Emerging and Reemerging Neglected Tropical Diseases: a Review of Key Characteristics, Risk Factors, and the Policy and Innovation Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Bryan A.; Cuomo, Raphael; Hafen, Ryan; Brouwer, Kimberly C.; Lee, Daniel E.

2014-01-01

SUMMARY In global health, critical challenges have arisen from infectious diseases, including the emergence and reemergence of old and new infectious diseases. Emergence and reemergence are accelerated by rapid human development, including numerous changes in demographics, populations, and the environment. This has also led to zoonoses in the changing human-animal ecosystem, which are impacted by a growing globalized society where pathogens do not recognize geopolitical borders. Within this context, neglected tropical infectious diseases have historically lacked adequate attention in international public health efforts, leading to insufficient prevention and treatment options. This subset of 17 infectious tropical diseases disproportionately impacts the world's poorest, represents a significant and underappreciated global disease burden, and is a major barrier to development efforts to alleviate poverty and improve human health. Neglected tropical diseases that are also categorized as emerging or reemerging infectious diseases are an even more serious threat and have not been adequately examined or discussed in terms of their unique risk characteristics. This review sets out to identify emerging and reemerging neglected tropical diseases and explore the policy and innovation environment that could hamper or enable control efforts. Through this examination, we hope to raise awareness and guide potential approaches to addressing this global health concern. PMID:25278579

Nuclear medicine in tropical diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braga, Francisco Jose Hossri Nogueira

2002-01-01

Tropical diseases affect more people in the world than any other kind of disease, but scintigraphic data on that matter are not so frequent in the literature. Since the geographic regions where such diseases occur are normally very poor, scintillation cameras may not be available. We present a resumed summary of part of what has been done on this subject to-date. Leprosy affects circa 12 million people worldwide and has already been studied by means of the following scintigraphic exams: gallium-67, 99mTc-MDP or HMDP, 99mTc-colloid or Dextran, 99mTc-DTPA and 99mTc-WBC. Paracoccidioidomycosis is a deep mycosis and such cases may be evaluated by means of gallium-67, bone scintigraphy, lymphoscintigraphy, hepato-biliary, bone marrow and liver/spleen scintigraphies. Mycetoma is bone and soft tissue mycosis and gallium-67 and bone studies are very useful in the evaluation of such cases. Tuberculosis is the most well studied tropical disease and dozens of radiopharmaceuticals and techniques were described to evaluate such patients. Jorge Lobo disease is a rare mycosis that affects mainly indians from the Amazon region and gallium-67 was shown to accumulate in active disease. Neurocysticercosis is spread worldwide and brain SPECT (99mTc-ECD or 99mTc-HMPAO) is a very good tool for the functional evaluation of the disease. Patients suffering from cutaneous and mucous leishmaniasis may benefit from gallium-67 scintigraphy. Chagas disease may affect the heart and or the digestive tract and several scintigraphic exams may be helpful in the evaluation of such cases (gated blood pool, heart perfusions tests, pharyngeal transit tests, gastric emptying tests, intestinal transit tests, hepato-biliary scintigraphy, among others). Scintigraphy should be more largely used in the functional evaluation of organs and systems of patients affected y tropical diseases. It is a powerful tool to evaluate both the extent of disease and the efficacy of therapy. (author)

Nuclear medicine in tropical diseases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braga, Francisco Jose Hossri Nogueira [Centro Oncologico da Regiao de Araraquara, SP (Brazil). Servico de Medicina Nuclear]. E-mail: fjbraga@dfm.ffclrp.usp.br

2002-09-01

Tropical diseases affect more people in the world than any other kind of disease, but scintigraphic data on that matter are not so frequent in the literature. Since the geographic regions where such diseases occur are normally very poor, scintillation cameras may not be available. We present a resumed summary of part of what has been done on this subject to-date. Leprosy affects circa 12 million people worldwide and has already been studied by means of the following scintigraphic exams: gallium-67, 99mTc-MDP or HMDP, 99mTc-colloid or Dextran, 99mTc-DTPA and 99mTc-WBC. Paracoccidioidomycosis is a deep mycosis and such cases may be evaluated by means of gallium-67, bone scintigraphy, lymphoscintigraphy, hepato-biliary, bone marrow and liver/spleen scintigraphies. Mycetoma is bone and soft tissue mycosis and gallium-67 and bone studies are very useful in the evaluation of such cases. Tuberculosis is the most well studied tropical disease and dozens of radiopharmaceuticals and techniques were described to evaluate such patients. Jorge Lobo disease is a rare mycosis that affects mainly indians from the Amazon region and gallium-67 was shown to accumulate in active disease. Neurocysticercosis is spread worldwide and brain SPECT (99mTc-ECD or 99mTc-HMPAO) is a very good tool for the functional evaluation of the disease. Patients suffering from cutaneous and mucous leishmaniasis may benefit from gallium-67 scintigraphy. Chagas disease may affect the heart and or the digestive tract and several scintigraphic exams may be helpful in the evaluation of such cases (gated blood pool, heart perfusions tests, pharyngeal transit tests, gastric emptying tests, intestinal transit tests, hepato-biliary scintigraphy, among others). Scintigraphy should be more largely used in the functional evaluation of organs and systems of patients affected y tropical diseases. It is a powerful tool to evaluate both the extent of disease and the efficacy of therapy. (author)

Fungal and Oomycete Diseases of Tropical Tree Fruit Crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Drenth, André; Guest, David I

2016-08-04

The tropics produce a range of fruit from tree crops that cannot be grown in colder climates. Bananas, mangos, several nuts, spices, coffee, and cacao are widely traded and much sought after around the world. However, the sustainable production of these tropical tree fruit crops faces significant challenges. Among these, losses due to pests and diseases play a large part in reducing yields, quality, and profitability. Using bananas and cacao as key examples, we outline some of the reasons fungal and oomycete diseases cause such significant losses to tropical tree crops. Cultivation of monocultures derived from limited genetic diversity, environmental conditions conducive for disease development, high levels of disease incidence and severity, a lack of disease resistance in planting materials, shortages of labor, and inadequate infrastructure and investment pose significant challenges, especially for smallholder producers. The expansion of travel and trade has given rise to emerging infectious plant diseases that add further insecurity and pressure. We conclude that holistic actions are needed on multiple fronts to address the growing problem of disease in tropical fruit tree crops.

[Problems caused by poisonous tropical marine animals].

Science.gov (United States)

Lääveri, Tinja; Räisänen-Sokolowski, Anne; Jama, Timo

2014-01-01

A Finnish physician encounters problems caused by tropical marine animals either during her/his own travelling or while treating travelers who have returned home. Certain species of medusae and cone shells as well as the stings by some fish species are life-threateningly poisonous. A person stung or bitten by any of the most dangerous species must immediately be admitted to the hospital. Foreign material remaining in tissues after stings by echinoderms and spiky fish may cause problems months after the actual injury. The injuries become easily infected, and antimicrobial drug therapy must thus cover gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria as well.

Fusarium-induced diseases of tropical, perennial crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Ploetz, Randy C

2006-06-01

ABSTRACT The world's oldest ecosystems are found in the tropics. They are diverse, highly evolved, but barely understood. This and subsequent papers describe diseases of tropical, perennial plants that are caused by Fusarium spp. Many of these are economically significant, difficult to manage, and of scientific interest. Some represent coevolved patho-systems (e.g., Panama disease, tracheomycosis of coffee, fusariosis of pineapple, and Fusarium wilt of oil palm), whereas others may be new-encounter diseases or are caused by generalist pathogens (cushion gall of cacao). New vector relationships are evident in other pathosystems (e.g., mango malformation), and two or more pathogens have been shown to cause some of the diseases (Panama disease and tracheomycosis of coffee). More work on these pathosystems is warranted as they could reveal much about the evolution of plant pathogens and the important diseases they cause.

REVIEW ON IMPORTANT HELMINTHIC DISEASES IN ANIMAL IN INDONESIA

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I.G. P. Suweta

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Helminthic diseases are widely spread throughout the world. In Indonesia, the cases in animals are primarily associated with the condition of the field, although the intensity of the infestations are also affected by various factors inside the body of the host. In general, the tropical and humid conditions in Indonesia, optimally support the development and spreading of the parasites, so that the prevalence of the infestations are usually high except in the very dry areas. In Indonesia, important helminthic diseases found in livestock are mostly caused by nematodes and trematodes, and there is a lack of information regarding cestode infestations, except infestation by immature stages of the worm such as cysticercosis in ruminants and swine. On the other hand, dogs and cats are usually infested by cestodes and nematodes. Here, the negative influence of helminthic infestation on live stock is mostiy shown by failure of growth, decrease of body weight and body resistance, damage of organs infested by the parasites, but it is not rare that the disease cause death of the infested animals such as haemonchiasis in sheep, ascariasis in young swine and calves, etc. The integrated system of farming combined with periodic anthelminthic treatments were favourable in the effort of controlling the disease.

Vaccines to combat the neglected tropical diseases

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Bethony, Jeffrey M.; Cole, Rhea N.; Guo, Xiaoti; Kamhawi, Shaden; Lightowlers, Marshall W.; Loukas, Alex; Petri, William; Reed, Steven; Valenzuela, Jesus G.; Hotez, Peter J.

2012-01-01

Summary The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) represent a group of parasitic and related infectious diseases such as amebiasis, Chagas disease, cysticercosis, echinococcosis, hookworm, leishmaniasis, and schistosomiasis. Together, these conditions are considered the most common infections in low- and middle-income countries, where they produce a level of global disability and human suffering equivalent to better known conditions such as human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and malaria. Despite their global public health importance, progress on developing vaccines for NTD pathogens has lagged because of some key technical hurdles and the fact that these infections occur almost exclusively in the world’s poorest people living below the World Bank poverty line. In the absence of financial incentives for new products, the multinational pharmaceutical companies have not embarked on substantive research and development programs for the neglected tropical disease vaccines. Here, we review the current status of scientific and technical progress in the development of new neglected tropical disease vaccines, highlighting the successes that have been achieved (cysticercosis and echinococcosis) and identifying the challenges and opportunities for development of new vaccines for NTDs. Also highlighted are the contributions being made by non-profit product development partnerships that are working to overcome some of the economic challenges in vaccine manufacture, clinical testing, and global access. PMID:21198676

Podoconiosis, a neglected tropical disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korevaar, D. A.; Visser, B. J.

2012-01-01

Podoconiosis or 'endemic non-filarial elephantiasis' is a tropical disease caused by exposure of bare feet to irritant alkaline clay soils. This causes an asymmetrical swelling of the feet and lower limbs due to lymphoedema. Podoconiosis has a curable pre-elephantiasic phase. However, once

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: Ten years of progress in neglected tropical disease control and elimination … More or less.

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Peter Hotez

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This year PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases (PLOS NTDs celebrates its tenth anniversary following the publication of the first issue in 2007 [1]. When PLOS NTDs was founded, the framework of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs as an alternative to "other diseases" (as they were then referred to in the Millennium Development Goals was just getting started-especially for Africa [2, 3]. In the decade since, PLOS NTDs has overseen enormous successes in NTD control and elimination. Here, we want to briefly review the ten year progress made towards the control or elimination of the diseases now identified by the WHO as NTDs. Many of the details are highlighted in PLOS NTDs papers cited here, but the summary information is based on the recently released Global Burden of Disease (GBD Study 2015 (also launched with Gates Foundation support that summarized past-decade changes in disease prevalence, mortality, or disability rates (from the years 2005 to 2015 [4-6], as well as the GBD Study 2013 that summarizes disease prevalence changes over a longer time horizon from 1990 to 2013 [7].

Neglected tropical diseases in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindoso, José Angelo L; Lindoso, Ana Angélica B P

2009-01-01

Poverty is intrinsically related to the incidence of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). The main countries that have the lowest human development indices (HDI) and the highest burdens of NTDs are located in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Among these countries is Brazil, which is ranked 70th in HDI. Nine out of the ten NTDs established by the World Health Organization (WHO) are present in Brazil. Leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, dengue fever and leprosy are present over almost the entire Brazilian territory. More than 90% of malaria cases occur in the Northern region of the country, and lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis occur in outbreaks in a particular region. The North and Northeast regions of Brazil have the lowest HDIs and the highest rates of NTDs. These diseases are considered neglected because there is not important investment in projects for the development of new drugs and vaccines and existing programs to control these diseases are not sufficient. Another problem related to NTDs is co-infection with HIV, which favors the occurrence of severe clinical manifestations and therapeutic failure. In this article, we describe the status of the main NTDs currently occurring in Brazil and relate them to the HDI and poverty.

