Application of Methods to Assess Animal Welfare and Suffering Caused by Infectious Diseases in Cattle and Swine Populations

Control of infectious diseases in livestock has often been motivated by food safety concerns and the economic impact on livestock production. However, diseases may also affect animal welfare. We present an approach to quantify the effect of five infectious diseases on animal welfare in cattle (three diseases) and pigs (two diseases). We grouped clinical manifestations that often occur together into lists of clinical entities for each disease based on literature reviews, and subsequently estimated “suffering scores” based on an aggregation of duration, frequency, and severity. The duration and severity were based on literature reviews and expert knowledge elicitation, while frequency was based mainly on estimates from the literature. The resulting suffering scores were compared to scores from common welfare hazards found under Danish conditions. Most notably, the suffering scores for cattle diseases were ranked as: bovine viral diarrhoea and infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis > infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, and for pigs as: porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome > Aujeszky’s disease. The approach has limitations due to the limited data available in literature and uncertainties associated with expert knowledge, but it can provide decision makers with a tool to quantify the impact of infections on animal welfare given these uncertainties.

Download Full-text

Pneumococcal Septicemia after COVID-19 in Teenager: Clinical Case

Педиатрическая фармакология ◽

10.15690/pf.v18i4.2295 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 292-297

Author(s):

Viktor V. Krasnov ◽

Danila A. Pimenov ◽

Valery I. Sedov ◽

Vera N. Kotova ◽

Lilia R. Pavlovich

Keyword(s):

Infectious Diseases ◽

Clinical Case ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Infectious Process ◽

Blood Assay ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Inflammatory Syndrome ◽

The Impact ◽

Pcr Test

There is a hypothesis among the scientists that COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 have negative effect on the immune system. Many reports on multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) development after COVID-19 are published worldwide. Whereas, the impact of this infection on prevalence and course of any other infectious diseases has not been studied. The aim of the study is to draw attention to the estimation of other infectious diseases course after COVID-19 by analyzing the clinical case of pneumococcal septicemia in 17 years old boy who has undergone COVID-19. We obtained data about COVID-19 during the analysis of the child's medical history. The course of infectious process was similar to the course of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), compared by clinical manifestations. The results of ELISA blood assay have proved it: we revealed IgG to SARS-CoV-2. However, PCR test revealed S. pneumoniae DNA in blood, so MIS-C diagnosis was excluded. The role of SARS-CoV-2 in other diseases in postcovid period can not be excluded, and it requires further studies. Development of screening and rehabilitation principles is recommended despite the severity of COVID-19 in children.

Download Full-text

Awareness of symptomatic differences Covid-19, SARS, Swine Flu, Common cold among dental students

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.26452/ijrps.v11ispl1.3431 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽

pp. 1026-1033

Author(s):

Nivedha Valliammai Mahalingam ◽

Abilasha R ◽

Kavitha S

Keyword(s):

Infectious Diseases ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Common Cold ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

Dental Students ◽

Swine Flu ◽

Viral Diseases ◽

Surveillance Systems ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

Enormous successes have been obtained against the control of major epidemic diseases, such as SARS, MERS, Ebola, Swine Flu in the past. Dynamic interplay of biological, socio-cultural and ecological factors, together with novel aspects of human-animal interphase, pose additional challenges with respect to the emergence of infectious diseases. The important challenges faced in the control and prevention of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases range from understanding the impact of factors that are necessary for the emergence, to development of strengthened surveillance systems that can mitigate human suffering and death. The aim of the current study is to assess the awareness of symptomatic differences between viral diseases like COVID-19, SARS, Swine flu and common cold among dental students that support the prevention of emergence or re-emergence. Cross-sectional type of study conducted among the undergraduate students comprising 100 Subjects. A questionnaire comprising 15 questions in total were framed, and responses were collected in Google forms in SPSS Software statistical analysis. The study has concluded that dental students have an awareness of the symptomatic differences between infectious viral disease. The study concluded that the awareness of symptomatic differences between viral diseases like COVID-19, SARS, Swine flu, Common cold is good among the dental students who would pave the way for early diagnosis and avoid spreading of such diseases. A further awareness can be created by regular webinars, seminars and brainstorming sessions among these healthcare professionals.

