organisms in Giemsa stained blood or organ smears. _B. caballi_
merozoites are joined at their posterior ends, while _B. equi_
merozoites are often connected in a tetrad or "Maltese cross."
Organisms can often be found in acute infections, but may be very
difficult to find in carrier animals. In carriers, thick blood films
can sometimes be helpful.

Because _Babesia_ organisms can be difficult to detect in carriers,
serology is often the diagnostic method of choice. Serologic tests
include complement fixation, indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA), and
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The IFA test can
distinguish between _B. equi_ and _B. cabali_.

Other methods of diagnosis include DNA probes, in vitro culture, and
the inoculation of a susceptible (preferably splenectomized) animal
with blood from a suspected carrier. In addition, pathogen-free
vector ticks can be fed on a suspect animal, and _Babesia_ identified
either in the tick or after the tick has transmitted the infection to
a susceptible animal.

Disinfectants and sanitation are not generally effective against the
spread of tick-borne infections. However, preventing the transfer of
blood from one animal to another is vital.

The state of Texas and the state of New Mexico, in the South Central
to South Western United States, can be located on the
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at:
. - Mod.TG]

[see also:
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (03): (TX, UT) 20100205.0395
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (02): (TX) 20100130.0322
Equine piroplasmosis - USA 20100129.0309
2009
----
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (12): (NM) 20091230.4394
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (11): multi-state 20091203.4128
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (10) 20091117.3963
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (09): (NJ ex TX) 20091111.3912
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (08): (TX) alert 20091030.3749
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (07): (TX) 20091024.3675
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (06): (TX) OIE 20091022.3631
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (05): (TX) 20091021.3617
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (04): (KS, MO) resolved 20090917.3262
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (03): (KS, MO) 20090729.2662
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA (02): (MO) 20090612.2172
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA: (FL) quarantine lifted 20090225.0771
2008
----
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA (04): (FL) 20080930.3088
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA: (03) (FL) 20080828.2687
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (02): (FL) 20080823.2626
Equine piroplasmosis - USA: (FL) 20080819.2579
1996
----
Equine piroplasmosis - Georgia (USA) (2) 19960116.0097
Equine piroplasmosis - Georgia (USA) 19960112.0066]
.............................................sb/tg/msp/lm

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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Cattle Plague; China, Tibet

On Sun, Jun 6, 2010 at 6:07 PM, ProMED-mail wrote:

PESTE DES PETITS RUMINANTS, SHEEP & GOAT - CHINA: (TIBET), OIE
**************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: 4 Jun 2010
Source: OIE WAHID Disease Information 2010; 23(22) [edited]



Peste des petits ruminants, China (People's Rep. of)
--------------------------------
Information received on 2 Jun 2010 from Dr Zhang Zhongqui, Deputy
Director General, China Animal Disease Control Centre, Veterinary
Bureau, Beijing, China (People's Rep. of)

Summary
Report type: Immediate notification
Start date 14 May 2010
Date of 1st confirmation of the event 1 Jun 2010
Report date 2 Jun 2010
Date submitted to OIE 2 Jun 2010
Reason for notification: Reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence 11 Dec 2008
Manifestation of disease: Clinical disease
Causal agent: Peste des petits ruminants virus
Nature of diagnosis: Clinical, Laboratory (basic), Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to a defined zone within the country

New outbreaks
Outbreak 1 Wujiang, Ritu, Ali, TIBET
Date of start of the outbreak 14 May 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Village
Species Sheep / goats
Susceptible 1163
Cases 133
Deaths 69
Destroyed 1094
Slaughtered 0

Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection - Unknown or inconclusive

Control measures - Measures applied. Stamping out; Movement control
inside the country; Screening; Zoning; No vaccination; No treatment
of affected animals.

Measures to be applied - No other measures

Laboratory name and type: National Exotic Animal Disease Diagnostic
Centre (China Animal Health and Epidemiology Centre) (National
laboratory)

Tests and results
Species Sheep / goats
Test gene sequencing
Test date 1 Jun 2010
Result Positive

Species Sheep / goats
Test goats polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Test date 1 Jun 2010
Result Positive

Species Sheep / goats
Test goats virus isolation
Test date 1 Jun 2010
Result Positive

Future Reporting
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Tibet is currently fighting a serious outbreak of foot and mouth
disease in addition to trying to control this fairly high mortality
disease (case fatality rate is just over 50 percent). Let's hope that
the PPR event is well controlled as happened in 2007 and 2008 rather
than being the more explosive event that we have seen in other
countries in the region. It is important to remember that mortality
with PPR can vary from inconsequential to severe.