Towards the Elimination of Schistosomiasis japonica through Control of the Disease in Domestic Animals in The People's Republic of China: A Tale of over 60Years.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Z-G; Zhao, Y-E; Lee Willingham, A; Wang, T-P

2016-01-01

Schistosomiasis japonica, an endemic, zoonotic tropical parasitic disease caused by Schistosoma japonicum, remains an important public health concern in The People's Republic of China. Unlike other species of Schistosoma, over 40 species of wild and domestic animals can act as reservoir hosts of S. japonicum, which increases the difficulty for the control of this tropical disease. It is widely recognized that domestic animals, particularly water buffaloes and cattle, play an important role in the transmission of S. japonicum. Hence, since the 1950s when The People's Republic of China commenced fight against the disease, the control of animal schistosomiasis has been carried out almost synchronously with that of human schistosomiasis, such that great strides have been made over the past six decades. In this chapter, we review the history and current status of schistosomiasis control in domestic animals in The People's Republic of China. We thoroughly analyse the prevalence of domestic animal schistosomiasis at different stages of schistosomiasis control and the role of different species of domestic animals in transmission of the disease, summarize the control strategies and assess their effectiveness. Furthermore, the challenges ahead are discussed and recommendations for future direction are provided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Control of neglected tropical diseases needs a long-term commitment

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Mubila Likezo

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Neglected tropical diseases are widespread, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting over 2 billion individuals. Control of these diseases has gathered pace in recent years, with increased levels of funding from a number of governmental or non-governmental donors. Focus has currently been on five major 'tool-ready' neglected tropical diseases (lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and trachoma, using a package of integrated drug delivery according to the World Health Organization guidelines for preventive chemotherapy. Discussion Success in controlling these neglected tropical diseases has been achieved in a number of countries in recent history. Experience from these successes suggests that long-term sustainable control of these diseases requires: (1 a long-term commitment from a wider range of donors and from governments of endemic countries; (2 close partnerships of donors, World Health Organization, pharmaceutical industries, governments of endemic countries, communities, and non-governmental developmental organisations; (3 concerted action from more donor countries to provide the necessary funds, and from the endemic countries to work together to prevent cross-border disease transmission; (4 comprehensive control measures for certain diseases; and (5 strengthened primary healthcare systems as platforms for the national control programmes and capacity building through implementation of the programmes. Conclusions The current level of funding for the control of neglected tropical diseases has never been seen before, but it is still not enough to scale up to the 2 billion people in all endemic countries. While more donors are sought, the stakeholders must work in a coordinated and harmonised way to identify the priority areas and the best delivery approaches to use the current funds to the maximum effect. Case management and other necessary control measures should be

Spatiotemporal analysis of tropical disease research combining Europe PMC and affiliation mapping web services.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmblad, Magnus; Torvik, Vetle I

2017-01-01

Tropical medicine appeared as a distinct sub-discipline in the late nineteenth century, during a period of rapid European colonial expansion in Africa and Asia. After a dramatic drop after World War II, research on tropical diseases have received more attention and research funding in the twenty-first century. We used Apache Taverna to integrate Europe PMC and MapAffil web services, containing the spatiotemporal analysis workflow from a list of PubMed queries to a list of publication years and author affiliations geoparsed to latitudes and longitudes. The results could then be visualized in the Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS). Our workflows automatically matched 253,277 affiliations to geographical coordinates for the first authors of 379,728 papers on tropical diseases in a single execution. The bibliometric analyses show how research output in tropical diseases follow major historical shifts in the twentieth century and renewed interest in and funding for tropical disease research in the twenty-first century. They show the effects of disease outbreaks, WHO eradication programs, vaccine developments, wars, refugee migrations, and peace treaties. Literature search and geoparsing web services can be combined in scientific workflows performing a complete spatiotemporal bibliometric analyses of research in tropical medicine. The workflows and datasets are freely available and can be used to reproduce or refine the analyses and test specific hypotheses or look into particular diseases or geographic regions. This work exceeds all previously published bibliometric analyses on tropical diseases in both scale and spatiotemporal range.

Breeding against infectious diseases in animals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rashidi, H.

2016-01-01

Infectious diseases in farm animals are of major concern because of animal welfare, production costs, and public health. Farms undergo huge economic losses due to infectious disease. The costs of infections in farm animals are mainly due to production losses, treatment of infected animals, and

Worldwide risks of animal diseases: introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, J E

2006-01-01

Animal diseases impact food supplies, trade and commerce, and human health and well-being in every part of the world. Outbreaks draw the attention of those in agriculture, regulatory agencies, and government, as well as the general public. This was demonstrated by the 2000-2001 foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks that occurred in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa and by the recent increased occurrence of emerging diseases transmitted from animals to humans. Examples of these emerging zoonotic diseases are highly pathogenic avian influenza, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, West Nile virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome. There is also the risk of well-known and preventable zoonotic diseases, such as rabies, brucellosis, leishmaniasis, and echinococcosis/hydatidosis, in certain countries; these diseases have a high morbidity with the potential for a very high mortality. Animal agriculturalists should have a global disease awareness of disease risks and develop plans of action to deal with them; in order to better respond to these diseases, they should develop the skills and competencies in politics, media interactions, and community engagement. This issue of Veterinaria Italiana presents information on the risk of animal diseases; their impact on animals and humans at the international, national, industry, and societal levels; and the responses to them. In addition, specific information is provided on national and international disease monitoring, surveillance and reporting, the risk of spread of disease by bioterrorism and on import risk analysis.

Chemoprophylaxis of Tropical Infectious Diseases

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William J. H. McBride

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Travelers to tropical countries are at risk for a variety of infectious diseases. In some cases effective vaccinations are available, but for other infections chemoprophylaxis can be offered. Malaria prevention has become increasingly complex as Plasmodium species become resistant to available drugs. In certain high risk settings, antibiotics can be used to prevent leptospirosis, scrub typhus and other infections. Post-exposure prophylaxis is appropriate for selected virulent infections. In this article the evidence for chemoprophylaxis will be reviewed.

Demographic, socioeconomic and environmental changes affecting circulation of neglected tropical diseases in Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Abou-El-Naga, Iman F

2015-11-01

Egypt has been plagued by many neglected tropical diseases since Pharaonic time. These diseases are Schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniasis and fascioliasis beside the epidermal parasitic skin diseases. Indeed, theses diseases still persist as public health problem in the country by the influence of demographic, socioeconomic and environmental obstacles. This study seeks for understanding the contribution of each factor in each obstacle in neglected tropical diseases perpetuation which in turn could help the governorate in planning integrated control strategies. It was found that poverty, unregulated urbanization and inadequate sanitation are important socioeconomic factors that have great effect on the transmission dynamics of the diseases. The environmental factors which affect the epidemiology of these diseases in the country are scarcity of water, construction of dams, land reclamation for agriculture beside the climate factors. Unfortunately, the panic increase in the population growth rate minimizes the efforts done by the governorate to elevate the public health services. These conditions also affect the transmission of epidermal parasitic skin diseases including scabies, head lice and hookworm-related cutaneous larva migrans. The control programs and the recommendations to combat the diseases were discussed. The present study showed that the ecological factors affecting each neglected tropical disease in Egypt are somewhat similar which makes it worthy to develop an integrated control approaches aiming at improving the leading factors of neglected tropical diseases circulation in the country. Copyright © 2015 Hainan Medical College. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Forest Fragmentation and Selective Logging Have Inconsistent Effects on Multiple Animal-Mediated Ecosystem Processes in a Tropical Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Schleuning, Matthias; Farwig, Nina; Peters, Marcell K.; Bergsdorf, Thomas; Bleher, Bärbel; Brandl, Roland; Dalitz, Helmut; Fischer, Georg; Freund, Wolfram; Gikungu, Mary W.; Hagen, Melanie; Garcia, Francisco Hita; Kagezi, Godfrey H.; Kaib, Manfred; Kraemer, Manfred; Lung, Tobias; Schaab, Gertrud; Templin, Mathias; Uster, Dana; Wägele, J. Wolfgang; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

2011-01-01

Forest fragmentation and selective logging are two main drivers of global environmental change and modify biodiversity and environmental conditions in many tropical forests. The consequences of these changes for the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems have rarely been explored in a comprehensive approach. In a Kenyan rainforest, we studied six animal-mediated ecosystem processes and recorded species richness and community composition of all animal taxa involved in these processes. We used linear models and a formal meta-analysis to test whether forest fragmentation and selective logging affected ecosystem processes and biodiversity and used structural equation models to disentangle direct from biodiversity-related indirect effects of human disturbance on multiple ecosystem processes. Fragmentation increased decomposition and reduced antbird predation, while selective logging consistently increased pollination, seed dispersal and army-ant raiding. Fragmentation modified species richness or community composition of five taxa, whereas selective logging did not affect any component of biodiversity. Changes in the abundance of functionally important species were related to lower predation by antbirds and higher decomposition rates in small forest fragments. The positive effects of selective logging on bee pollination, bird seed dispersal and army-ant raiding were direct, i.e. not related to changes in biodiversity, and were probably due to behavioural changes of these highly mobile animal taxa. We conclude that animal-mediated ecosystem processes respond in distinct ways to different types of human disturbance in Kakamega Forest. Our findings suggest that forest fragmentation affects ecosystem processes indirectly by changes in biodiversity, whereas selective logging influences processes directly by modifying local environmental conditions and resource distributions. The positive to neutral effects of selective logging on ecosystem processes show that the

Neuro tropic Melanoma: The Management of Localised Disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Croker, J.; Burmeister, B.; Foote, M.

2012-01-01

Neuro tropic melanoma is a rare subtype of cutaneous malignant melanoma. Compared with conventional melanoma, it is more locally aggressive with an increased tendency for local recurrence but less likely for nodal or distant metastases. These tumours can be a diagnostic dilemma with a variety of morphological, histopathological, and immunophenotypical expressions. The often amelanotic, benign appearance may lead to treatment issues such as late presentation, diagnostic delay, misdiagnosis, insufficient surgical margins, and recurrence with resulting poor outcome. The neuro tropic nature of the disease and prevalence in the head and neck region can result in peri neural and neural invasion along named large nerves into the brain with resulting neuropathies. Wide local excision with adjuvant radiotherapy where indicated remains the current practice for treatment with chemotherapy predominately being reserved as a salvage treatment for patients with disseminated disease.

Differential diagnosis of white matter diseases in the tropics: An overview

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Pandit Lekha

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In hospitals in the tropics, the availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI facilities in urban areas and especially in teaching institutions have resulted in white matter diseases being frequently reported in a variety of clinical settings. Unlike the west where multiple sclerosis (MS is the commonest white matter disease encountered, in the tropics, there are myriad causes for the same. Infectious and post infectious disorders probably account for the vast majority of these diseases. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection tops the list of infective conditions. Central nervous system (CNS tuberculosis occasionally presents with patchy parenchymal lesions unaccompanied by meningeal involvement. Human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV infection and cystic inflammatory lesions such as neurocysticercosis are important causes to be considered in the differential diagnosis. Diagnosing post infectious demyelinating disorders is equally challenging since more than a third of cases seen in the tropics do not present with history of past infection or vaccinations. Metabolic and deficiency disorders such as Wernicke′s encephalopathy, osmotic demyelinating syndrome associated with extra pontine lesions and Vitamin B12 deficiency states can occassionaly cause confusion in diagnosis. This review considers a few important disorders which manifest with white matter changes on MRI and create diagnostic difficulties in a population in the tropics.

Animal models of cardiovascular diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaragoza, Carlos; Gomez-Guerrero, Carmen; Martin-Ventura, Jose Luis; Blanco-Colio, Luis; Lavin, Begoña; Mallavia, Beñat; Tarin, Carlos; Mas, Sebastian; Ortiz, Alberto; Egido, Jesus

2011-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are the first leading cause of death and morbidity in developed countries. The use of animal models have contributed to increase our knowledge, providing new approaches focused to improve the diagnostic and the treatment of these pathologies. Several models have been developed to address cardiovascular complications, including atherothrombotic and cardiac diseases, and the same pathology have been successfully recreated in different species, including small and big animal models of disease. However, genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in cardiovascular pathophysiology, making difficult to match a particular disease, with a single experimental model. Therefore, no exclusive method perfectly recreates the human complication, and depending on the model, additional considerations of cost, infrastructure, and the requirement for specialized personnel, should also have in mind. Considering all these facts, and depending on the budgets available, models should be selected that best reproduce the disease being investigated. Here we will describe models of atherothrombotic diseases, including expanding and occlusive animal models, as well as models of heart failure. Given the wide range of models available, today it is possible to devise the best strategy, which may help us to find more efficient and reliable solutions against human cardiovascular diseases.

How Soil Scientists Help Combat Podoconiosis, A Neglected Tropical Disease

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Benjamin Jelle Visser

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Podoconiosis or “endemic non-filarial elephantiasis” is a tropical disease caused by prolonged exposure of bare feet to irritant alkaline clay soils of volcanic origin [1]. The name of the disease is derived from the Greek words for foot: podos, and dust: konos. Small mineral particles from irritant soils penetrate the skin and provoke an inflammatory response leading to fibrosis and blockage of lymphatic vessels, causing lymphoedema [2]. Patients suffer from disabling physical effects, but also stigma [1]. The disease can simply be prevented by avoiding contact with irritant soils (wearing shoes but this is still an unaffordable “luxury” for many people. Podoconiosis is unique because it is a completely preventable non-communicable tropical disease [1]. In the past few years, podoconiosis has received increased advocacy and is now step by step appearing on the agenda of medical researchers as well as politicians.  [...