Download Full-text

ANALISIS RISIKO OPERASIONAL MENGGUNAKAN PENDEKATAN DISTRIBUSI KERUGIAN DENGAN METODE AGREGAT

Journal of Mathematics and Its Applications ◽

10.29244/jmap.10.2.1-10 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Y. ARBI ◽

R. BUDIARTI ◽

I G. P. PURNABA

Keyword(s):

Negative Binomial Distribution ◽

Binomial Distribution ◽

Negative Binomial ◽

Financial Institution ◽

Expected Value ◽

Insurance Companies ◽

Limited Data ◽

Loss Distribution Approach ◽

Potential Loss ◽

The Impact

Operational risk is defined as the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes or external problems. Insurance companies as financial institution that also faced at risk. Recording of operating losses in insurance companies, were not properly conducted so that the impact on the limited data for operational losses. In this work, the data of operational loss observed from the payment of the claim. In general, the number of insurance claims can be modelled using the Poisson distribution, where the expected value of the claims is similar with variance, while the negative binomial distribution, the expected value was bound to be less than the variance.Analysis tools are used in the measurement of the potential loss is the loss distribution approach with the aggregate method. In the aggregate method, loss data grouped in a frequency distribution and severity distribution. After doing 10.000 times simulation are resulted total loss of claim value, which is total from individual claim every simulation. Then from the result was set the value of potential loss (OpVar) at a certain level confidence.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of Clinical Outcomes after Introduction of a Dedicated Infectious Diseases- Critical Care Medicine Service in Critical Care Units

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofab182 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Polina Trachuk ◽

Vagish Hemmige ◽

Ruth Eisenberg ◽

Kelsie Cowman ◽

Victor Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Critical Care ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Critical Care Medicine ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Intervention Period ◽

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics ◽

Antibiotic Utilization ◽

The Impact

Abstract Objective Infection is a leading cause of admission to intensive care units (ICU), with critically ill patients often receiving empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics. Nevertheless, a dedicated infectious diseases (ID) consultation and stewardship team is not routinely established. An ID-Critical Care Medicine (ID-CCM) pilot program was designed at a 400-bed tertiary care hospital in which an ID attending was assigned to participate in daily rounds with the ICU team, as well as provide ID consultation on select patients. We sought to evaluate the impact of this dedicated ID program on antibiotic utilization and clinical outcomes in patients admitted to the ICU. Method In this single site retrospective study, we analyzed antibiotic utilization and clinical outcomes in patients admitted to an ICU during post-intervention period from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 and compared it to antibiotic utilization in the same ICUs during the pre-intervention period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. Results Our data showed a statistically significant reduction in usage of most frequently prescribed antibiotics including vancomycin, piperacillin-tazobactam and cefepime during the intervention period. When compared to pre-intervention period there was no difference in-hospital mortality, hospital length of stay and re-admission. Conclusion With this multidisciplinary intervention, we saw a decrease in the use of the most frequently prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics without a negative impact on clinical outcomes. Our study shows that the implementation of an ID-CCM service is a feasible way to promote antibiotic stewardship in the ICU and can be used as a strategy to reduce unnecessary patient exposure to broad-spectrum agents.

Download Full-text

The impact of infectious diseases consultation on the management and outcomes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia in adults: a retrospective cohort study

BMC Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1186/s12879-021-06372-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fabian Chiong ◽

Mohammed S. Wasef ◽

Kwee Chin Liew ◽

Raquel Cowan ◽

Danny Tsai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Source Control ◽

First Episode ◽

Oral Antibiotic ◽

Genotypic Analysis ◽

Infectious Diseases Consultation ◽

Staphylococcal Aureus ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia (PAB) is associated with high mortality. The benefits of infectious diseases consultation (IDC) has been demonstrated in Staphylococcal aureus bacteraemia and other complex infections. Impact of IDC in PAB is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of IDC on the management and outcomes in patients with PAB. Methods This is a retrospective cohort single-centre study from 1 November 2006 to 29 May 2019, in all adult patients admitted with first episode of PAB. Data collected included demographics, clinical management and outcomes for PAB and whether IDC occurred. In addition, 29 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) stored isolates were available for Illumina whole genome sequencing to investigate if pathogen factors contributed to the mortality. Results A total of 128 cases of PAB were identified, 71% received IDC. Patients who received IDC were less likely to receive inappropriate duration of antibiotic therapy (4.4%; vs 67.6%; p < 0.01), more likely to be de-escalated to oral antibiotic in a timely manner (87.9% vs 40.5%; p < 0.01), undergo removal of infected catheter (27.5% vs 13.5%; p = 0.049) and undergo surgical intervention (20.9% vs 5.4%, p = 0.023) for source control. The overall 30-day all-cause mortality rate was 24.2% and was significantly higher in the no IDC group in both unadjusted (56.8% vs 11.0%, odds ratio [OR] = 10.63, p < 0.001) and adjusted analysis (adjusted OR = 7.84; 95% confidence interval, 2.95–20.86). The genotypic analysis did not reveal any PA genetic features associated with increased mortality between IDC versus no IDC groups. Conclusion Patients who received IDC for PAB had lower 30-day mortality, better source control and management was more compliant with guidelines. Further prospective studies are necessary to determine if these results can be validated in other settings.