As mentioned, PPR is a problem in the region with Afghanistan, India,
Iran and Nepal reporting hundreds of cases in various years to OIE
WAHID since 2005. Other countries have reported less severe
outbreaks. Tibet reported 4 cases in 2007 and one case in 2008.

For further details of clinical and epidemiologic presentation of
PPR, I suggest our readers peruse Mod.AS's comments in Peste des
petits ruminants - China (Tibet): OIE 20070727.2419, which I have
copied below.

This commentary calls attention to Dr Adama Diallo's analysis of,
among other things, the distribution of various PPRV lineages and
their geographic distribution throughout Africa, the Middle East and
Asia. - Mod.PC]

[Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), also called Kata (a vernacular
west-African name), pseudorinderpest, and stomatitis-pneumoenteritis
complex, is an acute contagious disease of small ruminants. Goats and
sheep are the species primarily affected, with highest pathogenicity
in goats. PPR is caused by a paramyxovirus of the genus
_Morbillivirus_. It is antigenically very similar to the rinderpest
virus. (Rinderpest was one of more than a dozen agents that the United States researched as potential biological weapons before the nation suspended its biological weapons program; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_weapon
)

Clinical signs are similar to rinderpest in cattle and the 2
organisms are closely related. Clinical signs may include fever,
necrotic stomatitis, gastroenteritis, and bronchopneumonia.

Cattle and pigs can be infected, but show no clinical signs and do
not transmit the disease to other animals. PPR has also been reported
in a few wild ungulates and the American white-tailed deer is
susceptible when experimentally infected. PPR does not infect man.

The disease occurs in Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian
subcontinent. Outbreaks are known to be common in India, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The identification in Tibet,
adjacent to the Indian border (see map provided in the source URL),
should not be surprising. The Chinese decision to apply vaccination
is possibly indicative of their view that the disease has not been
eradicated by the culling of the affected goat flock, but has
possibly got a foothold in Tibet, or even in other parts of China.
Details on the vaccine used (locally produced?) will be helpful.

The following text, extracted from a commentary sent to ProMED-mail
in 1998 (archived 19981012.2007) by one of the world's leading
experts on PPR, Dr Adama Diallo, still maintains its actuality and
deserves attention:

"PPR can be overlooked officially (for economic reasons) but is quite
easy to diagnose clinically. This is true for people who are aware of
the disease. Any PPR diagnosis based on clinical signs should be
considered as provisional until a laboratory test confirmation.
Clinically, PPR could be confused with rinderpest, contagious caprine
pleuropneumonia, and pasteurellosis (this latter coexisting with PPRV
infection in almost all acute cases).

Considered for a long time as a disease of West African countries,
PPR is now widespread in Africa in an area lying between Sahara and
Equator, in the Middle East, and in Southwest Asia. The fact that a
rinderpest-like disease was occurring in small ruminants population
in countries where bovine rinderpest was eradicated and the advent of
specific diagnostic tests, have allowed to build up more information
about PPR. The fact that our knowledge on this disease has progressed
eastwards from West Africa to Asia doesn't mean at all that the
diffusion of the virus has been in that direction: apart from the
situation in the Middle East, the animal trade routes and the
geographical distribution of the different PPRV lineages are not
correlating with the direction by which the information has grown.

"Indeed, in Cirad-emvt (Montpellier, France), an OIE Reference
Laboratory for PPR, we have a rich collection of PPRV strains
collected from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The data we have
got from partial sequencing of NP gene of those PPRV strains (and of
cDNA amplified from different PPR pathological samples sent to us)
have allowed us to define 4 main PPRV lineages: 3 being in Africa.
Both lineage III (a lineage found in East Africa) and lineage IV
(Asian lineage) are coexisting in the Middle East, a finding that can
be expected according to the animal trade routes.

"The mortality of PPR is very variable (from 0 percent to 90 percent,
subclinical infection occurring very frequently). In some outbreaks
in Africa, the rate of mortality is not exceeding 20 percent
sometimes. Animal species, animal breeds and maybe the climate are
important factors in the severity of the PPR outbreaks".

It will be interesting to note if the high apparent case fatality
rate in the current outbreak in Tibet (greater than 70 percent) is
indicative of breed susceptibility or related to climate/husbandry
conditions. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Foot & mouth disease - China (07): (Tibet), porcine, serotype O 20100531.1816
2008
----
Peste des petits ruminants - China (02): (Tibet), OIE 20080713.2134
2007
----
Peste des petits ruminants - China (Tibet): OIE 20070727.2419
Peste des petits ruminants - Nepal: suspected, RFI 20070423.1324
1998
----
Peste des petits ruminants: origin & distribution (02) 19981012.2007]
.........................................sb/pc/msp/lm

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information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
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