Animal production and health newsletter. No. 18

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-07-01

This newsletter contains brief summaries of the final Research Co-ordination Meetings of Co-ordinated Research Programmes on ''Strengthening Animal Reproduction Research in Asia Through the Application of Immunoassay Techniques'' and ''Strengthening Animal Disease Diagnosis in Asia Through Application of Immunoassay Techniques'' and of the first Research Co-ordination Meeting on ''Development of Feed Supplementation Strategies for Milk-Producing Animals in Tropical and Subtropical Environments Through the Use of Nuclear and Related Techniques''. Developments at the IAEA's Animal Production Unit, Seibersdorf, are described

Research Program In Tropical Infectious Diseases

Science.gov (United States)

1991-12-15

Central America at the base of the Yucatan Peninsula, surrounded on the west and north by Guatemala and Mexico and on the east by the Caribbean Sea...inferred that in Belize, 2 tropical infectious diseases are common. Yellow fever has been known to occur in the Yucatan ,1 dengue and malaria are...Centro Americano) representatives in Belize City. Two ERC technologists and two CML technicians attended an INCAP (Instituto de Nutricion de Centro

Neglected Tropical Diseases: Epidemiology and Global Burden

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Amal K. Mitra

2017-08-01

Full Text Available More than a billion people—one-sixth of the world’s population, mostly in developing countries—are infected with one or more of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs. Several national and international programs (e.g., the World Health Organization’s Global NTD Programs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Global NTD Program, the United States Global Health Initiative, the United States Agency for International Development’s NTD Program, and others are focusing on NTDs, and fighting to control or eliminate them. This review identifies the risk factors of major NTDs, and describes the global burden of the diseases in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs.

Animal Models of Allergic Diseases

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Domenico Santoro

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Allergic diseases have great impact on the quality of life of both people and domestic animals. They are increasing in prevalence in both animals and humans, possibly due to the changed lifestyle conditions and the decreased exposure to beneficial microorganisms. Dogs, in particular, suffer from environmental skin allergies and develop a clinical presentation which is very similar to the one of children with eczema. Thus, dogs are a very useful species to improve our understanding on the mechanisms involved in people’s allergies and a natural model to study eczema. Animal models are frequently used to elucidate mechanisms of disease and to control for confounding factors which are present in studies with patients with spontaneously occurring disease and to test new therapies that can be beneficial in both species. It has been found that drugs useful in one species can also have benefits in other species highlighting the importance of a comprehensive understanding of diseases across species and the value of comparative studies. The purpose of the current article is to review allergic diseases across species and to focus on how these diseases compare to the counterpart in people.

Animal Models of Cardiovascular Diseases

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Carlos Zaragoza

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Cardiovascular diseases are the first leading cause of death and morbidity in developed countries. The use of animal models have contributed to increase our knowledge, providing new approaches focused to improve the diagnostic and the treatment of these pathologies. Several models have been developed to address cardiovascular complications, including atherothrombotic and cardiac diseases, and the same pathology have been successfully recreated in different species, including small and big animal models of disease. However, genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in cardiovascular pathophysiology, making difficult to match a particular disease, with a single experimental model. Therefore, no exclusive method perfectly recreates the human complication, and depending on the model, additional considerations of cost, infrastructure, and the requirement for specialized personnel, should also have in mind. Considering all these facts, and depending on the budgets available, models should be selected that best reproduce the disease being investigated. Here we will describe models of atherothrombotic diseases, including expanding and occlusive animal models, as well as models of heart failure. Given the wide range of models available, today it is possible to devise the best strategy, which may help us to find more efficient and reliable solutions against human cardiovascular diseases.

Cryptosporidiosis: A Disease of Tropical and Remote Areas in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lal, Aparna; Cornish, Lisa Michelle; Fearnley, Emily; Glass, Kathryn; Kirk, Martyn

2015-09-01

Cryptosporidiosis causes gastroenteritis and is transmitted to humans via contaminated water and food, and contact with infected animals and people. We analyse long-term cryptosporidiosis patterns across Australia (2001-2012) and review published Australian studies and jurisdictional health bulletins to identify high risk populations and potential risk factors for disease. Using national data on reported cryptosporidiosis, the average annual rate of reported illness was 12.8 cases per 100 000 population, with cycles of high and low reporting years. Reports of illness peak in summer, similar to other infectious gastrointestinal diseases. States with high livestock densities like New South Wales and Queensland also record a spring peak in illnesses. Children aged less than four years have the highest rates of disease, along with adult females. Rates of reported cryptosporidiosis are highest in the warmer, remote regions and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Our review of 34 published studies and seven health department reports on cryptosporidiosis in Australia highlights a lack of long term, non-outbreak studies in these regions and populations, with an emphasis on outbreaks and risk factors in urban areas. The high disease rates in remote, tropical and subtropical areas and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations underscore the need to develop interventions that target the sources of infection, seasonal exposures and risk factors for cryptosporidiosis in these settings. Spatial epidemiology can provide an evidence base to identify priorities for intervention to prevent and control cryptosporidiosis in high risk populations.

Animal Models for Periodontal Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helieh S. Oz

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Animal models and cell cultures have contributed new knowledge in biological sciences, including periodontology. Although cultured cells can be used to study physiological processes that occur during the pathogenesis of periodontitis, the complex host response fundamentally responsible for this disease cannot be reproduced in vitro. Among the animal kingdom, rodents, rabbits, pigs, dogs, and nonhuman primates have been used to model human periodontitis, each with advantages and disadvantages. Periodontitis commonly has been induced by placing a bacterial plaque retentive ligature in the gingival sulcus around the molar teeth. In addition, alveolar bone loss has been induced by inoculation or injection of human oral bacteria (e.g., Porphyromonas gingivalis in different animal models. While animal models have provided a wide range of important data, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the findings are applicable to humans. In addition, variability in host responses to bacterial infection among individuals contributes significantly to the expression of periodontal diseases. A practical and highly reproducible model that truly mimics the natural pathogenesis of human periodontal disease has yet to be developed.

Animal Models for Periodontal Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Oz, Helieh S.; Puleo, David A.

2011-01-01

Animal models and cell cultures have contributed new knowledge in biological sciences, including periodontology. Although cultured cells can be used to study physiological processes that occur during the pathogenesis of periodontitis, the complex host response fundamentally responsible for this disease cannot be reproduced in vitro. Among the animal kingdom, rodents, rabbits, pigs, dogs, and nonhuman primates have been used to model human periodontitis, each with advantages and disadvantages. Periodontitis commonly has been induced by placing a bacterial plaque retentive ligature in the gingival sulcus around the molar teeth. In addition, alveolar bone loss has been induced by inoculation or injection of human oral bacteria (e.g., Porphyromonas gingivalis) in different animal models. While animal models have provided a wide range of important data, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the findings are applicable to humans. In addition, variability in host responses to bacterial infection among individuals contributes significantly to the expression of periodontal diseases. A practical and highly reproducible model that truly mimics the natural pathogenesis of human periodontal disease has yet to be developed. PMID:21331345

How soil scientists help combat podoconiosis, a neglected tropical disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Visser, Benjamin Jelle

2014-01-01

Podoconiosis or "endemic non-filarial elephantiasis" is a tropical disease caused by prolonged exposure of bare feet to irritant alkaline clay soils of volcanic origin [1]. The name of the disease is derived from the Greek words for foot: podos, and dust: konos. Small mineral particles from irritant

Brazil's neglected tropical diseases: an overview and a report card.

Science.gov (United States)

Hotez, Peter J; Fujiwara, Ricardo T

2014-08-01

Today, the nation of Brazil leads the Western Hemisphere in terms of the number of its citizens living with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These diseases continue to trap Brazil's "bottom 20 million" in extreme poverty. Copyright © 2014 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

[Globalization, inequality, and transmission of tropical diseases in the Venezuelan Amazon].

Science.gov (United States)

Botto-Abella, Carlos; Graterol-Mendoza, Beatriz

2007-01-01

Economic globalization appears to be causing greater inequalities and increased vulnerability to tropical diseases around the world. The Venezuelan Amazon population, especially the rural indigenous population, displays among the worst health indicators in the Americas. High infant mortality rates in remote indigenous populations indicate that such communities have been affected by the globalization of disease, rather than favored by globalization of health. Globalization has also influenced public policies in the country, affecting the efficiency of control programs targeting tropical diseases. A new global pact for the sustainable development of the planet is needed, supported by the globalization of human values and rights. In Venezuela, new policies for the indigenous health sector, more resources, and greater autonomy could help reduce the inequities described here in the Venezuelan Amazon.

Animal Production and Health Newsletter. No. 13

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

This newsletter includes reports of FAO/IAEA-organized meetings held between 17 September 1990 and 23 November 1990, with emphasis on the development and application of radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques to study Foot and Mouth Disease, bluetongue vins and other diseases, and animal reproduction. The status of existing coordinated research programmes is summarized, and a new coordinated research programme on the development of supplementation strategies for milk-producing animals in tropical and subtropical environments is announced. Applications for contracts to participate in this programme are invited. The role of the Section's Animal Production Unit at Seibersdorf is reviewed, and a list of forthcoming events is given

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Neglected Tropical Diseases: a Systematic Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.J. Houweling (Tanja); H.E. Karim-Kos (Henrike); M.C. Kulik (Margarete); W.A. Stolk (Wilma); J.A. Haagsma (Juanita); E.J. Lenk (Edeltraud J.); J.H. Richardus (Jan Hendrik); S.J. de Vlas (Sake)

2016-01-01

markdownabstract__Background:__ Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are generally assumed to be concentrated in poor populations, but evidence on this remains scattered. We describe within-country socioeconomic inequalities in nine NTDs listed in the London Declaration for intensified control and/or

Cryptosporidiosis: A Disease of Tropical and Remote Areas in Australia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aparna Lal

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Cryptosporidiosis causes gastroenteritis and is transmitted to humans via contaminated water and food, and contact with infected animals and people. We analyse long-term cryptosporidiosis patterns across Australia (2001-2012 and review published Australian studies and jurisdictional health bulletins to identify high risk populations and potential risk factors for disease. Using national data on reported cryptosporidiosis, the average annual rate of reported illness was 12.8 cases per 100 000 population, with cycles of high and low reporting years. Reports of illness peak in summer, similar to other infectious gastrointestinal diseases. States with high livestock densities like New South Wales and Queensland also record a spring peak in illnesses. Children aged less than four years have the highest rates of disease, along with adult females. Rates of reported cryptosporidiosis are highest in the warmer, remote regions and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Our review of 34 published studies and seven health department reports on cryptosporidiosis in Australia highlights a lack of long term, non-outbreak studies in these regions and populations, with an emphasis on outbreaks and risk factors in urban areas. The high disease rates in remote, tropical and subtropical areas and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations underscore the need to develop interventions that target the sources of infection, seasonal exposures and risk factors for cryptosporidiosis in these settings. Spatial epidemiology can provide an evidence base to identify priorities for intervention to prevent and control cryptosporidiosis in high risk populations.

Update on Neglected Tropical Diseases of the Western Hemisphere

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Esther Fischer

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs are responsible for millions of deaths and disabilities yearly, around the globe. The largest burden of these diseases falls on communities with poor access to basic sanitation, healthcare facilities, and educational programs. This review focuses on advances in vaccination, treatment and control programs over the past decade for the major NTDs of the Western Hemisphere: malaria, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, ankylostomiasis, lymphatic filiariasis, Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis, and onchocerciasis. The discussion centers on challenges for NTD eradication and prospects for the future.

Addressing the social determinants of neglected tropical diseases to ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... work brings to focus the determinants, which have been found to be particularly important for the perpetuation of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in endemic communities: water and sanitation, housing and clustering, environment, migration, disasters and conflicts, socio-cultural factors and gender, and finally poverty.

Evaluation of common diseases in laboratory animals | Oguwike ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

, diet or faulty functioning of a process. Laboratory animals are prone to some of these diseases. This study was undertaken to evaluate common diseases found in laboratory animals in our environment. 200 animals consisting of rats, mice, ...

Ebola and Marburg Hemorrhagic Fevers: Neglected Tropical Diseases?

Science.gov (United States)

MacNeil, Adam; Rollin, Pierre E.