Download Full-text

The impact of huts on physiological stress: a refinement in post-transport housing of male guineapigs (Cavia porcellus)

Laboratory Animals ◽

10.1258/la.2011.011116 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 220-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Sherry L Walters ◽

Cristobal Jose Torres-Urbano ◽

Lee Chichester ◽

Robert E Rose

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Cortisol Concentration ◽

Experimental Science ◽

Housing Environment ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Animal Use ◽

Acclimatization Period ◽

The Impact ◽

The Ideal

The ideal animal model would contribute no confounding variables in experimental science. Variables affect experimental design resulting in increased animal use or repeated studies. We demonstrated a simple refinement which may reduce the number of animals used experimentally while simultaneously improving animal welfare. The objective of this study was to determine if the presence of a hut was an impact on physiological stress levels, as determined by faecal cortisol concentration, during a routine four-day acclimatization period of newly received male Hartley-Outbred guineapigs. We hypothesized that those animals provided with huts would have decreased physiological stress compared with animals not provided with huts. We examined this effect within both paired and single-housed animals. A between-subjects one-way analysis of variance revealed that pair-housed animals with a hut had significantly lower faecal cortisol concentration than pair-housed animals without a hut and the presence and absence of a hut had no significant impact on faecal cortisol concentration in single-housed animals. These findings show that presence of a hut is beneficial in reducing physiological stress when pair housing male guineapigs and does not appear to have an impact when single housing male guineapigs. In addition, we have shown that faecal cortisol, and therefore physiological stress, is still increasing on study day 4 suggesting a longer acclimatization period is necessary. A simple refinement in housing environment and acclimatization time can both reduce the number of animals used experimentally and improve animal welfare.

Download Full-text

Impact of rs2414096 polymorphism of CYP19 gene on susceptibility of polycystic ovary syndrome and hyperandrogenism in Kashmiri women

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92265-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sairish Ashraf ◽

Shayaq Ul Abeer Rasool ◽

Mudasar Nabi ◽

Mohd Ashraf Ganie ◽

Shariq R. Masoodi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽

Polycystic Ovary ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Additive Model ◽

Genotypic Frequency ◽

Ovary Syndrome ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Cyp19 Gene ◽

Reproductive Endocrine ◽

The Impact

AbstractPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common reproductive endocrine disorder in pre-menopausal women having complex pathophysiology. Several candidate genes have been shown to have association with PCOS. CYP19 gene encodes a key steroidogenic enzyme involved in conversion of androgens into estrogens. Previous studies have reported contradictory results with regard to association of SNP rs2414096 in CYP19 gene with PCOS and hyperandrogenism in different ethnic populations. Present study was aimed to investigate the impact of SNP rs2414096 polymorphism of CYP19 gene on susceptibility of PCOS and hyperandrogenism in Kashmiri women. Further we also studied the genotypic-phenotypic association for various clinical and biochemical parameters of this polymorphism. Case control study. 394 PCOS cases diagnosed on the basis of Rotterdam criteria and age matched 306 healthy women. We found a significant differences in genotypic frequency (χ2 = 18.91, p < 0.05) as well as allele frequency (OR 0.63, CI 0.51–0.78, χ2 = 17.66, p < 0.05) between PCOS women and controls. The genotype–phenotype correlation analysis showed a significant difference in FG score (p = 0.047) and alopecia (p = 0.045) between the three genotypes. Also, the androgen excess markers like DHEAS (p < 0.001), Androstenedione (p < 0.001), Testosterone (p < 0.001) and FAI (p = 0.005) were significantly elevated in GG genotype and showed a significant difference in additive model in PCOS women. rs2414096 polymorphism of CYP19 gene is associated with the risk of PCOS as well as with clinical and biochemical markers of hyperandrogenism, hence suggesting its role in clinical manifestations of PCOS in Kashmiri women.

Download Full-text

COVID-19 Infection during Pregnancy: Risk of Vertical Transmission, Fetal, and Neonatal Outcomes

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm11060483 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 483

Author(s):

Marwa Saadaoui ◽

Manoj Kumar ◽

Souhaila Al Khodor

Keyword(s):

Pregnant Women ◽

Vertical Transmission ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Limited Data ◽

Pregnancy Risk ◽

Public Health Challenge ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

Critical Public Health ◽

The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide, critical public health challenge and is considered one of the most communicable diseases that the world had faced so far. Response and symptoms associated with COVID-19 vary between the different cases recorded, but it is amply described that symptoms become more aggressive in subjects with a weaker immune system. This includes older subjects, patients with chronic diseases, patients with immunosuppression treatment, and pregnant women. Pregnant women are receiving more attention not only because of their altered physiological and immunological function but also for the potential risk of viral vertical transmission to the fetus or infant. However, very limited data about the impact of maternal infection during pregnancy, such as the possibility of vertical transmission in utero, during birth, or via breastfeeding, is available. Moreover, the impact of infection on the newborn in the short and long term remains poorly understood. Therefore, it is vital to collect and analyze data from pregnant women infected with COVID-19 to understand the viral pathophysiology during pregnancy and its effects on the offspring. In this article, we review the current knowledge about pre-and post-natal COVID-19 infection, and we discuss whether vertical transmission takes place in pregnant women infected with the virus and what are the current recommendations that pregnant women should follow in order to be protected from the virus.

