‘Working in a comfort formerly unknown’: medical holism and the radical ambitions behind interwar Bermondsey’s foot clinic

In 1930, the Bermondsey Public Health Department made the rather unusual decision to establish the first municipal foot clinic in Britain. This pioneering and popular clinic was founded at a time when the aims of public health were being renegotiated. Historical discussion of the reconceptualisation of public health in the interwar period typically depicts a paradigm shift in which public health was no longer focused solely on sanitising the physical environment, but was characterised by an additional, separate aim: the development of hygienic behaviour within patients. While this narrative has proved helpful in explaining the emergence of health education between the wars, Bermondsey’s foot clinic challenges it somewhat. In essence, the foot clinic was an inventive and multifaceted attempt to treat Bermondsey’s rampant poverty. Chiefly, the clinic sought to improve the occupational fitness of the population in an area where most jobs required workers to be stood up all day. In addition, the foot clinic was expected to provoke physiological and spiritual renewal by freeing patients to move more naturally, according to specific contemporary modernist theories of movement. Finally, the architecture of the building which housed the foot clinic was designed to encourage its patients to adopt more hygienic ways of living in their own homes. Thus, the clinic’s aims are difficult to compartmentalise into either sanitisation of the lived environment or health education, since it sought to achieve both goals simultaneously. Fundamentally, this integrated approach to public health was rooted in a concept of health that upheld the interconnectedness of individual, communal and environmental well-being.

Pupal cannibalism by worker honey bees contributes to the spread of deformed wing virus

Transmission routes impact pathogen virulence and genetics, therefore comprehensive knowledge of these routes and their contribution to pathogen circulation is essential for understanding host–pathogen interactions and designing control strategies. Deformed wing virus (DWV), a principal viral pathogen of honey bees associated with increased honey bee mortality and colony losses, became highly virulent with the spread of its vector, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Reproduction of Varroa mites occurs in capped brood cells and mite-infested pupae from these cells usually have high levels of DWV. The removal of mite-infested pupae by worker bees, Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH), leads to cannibalization of pupae with high DWV loads, thereby offering an alternative route for virus transmission. We used genetically tagged DWV to investigate virus transmission to and between worker bees following pupal cannibalisation under experimental conditions. We demonstrated that cannibalization of DWV-infected pupae resulted in high levels of this virus in worker bees and that the acquired virus was then transmitted between bees via trophallaxis, allowing circulation of Varroa-vectored DWV variants without the mites. Despite the known benefits of hygienic behaviour, it is possible that higher levels of VSH activity may result in increased transmission of DWV via cannibalism and trophallaxis.

Changes in chemical cues of Melissococcus plutonius infected honey bee larvae

European foulbrood (EFB), caused by Melissococcus plutonius, is a globally distributed bacterial brood disease affecting Apis mellifera larvae. There is some evidence, even if under debate, that spreading of the disease within the colony is prevented by worker bees performing hygienic behaviour, including detection and removal of infected larvae. Olfactory cues (brood pheromones, signature mixtures, diagnostic substances) emitted by infected individuals may play a central role for hygienic bees to initiate the disease-specific behaviour. However, the mechanisms of cue detection and brood removal, causing hygienic behaviour in EFB affected colonies, are poorly understood. Here, coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to detect disease-specific substances, changes in cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, and brood ester pheromones (BEPs) of honey bee larvae artificially infected with M. plutonius. Although no diagnostic substances were found in significant quantities, discriminant analysis revealed specific differences in CHC and BEP profiles of infected and healthy larvae. β-Ocimene, a volatile brood pheromone related to starvation and hygienic behaviour, was present in all larvae with highest quantities in healthy young larvae; whereas oleic acid, a non-volatile necromone, was present only in old infected larvae. Furthermore, γ-octalactone (newly discovered in A. mellifera in this study) was detectable in trace amounts only in infected larvae. We propose that the deviation from the olfactory profile of healthy brood is supposed to trigger hygienic behaviour in worker bees. To confirm the relevance of change in the chemical bouquet (CHCs, BEPs, γ-octalactone, etc.), a field colony bioassay is needed, using healthy brood and hygienic bees to determine if bouquet changes elicit hygienic behaviour.

Pupal Cannibalism byWworker Honey Bees Contributes to the Spread of Deformed Wing Virus.

Transmission routes impact pathogen virulence and genetics, therefore comprehensive knowledge of these routes and their contribution to pathogen circulation is essential for understanding host-pathogen interactions and designing control strategies. Deformed wing virus (DWV), a principal viral pathogen of honey bees associated with increased honey bee mortality and colony losses, became highly virulent with the spread of its vector, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Reproduction of Varroa mites occurs in capped brood cells and mite-infested pupae from these cells usually have high levels of DWV. The removal of mite-infested pupae by worker bees, Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH), leads to cannibalization of pupae with high DWV loads, thereby offering an alternative route for virus transmission. We used genetically tagged DWV to investigate virus transmission to and between worker bees following pupal cannibalisation under experimental conditions. We demonstrated that cannibalization of DWV-infected pupae resulted in high levels of this virus in worker bees and that the acquired virus was then transmitted between bees via trophallaxis, allowing circulation of Varroa-vectored DWV variants without the mites. Despite the known benefits of hygienic behaviour, it is possible that higher levels of VSH activity may result in increased transmission of DWV via cannibalism and trophallaxis.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of nudge techniques in improving hygiene behaviours in Kindergartens