2012-01-01

Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) and Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF) are rare viral diseases, endemic to central Africa. The overall burden of EHF and MHF is small in comparison to the more common protozoan, helminth, and bacterial diseases typically referred to as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). However, EHF and MHF outbreaks typically occur in resource-limited settings, and many aspects of these outbreaks are a direct consequence of impoverished conditions. We will discuss aspects of EHF and MHF disease, in comparison to the “classic” NTDs, and examine potential ways forward in the prevention and control of EHF and MHF in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as examine the potential for application of novel vaccines or antiviral drugs for prevention or control of EHF and MHF among populations at highest risk for disease. PMID:22761967

Epidemiology of Tropical Neglected Diseases in Ecuador in the Last 20 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Cartelle Gestal, Monica; Holban, Alina Maria; Escalante, Santiago; Cevallos, Marcelo

2015-01-01

Background Tropical and zoonotic diseases are major problems in developing countries like Ecuador. Poorly designed houses, the high proportion of isolated indigenous population and under developed infrastructure represent a fertile environment for vectors to proliferate. Control campaigns in Ecuador over the years have had varying success, depending on the disease and vectors targeted. Aims In our study we analyse the current situation of some neglected diseases in Ecuador and the efficiency of the control campaigns (by measuring changes in numbers of cases reported) that the Ecuadorian government has been running to limit the spread of these infectious and parasitic diseases. Results Our study reveals that Brucellosis, Chagas Disease, Rabies and Onchocerciasis have been controlled, but small outbreaks are still detected in endemic areas. Leptospirosis and Echinococcosis have been increasing steadily in recent years in Ecuador since the first records. The same increase has been reported world-wide also. Better diagnosis has resulted in a higher number of cases being identified, particularly with regard to the linking of outdoor activities and contact with farm animals as contributing vectors. Improvements in diagnosis are due to regular professional training, implementation of automatized systems, establishing diagnosis protocols and the creation of an epidemiological vigilance network that acts as soon as a case is reported. Conclusion Control campaigns performed in Ecuador have been successful in recent years, although natural phenomena limit their efficiency. Leptospirosis and Echinococcosis infections remain a growing problem in Ecuador as it is worldwide. PMID:26394405

Epidemiology of Tropical Neglected Diseases in Ecuador in the Last 20 Years.

Science.gov (United States)

Cartelle Gestal, Monica; Holban, Alina Maria; Escalante, Santiago; Cevallos, Marcelo

2015-01-01

Tropical and zoonotic diseases are major problems in developing countries like Ecuador. Poorly designed houses, the high proportion of isolated indigenous population and under developed infrastructure represent a fertile environment for vectors to proliferate. Control campaigns in Ecuador over the years have had varying success, depending on the disease and vectors targeted. In our study we analyse the current situation of some neglected diseases in Ecuador and the efficiency of the control campaigns (by measuring changes in numbers of cases reported) that the Ecuadorian government has been running to limit the spread of these infectious and parasitic diseases. Our study reveals that Brucellosis, Chagas Disease, Rabies and Onchocerciasis have been controlled, but small outbreaks are still detected in endemic areas. Leptospirosis and Echinococcosis have been increasing steadily in recent years in Ecuador since the first records. The same increase has been reported world-wide also. Better diagnosis has resulted in a higher number of cases being identified, particularly with regard to the linking of outdoor activities and contact with farm animals as contributing vectors. Improvements in diagnosis are due to regular professional training, implementation of automatized systems, establishing diagnosis protocols and the creation of an epidemiological vigilance network that acts as soon as a case is reported. Control campaigns performed in Ecuador have been successful in recent years, although natural phenomena limit their efficiency. Leptospirosis and Echinococcosis infections remain a growing problem in Ecuador as it is worldwide.

Animal Production and Health Newsletter. No. 14

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-06-01

This newsletter contains brief reports of the five FAO/IAEA Research Coordination Meetings held in the first half of 1991, focussing on improving animal reproduction research and animal disease diagnosis in Asia through the application of immunoassay techniques, improving the productivity of indiginous African livestock using radioimmunoassay and related techniques, improving the diagnosis and control of trypanosomiasis and other vector-borne diseases of African livestock using immunoassay methods, and an inter-regional network for improving the productivity of camelids. The FAO/IAEA International Symposium on ''Nuclear and Related Techniques in Animal Production and Health'' is summarily described (the Symposium Proceedings should be published in October, 1991), and applications are invited for a new coordinated research programme on the development of supplementation strategies for milk-producing animals in tropical and subtropical environments

TOXOPLASMOSIS IN MEXICO: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION IN HUMANS AND ANIMALS

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Ivonne HERNÁNDEZ-CORTAZAR

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease widely distributed throughout the world, infecting a wide variety of animal species including humans. In Mexico, this parasite has been detected in different parts of the country, particularly in the tropical areas where the parasite can remain infective for long periods of time due to the environmental conditions (i.e. high temperature and humidity over the whole year. Several epidemiological studies have been conducted in both human and animal populations, but despite the wide distribution of the agent in the country, there is a significant lack of knowledge on the parasite transmission, treatment alternatives and control measures. The lack of feral cat populations and control measures in sites of meat production for human consumption are playing a role that has led to the wide spread of the disease in the country, particularly in tropical areas of Southeastern Mexico. For these reasons, this manuscript aims to review the published information on relevant epidemiological aspects of infection with T. gondii in humans and animals from Mexico.

Critical care of tropical disease in low income countries: Report from the Task Force on Tropical Diseases by the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Tim; Khalid, Karima; Acicbe, Ozlem; McGloughlin, Steve; Amin, Pravin

2017-12-01

Tropical disease results in a great burden of critical illness. The same life-saving and supportive therapies to maintain vital organ functions that comprise critical care are required by these patients as for all other diseases. In low income countries, the little available data points towards high mortality rates and big challenges in the provision of critical care. Improving critical care in low income countries requires a focus on hospital design, training, triage, monitoring & treatment modifications, the basic principles of critical care, hygiene and the involvement of multi-disciplinary teams. As a large proportion of critical illness from tropical disease is in low income countries, the impact and reductions in mortality rates of improved critical care in such settings could be substantial. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Animal models for Gaucher disease research

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Tamar Farfel-Becker

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Gaucher disease (GD, the most common lysosomal storage disorder (LSD, is caused by the defective activity of the lysosomal hydrolase glucocerebrosidase, which is encoded by the GBA gene. Generation of animal models that faithfully recapitulate the three clinical subtypes of GD has proved to be more of a challenge than first anticipated. The first mouse to be produced died within hours after birth owing to skin permeability problems, and mice with point mutations in Gba did not display symptoms correlating with human disease and also died soon after birth. Recently, conditional knockout mice that mimic some features of the human disease have become available. Here, we review the contribution of all currently available animal models to examining pathological pathways underlying GD and to testing the efficacy of new treatment modalities, and propose a number of criteria for the generation of more appropriate animal models of GD.

Animal models for Gaucher disease research.

Science.gov (United States)

Farfel-Becker, Tamar; Vitner, Einat B; Futerman, Anthony H

2011-11-01

Gaucher disease (GD), the most common lysosomal storage disorder (LSD), is caused by the defective activity of the lysosomal hydrolase glucocerebrosidase, which is encoded by the GBA gene. Generation of animal models that faithfully recapitulate the three clinical subtypes of GD has proved to be more of a challenge than first anticipated. The first mouse to be produced died within hours after birth owing to skin permeability problems, and mice with point mutations in Gba did not display symptoms correlating with human disease and also died soon after birth. Recently, conditional knockout mice that mimic some features of the human disease have become available. Here, we review the contribution of all currently available animal models to examining pathological pathways underlying GD and to testing the efficacy of new treatment modalities, and propose a number of criteria for the generation of more appropriate animal models of GD.

The emerging disease occurrence of pet animals in Bangladesh

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Umma Habiba

2016-12-01

Results: Among the most general pet animals in Bangladesh (dog, cat, rabbit, the mostly occured diseases were scabies (23.07%, feline ascariasis (37.14% and rabbit mange (34.61%, while the less frequent diseases were canine parvovirus enteritis (2.19%, cat scratch disease (5.71% and overgrown teeth (7.69%. Conclusion: The study provides basic information about the current status and the percentage (% of disease occurrence considering the emerging diseases of pet animals in Bangladesh. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2016; 3(4.000: 413-419

Animal models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Rial, Sandra; Girón-Martínez, Álvaro; Peces-Barba, Germán

2015-03-01

Animal models of disease have always been welcomed by the scientific community because they provide an approach to the investigation of certain aspects of the disease in question. Animal models of COPD cannot reproduce the heterogeneity of the disease and usually only manage to represent the disease in its milder stages. Moreover, airflow obstruction, the variable that determines patient diagnosis, not always taken into account in the models. For this reason, models have focused on the development of emphysema, easily detectable by lung morphometry, and have disregarded other components of the disease, such as airway injury or associated vascular changes. Continuous, long-term exposure to cigarette smoke is considered the main risk factor for this disease, justifying the fact that the cigarette smoke exposure model is the most widely used. Some variations on this basic model, related to exposure time, the association of other inducers or inhibitors, exacerbations or the use of transgenic animals to facilitate the identification of pathogenic pathways have been developed. Some variations or heterogeneity of this disease, then, can be reproduced and models can be designed for resolving researchers' questions on disease identification or treatment responses. Copyright © 2014 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Animal Models of Calcific Aortic Valve Disease

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Krista L. Sider

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD, once thought to be a degenerative disease, is now recognized to be an active pathobiological process, with chronic inflammation emerging as a predominant, and possibly driving, factor. However, many details of the pathobiological mechanisms of CAVD remain to be described, and new approaches to treat CAVD need to be identified. Animal models are emerging as vital tools to this end, facilitated by the advent of new models and improved understanding of the utility of existing models. In this paper, we summarize and critically appraise current small and large animal models of CAVD, discuss the utility of animal models for priority CAVD research areas, and provide recommendations for future animal model studies of CAVD.

Scrub Typhus: An Emerging Neglected Tropical Disease in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyaya, B P; Shakya, G; Adhikari, S; Rijal, N; Acharya, J; Maharjan, L; Marasini, B R

2016-05-01

Scrub typhus is a neglected tropical disease and is under reported from Nepal. The objective of this study was to investigate the sero-epidemiology of scrub typhus in patients suffering from acute febrile illness. A total of 434 specimens collected from July to November 2015 at National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) were investigated for detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody to Orientiatsutsugamushi.The Scrub Typhus Detect TM kit (InBios, USA) was used to detect the antibodies to O.tsutsugamushi in human serum. Randomly selected 10% positive specimens were used for confirmation by dot- enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect immunofluorescence assay. Of the total, 175 (40.3%) were positive for IgM antibodies to O. tsutsugamushi. Positive results of scrub typhus were highest among female in 11-20 year followed by males in 41-50 years age group. The IgM antibodies to O. tsutusugamushi were positive in specimens of various geographical regions including 30 districts of Nepal. Positive cases were found in various ecological regions of Nepal. Scrub typhus is one of the neglected tropical diseases in Nepal. Patients with acute febrile illness should be investigated for scrub typhus with high priority. There is an urgent need of reliable and affordable diagnostic tests at all level of health facilities of Nepal. Surveillance and public health awareness about the disease transmission and preventive measures needs to be initiated.

Animal Production and Health Newsletter, No. 61, January 2015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

In this newsletter, I want to discuss shortly the effects of climate variations, food security and the expansion of animal and zoonotic diseases within the sphere of what the Animal Production and Health Subprogramme can contribute. My take home message would be: • Globalization and climate change are causing an unprecedented worldwide impact on emerging and reemerging animal and zoonotic diseases. • Vector borne diseases are now spreading to previously non-endemic and cooler areas. A dramatically increased incidence in deadly infectious and zoonotic diseases in wildlife, livestock, and people may be the most immediate serious consequence of global warming, food security or food shortage. Globalization and climate change have had a worldwide impact on emerging and re-emerging animal and zoonotic diseases. Climate change is disrupting natural ecosystems by providing more suitable environments for infectious diseases allowing disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and fungi to move into new areas where they may harm wildlife and domestic species, as well as humans. Diseases that were previously limited only to tropical areas are now spreading to other previously cooler areas e.g. Rift Valley fever. Pathogens that were restricted by seasonal weather patterns can invade new areas and find new susceptible species as the climate warms and/or the winters get milder. There is evidence that the increasing occurrence of tropical infectious diseases in the mid latitudes is linked to either global warming or food security. Vector borne diseases are particularly affected by weather patterns and long-term climatic factors strongly influence the incidence of outbreaks. Most of these diseases are caused by insects and their population dynamics are dependent on the prevailing weather conditions, specifically temperature and humidity. Climate change influences local weather conditions and therefore has a significant impact on the presence of vectors and their geographical

9 CFR 95.3 - Byproducts from diseased animals prohibited.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Byproducts from diseased animals prohibited. 95.3 Section 95.3 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EXPORTATION AND IMPORTATION OF ANIMALS (INCLUDING POULTRY) AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS...

Genetics of animal health and disease in cattle

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Berry Donagh P

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract There have been considerable recent advancements in animal breeding and genetics relevant to disease control in cattle, which can now be utilised as part of an overall programme for improved cattle health. This review summarises the contribution of genetic makeup to differences in resistance to many diseases affecting cattle. Significant genetic variation in susceptibility to disease does exist among cattle suggesting that genetic selection for improved resistance to disease will be fruitful. Deficiencies in accurately recorded data on individual animal susceptibility to disease are, however, currently hindering the inclusion of health and disease resistance traits in national breeding goals. Developments in 'omics' technologies, such as genomic selection, may help overcome some of the limitations of traditional breeding programmes and will be especially beneficial in breeding for lowly heritable disease traits that only manifest themselves following exposure to pathogens or environmental stressors in adulthood. However, access to large databases of phenotypes on health and disease will still be necessary. This review clearly shows that genetics make a significant contribution to the overall health and resistance to disease in cattle. Therefore, breeding programmes for improved animal health and disease resistance should be seen as an integral part of any overall national disease control strategy.