Download Full-text

Threshold Effects of Infectious Disease Outbreaks on Livestock Prices: Cases of African Swine Fever and Avian Influenza in South Korea

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11115114 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 5114

Author(s):

Hyung-Chul Rah ◽

Hyeon-Woong Kim ◽

Aziz Nasridinov ◽

Wan-Sup Cho ◽

Seo-Hwa Choi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Avian Influenza ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

African Swine Fever ◽

Threshold Effect ◽

Impact Response ◽

Threshold Effects ◽

Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽

Retail Prices ◽

The Impact

In this paper we demonstrate the threshold effects of infectious diseases on livestock prices. Daily retail prices of pork and chicken were used as structured data; news and SNS mentions of African Swine Fever (ASF) and Avian Influenza (AI) were used as unstructured data. Models were tested for the threshold effects of disease-related news and SNS frequencies, specifically those related to ASF and AI, on the retail prices of pork and chicken, respectively. The effects were found to exist, and the values of ASF-related news on pork prices were estimated to be −9 and 8, indicating that the threshold autoregressive (TAR) model can be divided into three regimes. The coefficients of the ASF-related SNS frequencies on pork prices were 1.1666, 0.2663 and −0.1035 for regimes 1, 2 and 3, respectively, suggesting that pork prices increased by 1.1666 Korean won in regime 1 when ASF-related SNS frequencies increased. To promote pork consumption by SNS posts, the required SNS frequencies were estimated to have impacts as great as one standard deviation in the pork price. These values were 247.057, 1309.158 and 2817.266 for regimes 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The impact response periods for pork prices were estimated to last 48, 6, and 8 days for regimes 1, 2 and 3, respectively. When the prediction accuracies of the TAR and autoregressive (AR) models with regard to pork prices were compared for the root mean square error, the prediction accuracy of the TAR model was found to be slightly better than that of the AR. When the threshold effect of AI-related news on chicken prices was tested, a linear relationship appeared without a threshold effect. These findings suggest that when infectious diseases such as ASF occur for the first time, the impact on livestock prices is significant, as indicated by the threshold effect and the long impact response period. Our findings also suggest that the impact on livestock prices is not remarkable when infectious diseases occur multiple times, as in the case of AI. To date, this study is the first to suggest the use of SNS to promote meat consumption.

Download Full-text

A Case of COVID-19-Related Thrombocytopenia and Leukopenia in an Adolescent with Mild Symptoms

Children ◽

10.3390/children8060509 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 509

Author(s):

Lydia Kossiva ◽

Athanasios Thirios ◽

Eleni Panagouli ◽

Alexandros Panos ◽

Stavroula Lampidi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bone Marrow ◽

Viral Infection ◽

Nasal Congestion ◽

Pediatric Population ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Bone Marrow Aspiration ◽

White Blood Count ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

First Case ◽

The Impact

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been numerous reports and reviews on the complications caused by the disease, analyzing the acute and chronic consequences. The main symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 are dry cough, fever, and fatigue. COVID-19 appears to affect all systems, including renal, cardiovascular, circulatory, and respiratory systems, causing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We report on a 14-year-old male adolescent, who presented with thrombocytopenia (platelet count 92 × 109 /L) and leukopenia (white blood count 4.2 × 103 /μL) that was observed two months ago. Ten days before the first blood test, a viral infection with nasal congestion and runny nose was reported, without other accompanying symptoms. Viral antibodies screening revealed positivity for all the three specific COVID-19 antibodies. Further haematological evaluation with bone marrow aspiration revealed non-specific dysplastic features of the red cell and megakaryocyte progenitors. Although haematological alterations due to COVID-19 infection are available from adult patients’ reports, the effect of COVID-19 infection in the pediatric population is underestimated and this is the first case with such haematological involvement. Noteworthy, in the current case, the impact of the COVID-19 infection was not related to the severity of the disease, as the symptoms were mild. In similar cases, bone marrow aspiration would not be performed as a part of routine work-up. Thus, it is important when evaluating pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection to search and report those alterations in order to better understand the impact and the spectrum of clinical manifestations of the specific viral infection in children and adolescents.

Download Full-text