Good hygiene practice is an important element in terms of preventing the spread of infections, but it is not always carried out according to instructions among employees in hygienically sensitive work processes. To improve this, tools for nudging hygienic behaviour have been developed, which subconsciously encourage the individual to perform the desired hygienic behaviour. Examples of activity where employees and children constantly come into contact with pathogenic microorganisms are educational institutions (kindergartens). By observing the working process in the selected kindergartens, we wanted to determine the time, technique, and frequency of handwashing among childcare workers and children. In the case of the first ones, we wanted to find out whether they also wear personal protective work equipment. Based on the findings, we wanted to implement the selected nudging tools for better hygiene behaviour. In the first half of the observation, we found that the hygienic behaviour regarding handwashing of childcare workers and children is poor. After setting the nudging tools, hygienic behaviour improved in all the observed groups. The results suggest that the use of nudging tools in kindergartens can significantly contribute to the better implementation of hygienic behaviour (especially handwashing) in childcare workers and children. Consequently, we conclude that with the tools for promoting hygiene behaviour, the incidence of infectious diseases in kindergartens can be reduced. We can direct children towards the healthier and hygienically appropriate way of life by means of the appropriate hygiene behaviour.

Pupal cannibalism by worker honey bees contributes to the spread of Deformed wing virus

Transmission routes impact pathogen virulence and genetics, therefore comprehensive knowledge of these routes and their contribution to pathogen circulation is essential for understanding host-pathogen interactions and designing control strategies. Deformed wing virus (DWV), a principal viral pathogen of honey bees associated with increased honey bee mortality and colony losses, became highly virulent with the spread of its vector, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. Reproduction of Varroa mites occurs in capped brood cells and mite-infested pupae from these cells usually have high levels of DWV. The removal of mite-infested pupae by worker bees, Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH), leads to cannibalization of pupae with high DWV loads, thereby offering an alternative route for virus transmission. We used genetically tagged DWV to investigate virus transmission to and between worker bees following pupal cannibalisation under experimental conditions. We demonstrated that cannibalization of DWV-infected pupae resulted in high levels of this virus in worker bees and that the acquired virus was then transmitted between bees via trophallaxis, allowing circulation of Varroa-vectored DWV variants without the mites. Despite the known benefits of hygienic behaviour, it is possible that higher levels of VSH activity may result in increased transmission of DWV via cannibalism and trophallaxis.

Behaviours indicating cannibalistic necrophagy in ants are modulated by the perception of pathogen infection level

Cannibalistic necrophagy is rarely observed in social hymenopterans, although a lack of food could easily favour such behaviour. One of the main supposed reasons for the rarity of necrophagy is that eating of nestmate corpses carries the risk of rapid spread of pathogens or parasites. Here we present an experimental laboratory study on behaviour indicating consumption of nestmate corpses in the ant Formica polyctena. We examined whether starvation and the fungal infection level of the corpses affects the occurrence of cannibalistic necrophagy. Our results showed that the ants distinguished between corpses of different types and with different levels of infection risk, adjusting their behaviour accordingly. The frequency of behaviours indicating cannibalistic necrophagy increased during starvation, although these behaviours seem to be fairly common in F. polyctena even in the presence of other food sources. The occurrence and significance of cannibalistic necrophagy deserve further research because, in addition to providing additional food, it may be part of the hygienic behaviour repertoire. The ability to detect infections and handle pathogens are important behavioural adaptations for social insects, crucial for the fitness of both individual workers and the entire colony.

Comparison of infertility of Varroa destructor in resistant and control colonies of the Iraqi honeybee (Apis mellifera meda)

In the current study, the infertility of Varroa mite was compared in resistant (VSH) and control honeybee colonies at the University of Garmian of Iraq. At each stage, the infestation rate, the percentage of fertile mites, the percentage of infertile mites, the number of cells containing mite eggs, and the number of protonymphs and deutonymphs were counted. Percentages of infestation in resistant and control colonies were 6.2 ± 0.9 and 10.9 ± 1.2, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the percentage of infested cells between the control and resistant groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, 56.3% of the resistant colonies and 37.50% of the control colonies showed hygienic behaviour (VHS). Resistant colonies showed hygienic behaviour (VHS) regarding the removal of infested pupae and reducing the infestation in colonies compared to control colonies. Mean total infertility in resistant and control colonies were 1.4 ± 0.4 and 1.1 ± 0.3, respectively. Also, the total mean of protonymphs, deutonymphs, and eggs in resistant and control colonies were 0.06, 1.3 ± 0.4, and 2.6 ± 0.8 in resistant colonies and 0.2, 1.3 ± 0.8, and 2.6 ± 1 in control colonies. The results showed that VSH behaviour in adult bees reduces the rate of infestation by Varroa mites in pupas.