Harnessing Big Data for Communicable Tropical and Sub-Tropical Disorders: Implications From a Systematic Review of the Literature

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Vincenza Gianfredi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available AimAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO, communicable tropical and sub-tropical diseases occur solely, or mainly in the tropics, thriving in hot, and humid conditions. Some of these disorders termed as neglected tropical diseases are particularly overlooked. Communicable tropical/sub-tropical diseases represent a diverse group of communicable disorders occurring in 149 countries, favored by tropical and sub-tropical conditions, affecting more than one billion people and imposing a dramatic societal and economic burden.MethodsA systematic review of the extant scholarly literature was carried out, searching in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus. The search string used included proper keywords, like big data, nontraditional data sources, social media, social networks, infodemiology, infoveillance, novel data streams (NDS, digital epidemiology, digital behavior, Google Trends, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Ebola, Zika, dengue, Chikungunya, Chagas, and the other neglected tropical diseases.Results47 original, observational studies were included in the current systematic review: 1 focused on Chikungunya, 6 on dengue, 19 on Ebola, 2 on Malaria, 1 on Mayaro virus, 2 on West Nile virus, and 16 on Zika. Fifteen were dedicated on developing and validating forecasting techniques for real-time monitoring of neglected tropical diseases, while the remaining studies investigated public reaction to infectious outbreaks. Most studies explored a single nontraditional data source, with Twitter being the most exploited tool (25 studies.ConclusionEven though some studies have shown the feasibility of utilizing NDS as an effective tool for predicting epidemic outbreaks and disseminating accurate, high-quality information concerning neglected tropical diseases, some gaps should be properly underlined. Out of the 47 articles included, only 7 were focusing on neglected tropical diseases, while all the other covered communicable tropical/sub-tropical

Harnessing Big Data for Communicable Tropical and Sub-Tropical Disorders: Implications From a Systematic Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Gianfredi, Vincenza; Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Nucci, Daniele; Martini, Mariano; Rosselli, Roberto; Minelli, Liliana; Moretti, Massimo

2018-01-01

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), communicable tropical and sub-tropical diseases occur solely, or mainly in the tropics, thriving in hot, and humid conditions. Some of these disorders termed as neglected tropical diseases are particularly overlooked. Communicable tropical/sub-tropical diseases represent a diverse group of communicable disorders occurring in 149 countries, favored by tropical and sub-tropical conditions, affecting more than one billion people and imposing a dramatic societal and economic burden. A systematic review of the extant scholarly literature was carried out, searching in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus. The search string used included proper keywords, like big data, nontraditional data sources, social media, social networks, infodemiology, infoveillance, novel data streams (NDS), digital epidemiology, digital behavior, Google Trends, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Ebola, Zika, dengue, Chikungunya, Chagas, and the other neglected tropical diseases. 47 original, observational studies were included in the current systematic review: 1 focused on Chikungunya, 6 on dengue, 19 on Ebola, 2 on Malaria, 1 on Mayaro virus, 2 on West Nile virus, and 16 on Zika. Fifteen were dedicated on developing and validating forecasting techniques for real-time monitoring of neglected tropical diseases, while the remaining studies investigated public reaction to infectious outbreaks. Most studies explored a single nontraditional data source, with Twitter being the most exploited tool (25 studies). Even though some studies have shown the feasibility of utilizing NDS as an effective tool for predicting epidemic outbreaks and disseminating accurate, high-quality information concerning neglected tropical diseases, some gaps should be properly underlined. Out of the 47 articles included, only 7 were focusing on neglected tropical diseases, while all the other covered communicable tropical/sub-tropical diseases, and the main determinant of

Persistent infectious and tropical diseases in immigrant correctional populations

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L. Getaz

Full Text Available A number of infectious diseases amongst travelers and the immigrant populations are a major public health concern. Some have a long incubation period or remain asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic for many years before leading to significant clinical manifestations and/or complications. HIV, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis or latent syphilis are among the most significant persistent diseases in migrants. Schistosomiasis and strongyloidiasis, for instance, are persistent helminthic infections that may cause significant morbidity, particularly in patients co-infected with HIV, hepatitis B and C. Chagas disease, which was initially confined to Latin America, must also now be considered in immigrants from endemic countries. Visceral leishmaniasis and malaria are other examples of parasitic diseases that must be taken into account by physicians treating incarcerated migrants. The focus of this review article is on the risk of neglected tropical diseases in particularly vulnerable correctional populations and on the risk of infectious diseases that commonly affect migrants but which are often underestimated.

Tropical Medicine and Animal Diseases: Onderstepoort and the Development of Veterinary Science in South Africa 1908-1950.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Karen

2005-09-01

This article traces the development of agricultural science at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, near Pretoria, from its founding in 1908 until the 1950s, by which time many enzootic and epizootic diseases had either been eradicated, or were largely controllable through various forms of prophylaxis. The Institute demonstrated the political and economic significance attributed to the pastoral industry in South Africa and the conviction that scientific discoveries could increase output. During this period, researchers explicated the aetiology and provenance of hitherto mysterious diseases such as lamsiekte, geeldikkop and African horsesickness. They developed vaccines, some of which were adopted internationally. The nature of their investigations showed that veterinary science increasingly entailed more than just progress in biomedical procedures. Ecological factors, in particular the nutritional state of the veld, became a priority from the 1920s onwards as veterinarians saw their function as promoting animal health as well as eliminating disease. Dealing with contagious infections also incorporated less welcome, and at times controversial, approaches to disease control. The imposition of pastoral regulations illustrated the expanding powers of the South African state, founded on presumptions of scientific legitimacy. The article also explores the contribution made by African communities and settler farmers to the institutionalisation of veterinary knowledge, as well as the role South African researchers played in the evolution of a colonial, as well as an increasingly international, scientific culture.

Animal models for dengue vaccine development and testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Woonsung; Yeom, Minjoo; Choi, Il-Kyu; Yook, Heejun; Song, Daesub

2017-07-01

Dengue fever is a tropical endemic disease; however, because of climate change, it may become a problem in South Korea in the near future. Research on vaccines for dengue fever and outbreak preparedness are currently insufficient. In addition, because there are no appropriate animal models, controversial results from vaccine efficacy assessments and clinical trials have been reported. Therefore, to study the mechanism of dengue fever and test the immunogenicity of vaccines, an appropriate animal model is urgently needed. In addition to mouse models, more suitable models using animals that can be humanized will need to be constructed. In this report, we look at the current status of model animal construction and discuss which models require further development.

Prospects for the control of neglected tropical diseases by mass drug administration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smits, Henk L.

2009-01-01

The prospects for the control of neglected tropical diseases, including soil-transmitted helminthiasis, shistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis and trachoma, through mass drug administration, are exemplified by the elimination of the trachoma as a public-health problem in Morocco. In

Nuclear medicine in tropical disease: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braga, Francisco Jos H. N

2002-01-01

Leprosy is an infectious granulomatous disease. Incidence is again increasing and millions of people are affected in the world. Ga-67 scintigraphy is a good tool to identify active disease; bone scintigraphy is useful in the evaluation of mutilation and 99mTc-DTPA is good to evaluate kidney function. Paracoccidioidomycosis is a deep mycosis that affects nearly all organs. The following scintigraphic exams are useful to evaluate such patients: Ga-67, bone scintigraphy, liver / spleen / bone marrow scintigraphy, 99mTc-DISIDA scintigraphy, lymphoscintigraphy. Mycetoma is bone and soft tissue mycosis and gallium-67 and bone studies are very useful for the detection of active disease. Tuberculosis is the most well studied tropical disease and dozens of radiopharmaceuticals and techniques were described to evaluate such patients. Jorge Lobo's disease is a rare mycosis that affects mainly indians from the Amazon region and gallium-67 was shown to accumulate in active disease. Neurocysticercosis is spread worldwide and brain SPECT (99mTc-ECD or 99mTc-HMPAO) is a very good tool for the functional evaluation of the disease. Patients suffering from Cutaneous and mucous leishmaniosis may benefit from Gallium-67 scintigraphy. Chagas' disease may affect the heart and/or the digestive tract and several scintigraphic exams may be helpful in the evaluation of such cases (gated blood pool, heart perfusion tests, pharyngeal transit tests, gastric emptying tests, intestinal transit tests, hepato-biliary scintigraphy, among others). Scintigraphy should be more largely used in the functional evaluation of organs and systems of patients affected by topical diseases (Au)

Ten years' work on the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Worldwide Animal Disease Notification System.

Science.gov (United States)

Jebara, Karim Ben; Cáceres, Paula; Berlingieri, Francesco; Weber-Vintzel, Laure

2012-12-01

This article gives an overview of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Worldwide Animal Disease Notification System and highlights the major achievements during the past decade. It describes the different types of disease notification reports received and processed by the OIE. It also evaluates the three strategies implemented by the OIE in the recent years aimed at improving disease notification: introduction and use of a secure online notification system World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) and its database interface World Animal Health Information Database (WAHID); implementation of active search and verification procedures for non-official information; and enhanced building of capacity for animal disease notification to the OIE by Members Countries. The improvements are evidenced by the increasing number of reports submitted on an annual basis and the reduction in submission time together with an improvement in the quality and quantity of the immediate notifications and follow-up reports, six-monthly and annual reports submitted by Veterinary Authorities. In the recent years, the OIE's notification system provides an early warning system more sensitive and global. Consequently, there is a greater knowledge of animal diseases' distribution worldwide. As a result, it is possible to ensure better prevention, more accurate risk assessment and evaluation by diminishing the spread of known or newly emerging pathogens. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parathyroid diseases and animal models.

Science.gov (United States)

Imanishi, Yasuo; Nagata, Yuki; Inaba, Masaaki

2012-01-01

CIRCULATING CALCIUM AND PHOSPHATE ARE TIGHTLY REGULATED BY THREE HORMONES: the active form of vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D), fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23, and parathyroid hormone (PTH). PTH acts to stimulate a rapid increment in serum calcium and has a crucial role in calcium homeostasis. Major target organs of PTH are kidney and bone. The oversecretion of the hormone results in hypercalcemia, caused by increased intestinal calcium absorption, reduced renal calcium clearance, and mobilization of calcium from bone in primary hyperparathyroidism. In chronic kidney disease, secondary hyperparathyroidism of uremia is observed in its early stages, and this finally develops into the autonomous secretion of PTH during maintenance hemodialysis. Receptors in parathyroid cells, such as the calcium-sensing receptor, vitamin D receptor, and FGF receptor (FGFR)-Klotho complex have crucial roles in the regulation of PTH secretion. Genes such as Cyclin D1, RET, MEN1, HRPT2, and CDKN1B have been identified in parathyroid diseases. Genetically engineered animals with these receptors and the associated genes have provided us with valuable information on the patho-physiology of parathyroid diseases. The application of these animal models is significant for the development of new therapies.

The Role of Nurses and Community Health Workers in Confronting Neglected Tropical Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Corley, Andrew G; Thornton, Clifton P; Glass, Nancy E

2016-09-01

Neglected tropical diseases produce an enormous burden on many of the poorest and most disenfranchised populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Similar to other developing areas throughout the world, this region's dearth of skilled health providers renders Western-style primary care efforts to address such diseases unrealistic. Consequently, many countries rely on their corps of nurses and community health workers to engage with underserved and hard-to-reach populations in order provide interventions against these maladies. This article attempts to cull together recent literature on the impact that nurses and community health workers have had on neglected tropical diseases. A review of the literature was conducted to assess the role nurses and community health workers play in the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of neglected tropical diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Articles published between January 2005 and December 2015 were reviewed in order to capture the full scope of nurses' and community health workers' responsibilities for neglected tropical disease control within their respective countries' health systems. A total of 59 articles were identified that fit all inclusion criteria. Successful disease control requires deep and meaningful engagement with local communities. Expanding the role of nurses and community health workers will be required if sub-Saharan African countries are to meet neglected tropical disease treatment goals and eliminate the possibility future disease transmission. Horizontal or multidisease control programs can create complimentary interactions between their different control activities as well as reduce costs through improved program efficiencies-benefits that vertical programs are not able to attain.

A Genealogy of Animal Diseases and Social Anthropology (1870-2000).

Science.gov (United States)

Keck, Frédéric

2018-03-23

Culling, vaccinating, and monitoring animals are the three main techniques used in contemporary veterinary public health to manage animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Each technique is underpinned by different ontological understandings of how microbes figure in relations between humans and animals. Therefore, animal diseases are not only a question for an applied anthropology but also involve the theoretical core of the discipline: that is, understanding how social causality emerges out of physical causality. To defend this argument, the article describes what Herbert Spencer wrote about foot-and-mouth disease; what William Robertson Smith thought about sacrifice in the context of bovine tuberculosis; how Emile Durkheim took vaccination for smallpox as a metaphor for the pathologies of the social; and what Claude Lévi-Strauss wrote about mad cow disease. The conceptions of the social in the writing of these four authors are analyzed through their understanding of the risk of transmission of animal diseases to humans, moving from prevention to precaution to preparedness. © 2018 by the American Anthropological Association.

Classic and New Animal Models of Parkinson's Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Blesa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Neurological disorders can be modeled in animals so as to recreate specific pathogenic events and behavioral outcomes. Parkinson’s Disease (PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease of an aging population, and although there have been several significant findings about the PD disease process, much of this process still remains a mystery. Breakthroughs in the last two decades using animal models have offered insights into the understanding of the PD disease process, its etiology, pathology, and molecular mechanisms. Furthermore, while cellular models have helped to identify specific events, animal models, both toxic and genetic, have replicated almost all of the hallmarks of PD and are useful for testing new neuroprotective or neurorestorative strategies. Moreover, significant advances in the modeling of additional PD features have come to light in both classic and newer models. In this review, we try to provide an updated summary of the main characteristics of these models as well as the strengths and weaknesses of what we believe to be the most popular PD animal models. These models include those produced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 1-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropiridine (MPTP, rotenone, and paraquat, as well as several genetic models like those related to alpha-synuclein, PINK1, Parkin and LRRK2 alterations.

Reviewing dengue: still a neglected tropical disease?

Science.gov (United States)

Horstick, Olaf; Tozan, Yesim; Wilder-Smith, Annelies

2015-04-01

Dengue is currently listed as a "neglected tropical disease" (NTD). But is dengue still an NTD or not? Classifying dengue as an NTD may carry advantages, but is it justified? This review considers the criteria for the definition of an NTD, the current diverse lists of NTDs by different stakeholders, and the commonalities and differences of dengue with other NTDs. We also review the current research gaps and research activities and the adequacy of funding for dengue research and development (R&D) (2003-2013). NTD definitions have been developed to a higher precision since the early 2000s, with the following main features: NTDs are characterised as a) poverty related, b) endemic to the tropics and subtropics, c) lacking public health attention, d) having poor research funding and shortcomings in R&D, e) usually associated with high morbidity but low mortality, and f) often having no specific treatment available. Dengue meets most of these criteria, but not all. Although dengue predominantly affects resource-limited countries, it does not necessarily only target the poor and marginalised in those countries. Dengue increasingly attracts public health attention, and in some affected countries it is now a high profile disease. Research funding for dengue has increased exponentially in the past two decades, in particular in the area of dengue vaccine development. However, despite advances in dengue research, dengue epidemics are increasing in frequency and magnitude, and dengue is expanding to new areas. Specific treatment and a highly effective vaccine remain elusive. Major research gaps exist in the area of integrated surveillance and vector control. Hence, although dengue differs from many of the NTDs, it still meets important criteria commonly used for NTDs. The current need for increased R&D spending, shared by dengue and other NTDs, is perhaps the key reason why dengue should continue to be considered an NTD.

Reviewing dengue: still a neglected tropical disease?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olaf Horstick

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Dengue is currently listed as a "neglected tropical disease" (NTD. But is dengue still an NTD or not? Classifying dengue as an NTD may carry advantages, but is it justified? This review considers the criteria for the definition of an NTD, the current diverse lists of NTDs by different stakeholders, and the commonalities and differences of dengue with other NTDs. We also review the current research gaps and research activities and the adequacy of funding for dengue research and development (R&D (2003-2013. NTD definitions have been developed to a higher precision since the early 2000s, with the following main features: NTDs are characterised as a poverty related, b endemic to the tropics and subtropics, c lacking public health attention, d having poor research funding and shortcomings in R&D, e usually associated with high morbidity but low mortality, and f often having no specific treatment available. Dengue meets most of these criteria, but not all. Although dengue predominantly affects resource-limited countries, it does not necessarily only target the poor and marginalised in those countries. Dengue increasingly attracts public health attention, and in some affected countries it is now a high profile disease. Research funding for dengue has increased exponentially in the past two decades, in particular in the area of dengue vaccine development. However, despite advances in dengue research, dengue epidemics are increasing in frequency and magnitude, and dengue is expanding to new areas. Specific treatment and a highly effective vaccine remain elusive. Major research gaps exist in the area of integrated surveillance and vector control. Hence, although dengue differs from many of the NTDs, it still meets important criteria commonly used for NTDs. The current need for increased R&D spending, shared by dengue and other NTDs, is perhaps the key reason why dengue should continue to be considered an NTD.

Large Mammalian Animal Models of Heart Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Camacho

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Due to the biological complexity of the cardiovascular system, the animal model is an urgent pre-clinical need to advance our knowledge of cardiovascular disease and to explore new drugs to repair the damaged heart. Ideally, a model system should be inexpensive, easily manipulated, reproducible, a biological representative of human disease, and ethically sound. Although a larger animal model is more expensive and difficult to manipulate, its genetic, structural, functional, and even disease similarities to humans make it an ideal model to first consider. This review presents the commonly-used large animals—dog, sheep, pig, and non-human primates—while the less-used other large animals—cows, horses—are excluded. The review attempts to introduce unique points for each species regarding its biological property, degrees of susceptibility to develop certain types of heart diseases, and methodology of induced conditions. For example, dogs barely develop myocardial infarction, while dilated cardiomyopathy is developed quite often. Based on the similarities of each species to the human, the model selection may first consider non-human primates—pig, sheep, then dog—but it also depends on other factors, for example, purposes, funding, ethics, and policy. We hope this review can serve as a basic outline of large animal models for cardiovascular researchers and clinicians.

Research progress on animal models of Alzheimer's disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen DONG

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Alzheimer's disease (AD is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, and its pathogenesis is complex. Animal models play an important role in study on pathogenesis and treatment of AD. This paper summarized methods of building models, observation on animal models and evaluation index in recent years, so as to provide related evidence for basic and clinical research in future. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2015.08.003

Toward an open-access global database for mapping, control, and surveillance of neglected tropical diseases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hürlimann, Eveline; Schur, Nadine; Boutsika, Konstantina

2011-01-01

After many years of general neglect, interest has grown and efforts came under way for the mapping, control, surveillance, and eventual elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Disease risk estimates are a key feature to target control interventions, and serve as a benchmark...

[Skin diseases and tropical medicine. Results from a prospective study (2004-2007)].

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez-Olivencia, G; Bru Gorraiz, F J; Rivas González, P; Lago Núñez, M; Herrero Mendoza, M D; Puente Puente, S

2009-12-01

An increase of international trips has been taken place in recent years, being Spain one of the principal issuing countries of internationl tourism. Dermatological diseases returning from tropical areas are frequent causes of medical consultation. Etiology is varied. OBJECTIVE. The aims of the present study are: to evaluate the importance of dermatological pathology in patients who come to a consultation of Tropical Medicine; to analyze the influence of duration, motive and the destination of the trip; and to describe the most frequent entities. An observational prospective study was realized, including all Spanish people older than 18 years-old who came to a consultation of Tropical Medicine. The period of study was between January 1st, 2004 and December 31st, 2007. Epidemiological and clinical items were collected from the group of patients with dermatological pathology. There were attended 3,351 new consultations, with 660 cases of skin diseases. The infectious pathology constituted an almost the half (48.5%) of the dermatological pathology (320 cases). The injuries more frequently described were associated with stings arthropods (113 cases) and cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) (84), mycoses (52) and urticaria (43). The appearance of dermatosis in the travelers seems to be determined by the motive, the duration and the destination. Given the heterogeneity of the pathology, the recognition of the injuries is fundamental to initiate the suitable treatment.

RRR for NNN-a rapid research response for the Neglected Tropical Disease NGDO Network: a novel framework to challenges faced by the global programs targeting neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Toledo, Chelsea E; Jacobson, Julie; Wainwright, Emily C; Ottesen, Eric A; Lammie, Patrick J

2016-03-01

While global programs targeting the control or elimination of five of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)-lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, schistosomiasis and trachoma-are well underway, they still face many operational challenges. Because of the urgency of 2020 program targets, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development devised a novel rapid research response (RRR) framework to engage national programs, researchers, implementers and WHO in a Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs. After 2 years, this effort has succeeded as an important basis for the research response to programmatic challenges facing NTD programs. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Pilot-Plant for Energy Recovery from Tropical Waste Food Materials ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An experimental unit for obtaining gaseous methane from waste food materials is discussed and results are presented for experimental tests with animal wastes and tropical waste food materials. The tropical waste food considered include garri, boiled beans and plantains. As expected, the animal wastes produced higher ...

Transmission and epidemiology of zoonotic protozoal diseases of companion animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Esch, Kevin J; Petersen, Christine A

2013-01-01

Over 77 million dogs and 93 million cats share our households in the United States. Multiple studies have demonstrated the importance of pets in their owners' physical and mental health. Given the large number of companion animals in the United States and the proximity and bond of these animals with their owners, understanding and preventing the diseases that these companions bring with them are of paramount importance. Zoonotic protozoal parasites, including toxoplasmosis, Chagas' disease, babesiosis, giardiasis, and leishmaniasis, can cause insidious infections, with asymptomatic animals being capable of transmitting disease. Giardia and Toxoplasma gondii, endemic to the United States, have high prevalences in companion animals. Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi are found regionally within the United States. These diseases have lower prevalences but are significant sources of human disease globally and are expanding their companion animal distribution. Thankfully, healthy individuals in the United States are protected by intact immune systems and bolstered by good nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene. Immunocompromised individuals, including the growing number of obese and/or diabetic people, are at a much higher risk of developing zoonoses. Awareness of these often neglected diseases in all health communities is important for protecting pets and owners. To provide this awareness, this review is focused on zoonotic protozoal mechanisms of virulence, epidemiology, and the transmission of pathogens of consequence to pet owners in the United States.

Animal models for human genetic diseases

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sharif Sons

The study of human genetic diseases can be greatly aided by animal models because of their similarity .... and gene targeting in embryonic stem cells) has been a powerful tool in .... endonucleases that are designed to make a doublestrand.

Neglected tropical diseases: now more than just 'other diseases'--the post-2015 agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Molyneux, David H

2014-09-01

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have become recognised as important health problems facing at least a billion people in the low-income countries and the poorest communities in middle-income countries. WHO plays a leading role in developing strategies to address these diseases, pharmaceutical companies provide drug donations to treat or control the NTDs and many partners from different constituencies have become increasingly committed to their control or elimination. This review looks to the post-2015 agenda and emphasises that despite the progress made over recent years, if the targets established are to be achieved, then not only will additional financial resources be required to up-scale treatments and increase access, but increased applied and operational research will be necessary to address problems and human capacity in NTD skills will need to be strengthened. Continuing advocacy for the relevance of control or elimination of NTDs must be placed in the context of universal health coverage and access to donated essential medicines for the poor as a right. The evidence that investment in NTD interventions are cost-effective and impact not only on health, but also to enhance socio-economic development, must be refined and promulgated. The global burden of disease attributable to NTDs requires reassessment to appropriately define the true burden, while the potential for unexpected events, political, climatic, environmental as well as biological, have the potential to reduce future progress towards the agreed post-2015 targets. NTD progress towards the WHO Roadmap targets and the fulfilment of the World Health Assembly Resolution 66.12 of 2013 demand continued commitment from all partner constituencies when challenges emerge. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Impact of Cultural Behaviours, Local Beliefs, and Practices on Emerging Parasitic Diseases in Tropical Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Onwuliri, Celestine O. E.; Anosike, Jude C.; Oguoma, Chibuzor; Onwuliri, Viola A.; Nwoke, Betram E. B.; Dozie, Ikechukwu, N. S.; Iwuala, Moses O. E.

2005-01-01

The scourge of emerging parasitic diseases (e.g., urinary schistosomiasis, ascariasis, malaria, chagas disease, leishmaniasis, trachoma, trichiuriasis, taeniasis, dracunculiasis, sleeping sickness, filariasis) causes tremendous pain, suffering, and eventually death in tropical African communities. Patterns of transmission of these emerging…

Impact of globalization and animal trade on infectious disease ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Marano, Nina; Arguin, Paul M; Pappaioanou, Marguerite

2007-12-01

The articles on rabies and Marburg virus featured in this month's Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) zoonoses issue illustrate common themes. Both discuss zoonotic diseases with serious health implications for humans, and both have a common reservoir, the bat. These articles, and the excitement generated by this year's recognition of World Rabies Day on September 8, also described in this issue, remind us how globalization has had an impact on the worldwide animal trade. This worldwide movement of animals has increased the potential for the translocation of zoonotic diseases, which pose serious risks to human and animal health.

Social stigma towards neglected tropical diseases: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofstraat, Karlijn; van Brakel, Wim H

2016-03-01

People affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are frequently the target of social stigmatization. To date not much attention has been given to stigma in relation to NTDs. The objective of this review is to identify the extent of social stigma and the similarities and differences in the causes, manifestations, impact of stigma and interventions used between the NTDs. A systematic review was conducted in Pubmed, ScienceDirect, PsycINFO and Web of Knowledge. The search encompassed 17 NTDs, including podoconiosis, but not leprosy as this NTD has recently been reviewed. However, leprosy was included in the discussion. The 52 selected articles provided evidence on stigma related to lymphatic filariasis (LF), podoconiosis, Buruli ulcer, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, trachoma, soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) and human African trypanosomiasis. The similarities predominated in stigma related to the various NTDs; only minimal differences in stigma reasons and measures were found. These similarities suggest that joint approaches to reduce stigmatization may be feasible. Lessons from leprosy and other stigmatized health conditions can be used to plan such joint approaches. Further research will be necessary to study the efficacy of joint interventions and to investigate stigma related to NTDs for which no evidence is available yet. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Tropical sprue (author's transl)].

Science.gov (United States)

Gras, C; Chapoy, P; Aubry, P

1981-01-01

Tropical sprue is a disease of the small intestine characterized by a malabsorption syndrome with a subtotal or partial mucosal atrophy. It is observed in Asia and Central America. It appears to be rare in Africa but its real frequency is unknown as small bowel biopsys are not routinely done. Bacterial overgrowth as well as giardiasis may be trigger factors of the disease the pathogenesis of which is still incompletely understood. The disease beginning as chronic diarrhea is later on characterized by an aphtoïd stomatitis and a macrocytic anemia. Treatment with antibiotics and folic acid is efficient and has a diagnostic value. If treatment is started lately, vitamin B 12 is then also necessary. In any intestinal syndrome observed in tropical areas without an ascertained etiologic diagnosis, peroral biopsie of the small intestine is requested. However, with the use of pediatric endoscope it will be possible to appreciate the respective incidence of tropical sprue and asymptomatic tropical sprue in Africa South of the Sahara.

Nuclear techniques in Australian animal production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

In tropical and sub-tropical regions, the production of domestic animals is frequently depressed by the climatic and ecological conditions. These negative effects can be overcome to a great extent by improved methods of animal and land management. In animal research, nuclear techniques are playing an important role in the study of different aspects of nutrition, metabolism, reproduction and health of domestic animals. In response to the need expressed by Member States for more information on these techniques, the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Atomic Energy in Food and Agriculture and the IAEA's Division of Technical Assistance organized a study tour to Australia, a country which has developed considerable expertise in agricultural and animal research. The purpose of the study tour was to enable veterinary and animal scientists and administrators from developing countries in Asia and the Far East to observe at first hand the ways in which animal production, particularly meat, milk and wool, can be increased in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Fourteen senior scientists and research directors from seven Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand) participated. The counterpart organizations in Australia were the Australian Development Assistance Agency (ADAA) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The chief programmer and co-ordinator of the study tour was John E. Vercoe, officer-in-charge of CSIRO's Tropical Cattle Research Centre in Rockhampton, and a former IAEA staff member. The tour was financed by the United Nations Development Programme. The participants visited research facilities of universities, national and state laboratories and commercial cattle producers. The tour started at Sydney and proceeded north along the east coast of Australia to Townsville. On the way, major stops were made in Armidale, Grafton, Wollongbar, Brisbane and Rockhampton. In Rockhampton, a

Phaeohyphomycoses, Emerging Opportunistic Diseases in Animals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seyedmousavi, S.; Guillot, J.; de Hoog, G.S.

2013-01-01

Emerging fungal diseases due to black yeasts and relatives in domestic or wild animals and in invertebrates or cold- and warm-blooded vertebrates are continually being reported, either as novel pathogens or as familiar pathogens affecting new species of hosts. Different epidemiological situations

Phaeohyphomycoses, emerging opportunistic diseases in animals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seyedmousavi, S.; Guillot, J.; de Hoog, G.S.

2013-01-01

Emerging fungal diseases due to black yeasts and relatives in domestic or wild animals and in invertebrates or cold- and warm-blooded vertebrates are continually being reported, either as novel pathogens or as familiar pathogens affecting new species of hosts. Different epidemiological situations

Ethical issues in funding research and development of drugs for neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Oprea, L; Braunack-Mayer, A; Gericke, C A

2009-05-01

Neglected and tropical diseases, pervasive in developing countries, are important contributors to global health inequalities. They remain largely untreated due to lack of effective and affordable treatments. Resource-poor countries cannot afford to develop the public health interventions needed to control neglected diseases. In addition, neglected diseases do not represent an attractive market for pharmaceutical industry. Although a number of international commitments, stated in the Millennium Development Goals, have been made to avert the risk of communicable diseases, tropical diseases still remain neglected due to delays in international assistance. This delay can be explained by the form international cooperation has generally taken, which is limited to promoting countries' national interests, rather than social justice at a global level. This restricts the international responsibility for global inequalities in health to a humanitarian assistance. We propose an alternative view, arguing that expanding the scope of international cooperation by promoting shared health and economic value at a global level will create new opportunities for innovative, effective and affordable interventions worldwide. It will also promote neglected diseases as a global research priority. We build our argument on a proposal to replace the patenting system that currently regulates pharmaceutical research with a global fund to reward this research based on actual decreases in morbidity and mortality at a global level. We argue that this approach is beneficent because it will decrease global health inequalities and promote social justice worldwide.

Essential veterinary education in emerging infections, modes of introduction of exotic animals, zoonotic diseases, bioterrorism, implications for human and animal health and disease manifestation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chomel, B B; Marano, N

2009-08-01

A fundamental role of the veterinary profession is the protection of human health through wholesome food and control of diseases of animal origin, especially zoonoses. Therefore, training of veterinary students worldwide needs to face the new challenges posed by emerging infections, both from wildlife and domestic animals, as well as risks from bio/agroterrorism. New courses emphasising recognition, response, recovery and prevention must be developed to respond to natural or intentionally induced emerging diseases and zoonoses. Training programmes in applied epidemiology, zoonoses and foreign animal diseases are crucial for the development of a strong workforce to deal with microbial threats. Students should learn the reporting pathways for reportable diseases in their countries or states. Knowledge of the principles of ecology and ecosystems should be acquired during pre-veterinary studies. Elective classes on wildlife diseases, emphasising wildlife zoonotic diseases, should be offered during the veterinary curriculum, as well as a course on risk communication, since veterinarians are frequently in the position of having to convey complex information under adverse circumstances.

Infectious animal diseases: the wildlife/livestock interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Bengis, R G; Kock, R A; Fischer, J

2002-04-01

The long-standing conflict between livestock owners and animal health authorities on the one hand, and wildlife conservationists on the other, is largely based on differing attitudes to controlling diseases of livestock which are associated with wildlife. The authors have attempted to highlight the fact that these disease problems are frequently bi-directional at the wildlife/livestock interface. The different categories of diseases involved are presented. A new dimension being faced by veterinary regulatory authorities is the spectre of emerging sylvatic foci of diseases, such as bovine tuberculosis, bovine brucellosis and possibly rinderpest; these diseases threaten to undermine national and international eradication schemes, which have been implemented and executed with significant success, and at great cost. Conversely, wildlife-based ecotourism world-wide has expanded rapidly over the past decade and is the source of lacking foreign revenue for many developing countries. Traditional subsistence farming is still the largest source of much-needed protein on some continents and this, together with the growth and hunger of historically disadvantaged communities for land, is forcing enterprises and communities with markedly different objectives and land-use practices to operate effectively in close proximity. Some land-users rely exclusively on wildlife, others on livestock and/or agronomy, while yet others need to combine these activities. The net result may be an expansion or intensification of the interface between wildlife and domestic livestock, which will require innovative control strategies that permit differing types of wildlife/livestock interaction, and that do not threaten the land-use options of neighbours, or the ability of a country to market animals and animal products profitably.

Prioritization of Companion Animal Transmissible Diseases for Policy Intervention in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Cito, F; Rijks, J; Rantsios, A T; Cunningham, A A; Baneth, G; Guardabassi, L; Kuiken, T; Giovannini, A

2016-07-01

A number of papers have been published on the prioritization of transmissible diseases in farm animals and wildlife, based either on semiquantitative or truly quantitative methods, but there is no published literature on the prioritization of transmissible diseases in companion animals. In this study, available epidemiological data for diseases transmissible from companion animals to man were analysed with the aim of developing a procedure suitable for their prioritization within a European framework. A new method and its associated questionnaire and scoring system were designed based on methods described by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Modifications were applied to allow for the paucity of specific information on companion animal transmissible diseases. The OIE method was also adapted to the subject and to the regional scope of the interprofessional network addressing zoonotic diseases transmitted via companion animals in Europe: the Companion Animals multisectoriaL interprofessionaL Interdisciplinary Strategic Think tank On zoonoses (CALLISTO). Adaptations were made based on information collected from expert groups on viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases using a structured questionnaire, in which all questions were closed-ended. The expert groups were asked to select the most appropriate answer for each question taking into account the relevance and reliability of the data available in the scientific literature. Subsequently, the scoring of the answers obtained for each disease covered by the questionnaire was analysed to obtain two final overall scores, one for human health impact and one for agricultural economic impact. The adapted method was then applied to select the 15 most important pathogens (five for each pathogen group: viral, bacterial and parasitic) on the basis of their overall impact on public health and agriculture. The result of the prioritization exercise was a joint priority list (available at www.callistoproject.eu) of

Animal models of human respiratory syncytial virus disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bem, Reinout A.; Domachowske, Joseph B.; Rosenberg, Helene F.

2011-01-01

Infection with the human pneumovirus pathogen, respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV), causes a wide spectrum of respiratory disease, notably among infants and the elderly. Laboratory animal studies permit detailed experimental modeling of hRSV disease and are therefore indispensable in the search for

Are Village Animal Health Workers Able to Assist in Strengthening Transboundary Animal Disease Control in Cambodia?

Science.gov (United States)

Stratton, J; Toribio, J-A L M L; Suon, S; Young, J R; Cowled, B; Windsor, P A

2017-04-01

A cross-sectional survey of 445 Village Animal Health Workers (VAHWs) from 19 provinces in Cambodia was undertaken. The aim was to establish their levels of training, farm visit frequency, reasons for visits and disease reporting practices, enabling the strengths and weaknesses of the VAHW system in Cambodia to be determined, in providing both a fee-based smallholder livestock clinical service and a government partnership in transboundary animal disease (TAD) surveillance and control. The study used 'guided group interviews' and identified that VAHWs had good contact with farmers with 61.5% making more than one farm visit daily. However, incomes from services remained low, with 45% VAHWs obtaining between 20 and 40% of their household income from VAHW activities. VAHWs recorded relatively high rates of disease reporting, with 72% claiming they report diseases immediately and 74% undertaking monthly reporting to veterinary authorities. Logistic regression analysis revealed VAHW contact frequency with district and/or provincial officers was associated with more VAHW farm visits, and frequency of VAHW visits to smallholder farms was positively associated with average monthly expenditure on animal medication and equipment. This suggests that increased veterinary extension to VAHWs and access to veterinary equipment, vaccines and drugs may further increase VAHW-farmer engagement. VAHWs provide an accessible, market-based, animal health 'treatment and reporting' service linked to livestock smallholders across Cambodia. However, for improved TAD prevention and more efficient control of outbreaks, research that assesses provision of an animal health 'preventive-based' business model is urgently needed to reduce both the costs to farmers and the risks to the economy due to foot-and-mouth disease and other TADs in Cambodia. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Congenital and Genetic Disease in Domestic Animals

Science.gov (United States)

Mulvihill, John J.

1972-01-01

Reviews observations on domestic animals that have led to the identification of environmental teratogens, and have provided insight into the pathogenesis of congenital defects and genetic diseases in man." (Author/AL)

Disregard of neurological impairments associated with neglected tropical diseases in Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Quansah

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs affect people in the bottom billion poorest in the world. These diseases are concentrated in rural areas, conflict zones and urban slums in Africa and other tropical areas. While the World Health Organization recognizes seventeen priority NTDs, the list of conditions present in Africa and elsewhere that are eligible to be classified as NTDs is much longer. Although NTDs are generally marginalized, their associated neurological burden has been almost completely disregarded. However, reports indicate that trichuriasis, schistosomiasis and hookworm infection, among others, cause impairments in memory and cognition, negatively affecting school attendance rates and educational performance particularly among children, as well as agricultural productivity among adults. Consequently, the neurological impairments have substantial influence on education and economic productivity, thus aggravating and perpetuating poverty in affected societies. However, inadequate research, policy and public health attention has been paid to the neurological burdens associated with NTDs. In order to appropriately address these burdens, we recommend the development of policy interventions that focus on the following areas: (i the introduction of training programs to develop the capacity of scientists and clinicians in research, diagnostic and treatment approaches (ii the establishment of competitive research grant schemes to fund cutting-edge research into these neurological impairments, and (iii the development of public health interventions to improve community awareness of the NTD-associated neurological problems, possibly enhancing disease prevention and expediting treatment.

Animal models of Alzheimer disease: historical pitfalls and a path forward.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavanaugh, Sarah E; Pippin, John J; Barnard, Neal D

2014-01-01

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a medically and financially overwhelming condition, and incidence rates are expected to triple by 2050.Despite decades of research in animal models of AD, the disease remains incompletely understood, with few treatment options. This review summarizes historical and current AD research efforts, with emphasis on the disparity between preclinical animal studies and the reality of human disease and how this has impacted clinical trials. Ultimately, we provide a mechanism for shifting the focus of AD research away from animal models to focus primarily on human biology as a means to improve the applicability of research findings to human disease. Implementation of these alternatives may hasten development of improved strategies to prevent, detect, ameliorate, and possibly cure this devastating disease.

Leptospirosis in sheep and goats under tropical conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Martins, Gabriel; Lilenbaum, Walter

2014-01-01

Inadequate management practices and poor reproductive performance have been reported as fundamental factors on reducing the levels of productivity in livestock. Different pathogens have been reported in small ruminants' herds/flocks with reproductive failures. The aim of the present study was to review aspects of leptospirosis in small ruminants, mainly its impact on reproduction and consequently on productivity of the herds/flocks under tropical conditions. Leptospiral infection in goats and sheep is common in several countries, and those species can also act as carriers of leptospires. Severe disease is often associated to young animals and is frequently associated to incidental serovars. In contrast, subclinical infection is mainly characterized by reproductive problems, such as infertility, abortion, occurrence of stillbirths, and weak lambs/goat kids. Moreover, laboratorial tests are essential to achieve an accurate diagnosis of the infection. Microscopic agglutination test is the most common indirect test of leptospirosis, being used worldwide. In small ruminants, PCR consists on a recommendable method for diagnosing animals that carry leptospires. Control of leptospirosis in small ruminants involves measures such as the identification and treatment of the carriers and other sources of infection, quarantine in acquired animals, and systematic immunization with commercial vaccines containing the circulating serovars in the herd/flock. Productivity of small ruminant breeding can dramatically increase with adequate sanitary conditions and control of leptospirosis. Immunization of all the animals combined to the treatment of carriers may successfully control the infection and importantly reduce the economic reproductive hazards that are observed under tropical conditions.

Animal health organizations: roles to mitigate the impact of ecologic change on animal health in the tropics.

Science.gov (United States)

Acord, Bobby R; Walton, Thomas E

2004-10-01

Production of livestock across North and South America is extensive. The opportunities for production, commerce, and thriving economies related to animal agriculture are balanced against the devastating threats of disease. Commitment by livestock and poultry producers in exporting countries to production methods, herd health management, and biosecurity in their operations must be coupled with an animal health and marketing infrastructure that allows the industries to thrive and offers assurances to trading partners that their livestock industries will not be jeopardized. National and international animal health organizations play a key role in providing this infrastructure to the industries that they serve. The incentive for the successful World agricultural production economies to provide direction and support for improving animal health and conveying principles for competitive and safe production to lesser developed nations is the assurance that the expanding economies of these nations offer an eager and hungry market for the products of the other industries of an export-dependent economy. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established after the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO provides the permanent international multilateral institutional framework for implementing dispute resolution agreements and the agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. The SPS agreements allow for the protection of animal and plant health.

Overcoming the challenges of drug discovery for neglected tropical diseases: the A·WOL experience.

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Johnston, Kelly L; Ford, Louise; Taylor, Mark J

2014-03-01

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of 17 diseases that typically affect poor people in tropical countries. Each has been neglected for decades in terms of funding, research, and policy, but the recent grouping of them into one unit, which can be targeted using integrated control measures, together with increased advocacy has helped to place them on the global health agenda. The World Health Organization has set ambitious goals to control or eliminate 10 NTDs by 2020 and launched a roadmap in January 2012 to guide this global plan. The result of the launch meeting, which brought together representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, donors, and politicians, was the London Declaration: a series of commitments to provide more drugs, research, and funds to achieve the 2020 goals. Drug discovery and development for these diseases are extremely challenging, and this article highlights these challenges in the context of the London Declaration, before focusing on an example of a drug discovery and development program for the NTDs onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (the anti-Wolbachia consortium, A·WOL).

Cellular metabolic rate is influenced by life-history traits in tropical and temperate birds.

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Jimenez, Ana Gabriela; Van Brocklyn, James; Wortman, Matthew; Williams, Joseph B

2014-01-01

In general, tropical birds have a "slow pace of life," lower rates of whole-animal metabolism and higher survival rates, than temperate species. A fundamental challenge facing physiological ecologists is the understanding of how variation in life-history at the whole-organism level might be linked to cellular function. Because tropical birds have lower rates of whole-animal metabolism, we hypothesized that cells from tropical species would also have lower rates of cellular metabolism than cells from temperate species of similar body size and common phylogenetic history. We cultured primary dermal fibroblasts from 17 tropical and 17 temperate phylogenetically-paired species of birds in a common nutritive and thermal environment and then examined basal, uncoupled, and non-mitochondrial cellular O2 consumption (OCR), proton leak, and anaerobic glycolysis (extracellular acidification rates [ECAR]), using an XF24 Seahorse Analyzer. We found that multiple measures of metabolism in cells from tropical birds were significantly lower than their temperate counterparts. Basal and uncoupled cellular metabolism were 29% and 35% lower in cells from tropical birds, respectively, a decrease closely aligned with differences in whole-animal metabolism between tropical and temperate birds. Proton leak was significantly lower in cells from tropical birds compared with cells from temperate birds. Our results offer compelling evidence that whole-animal metabolism is linked to cellular respiration as a function of an animal's life-history evolution. These findings are consistent with the idea that natural selection has uniquely fashioned cells of long-lived tropical bird species to have lower rates of metabolism than cells from shorter-lived temperate species.

Cellular metabolic rate is influenced by life-history traits in tropical and temperate birds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Gabriela Jimenez

Full Text Available In general, tropical birds have a "slow pace of life," lower rates of whole-animal metabolism and higher survival rates, than temperate species. A fundamental challenge facing physiological ecologists is the understanding of how variation in life-history at the whole-organism level might be linked to cellular function. Because tropical birds have lower rates of whole-animal metabolism, we hypothesized that cells from tropical species would also have lower rates of cellular metabolism than cells from temperate species of similar body size and common phylogenetic history. We cultured primary dermal fibroblasts from 17 tropical and 17 temperate phylogenetically-paired species of birds in a common nutritive and thermal environment and then examined basal, uncoupled, and non-mitochondrial cellular O2 consumption (OCR, proton leak, and anaerobic glycolysis (extracellular acidification rates [ECAR], using an XF24 Seahorse Analyzer. We found that multiple measures of metabolism in cells from tropical birds were significantly lower than their temperate counterparts. Basal and uncoupled cellular metabolism were 29% and 35% lower in cells from tropical birds, respectively, a decrease closely aligned with differences in whole-animal metabolism between tropical and temperate birds. Proton leak was significantly lower in cells from tropical birds compared with cells from temperate birds. Our results offer compelling evidence that whole-animal metabolism is linked to cellular respiration as a function of an animal's life-history evolution. These findings are consistent with the idea that natural selection has uniquely fashioned cells of long-lived tropical bird species to have lower rates of metabolism than cells from shorter-lived temperate species.

Pneumonia in the tropics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Tow Keang; Siow, Wen Ting

2018-01-01

Pneumonia in the tropics poses a heavy disease burden. The complex interplay of climate change, human migration influences and socio-economic factors lead to changing patterns of respiratory infections in tropical climate but also increasingly in temperate countries. Tropical and poorer countries, especially South East Asia, also bear the brunt of the global tuberculosis (TB) pandemic, accounting for almost one-third of the burden. But, as human migration patterns evolve, we expect to see more TB cases in higher income as well as temperate countries, and rise in infections like scrub typhus from ecotourism activities. Fuelled by the ease of air travel, novel zoonotic infections originating from the tropics have led to global respiratory pandemics. As such, clinicians worldwide should be aware of these new conditions as well as classical tropical bacterial pneumonias such as melioidosis. Rarer entities such as co-infections of leptospirosis and chikungunya or dengue will need careful consideration as well. In this review, we highlight aetiologies of pneumonia seen more commonly in the tropics compared with temperate regions, their disease burden, variable clinical presentations as well as impact on healthcare delivery. © 2017 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

Early detection of emerging zoonotic diseases with animal morbidity and mortality monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisson, Isabelle-Anne; Ssebide, Benard J; Marra, Peter P

2015-03-01

Diseases transmitted between animals and people have made up more than 50% of emerging infectious diseases in humans over the last 60 years and have continued to arise in recent months. Yet, public health and animal disease surveillance programs continue to operate independently. Here, we assessed whether recent emerging zoonotic pathogens (n = 143) are known to cause morbidity or mortality in their animal host and if so, whether they were first detected with an animal morbidity/mortality event. We show that although sick or dead animals are often associated with these pathogens (52%), only 9% were first detected from an animal morbidity or mortality event prior to or concurrent with signs of illness in humans. We propose that an animal morbidity and mortality reporting program will improve detection and should be an essential component of early warning systems for zoonotic diseases. With the use of widespread low-cost technology, such a program could engage both the public and professionals and be easily tested and further incorporated as part of surveillance efforts by public health officials.

Seven challenges for modelling indirect transmission: Vector-borne diseases, macroparasites and neglected tropical diseases

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T. Déirdre Hollingsworth

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Many of the challenges which face modellers of directly transmitted pathogens also arise when modelling the epidemiology of pathogens with indirect transmission – whether through environmental stages, vectors, intermediate hosts or multiple hosts. In particular, understanding the roles of different hosts, how to measure contact and infection patterns, heterogeneities in contact rates, and the dynamics close to elimination are all relevant challenges, regardless of the mode of transmission. However, there remain a number of challenges that are specific and unique to modelling vector-borne diseases and macroparasites. Moreover, many of the neglected tropical diseases which are currently targeted for control and elimination are vector-borne, macroparasitic, or both, and so this article includes challenges which will assist in accelerating the control of these high-burden diseases. Here, we discuss the challenges of indirect measures of infection in humans, whether through vectors or transmission life stages and in estimating the contribution of different host groups to transmission. We also discuss the issues of “evolution-proof” interventions against vector-borne disease.

Seven challenges for modelling indirect transmission: vector-borne diseases, macroparasites and neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollingsworth, T Déirdre; Pulliam, Juliet R C; Funk, Sebastian; Truscott, James E; Isham, Valerie; Lloyd, Alun L

2015-03-01

Many of the challenges which face modellers of directly transmitted pathogens also arise when modelling the epidemiology of pathogens with indirect transmission--whether through environmental stages, vectors, intermediate hosts or multiple hosts. In particular, understanding the roles of different hosts, how to measure contact and infection patterns, heterogeneities in contact rates, and the dynamics close to elimination are all relevant challenges, regardless of the mode of transmission. However, there remain a number of challenges that are specific and unique to modelling vector-borne diseases and macroparasites. Moreover, many of the neglected tropical diseases which are currently targeted for control and elimination are vector-borne, macroparasitic, or both, and so this article includes challenges which will assist in accelerating the control of these high-burden diseases. Here, we discuss the challenges of indirect measures of infection in humans, whether through vectors or transmission life stages and in estimating the contribution of different host groups to transmission. We also discuss the issues of "evolution-proof" interventions against vector-borne disease. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quarantine, exports and animal disease in Australia 1901-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Aj

2011-09-01

The Constitution forming the Australian Commonwealth Government on 1 January 1901 provided that animal and animal products imported into and exported from Australia would be under the authority of the national government. By mutual agreement, the Quarantine Act 1908 provided for the states to continue the delivery of services under contract until 1995 when the Commonwealth took back full responsibility for quarantine services. In the 1940s, 50s and 60s there were world pandemics of livestock diseases and Australia ceased the import of many species. By the 1970s, the livestock industries sought relaxation of import restrictions to gain access to diversified genetic stock. By the use of new technologies, many species can now be imported into Australia through tight importation protocols. With the advent of the World Trade Organization and implementation of the Sanitary Phytosanitary Agreement, Australia has developed a risk-based framework to support the development of import conditions for animals and animal products. Australia's 'Acceptable Level of Protection' has been set to provide a low likelihood of disease entry. Being an island continent, Australia can apply strong controls over imports and exports of all commodities and relatively few outbreaks of exotic animal diseases have occurred by breach of quarantine, but the outbreaks of rinderpest in 1923 and equine influenza in 2007 were notable exceptions. © 2011 The Author. Australian Veterinary Journal © 2011 Australian Veterinary Association.

The rise of neglected tropical diseases in the "new Texas".

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Peter J Hotez

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Within the last five years, the State of Texas has experienced either transmission or outbreaks of Ebola, chikungunya, West Nile, and Zika virus infections. Autochthonous transmission of neglected parasitic and bacterial diseases has also become increasingly reported. The rise of such emerging and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs has not occurred by accident but instead reflects rapidly evolving changes and shifts in a "new" Texas beset by modern and globalizing forces that include rapid expansions in population together with urbanization and human migrations, altered transportation patterns, climate change, steeply declining vaccination rates, and a new paradigm of poverty known as "blue marble health." Summarized here are the major NTDs now affecting Texas. In addition to the vector-borne viral diseases highlighted above, there also is a high level of parasitic infections, including Chagas disease, trichomoniasis, and possibly leishmaniasis and toxocariasis, as well as typhus-group rickettsiosis, a vector-borne bacterial infection. I also highlight some of the key shifts in emerging and neglected disease patterns, partly due to an altered and evolving economic and ecological landscape in the new Texas, and provide some preliminary disease burden estimates for the major prevalent and incident NTDs.

The rise of neglected tropical diseases in the "new Texas"

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

Within the last five years, the State of Texas has experienced either transmission or outbreaks of Ebola, chikungunya, West Nile, and Zika virus infections. Autochthonous transmission of neglected parasitic and bacterial diseases has also become increasingly reported. The rise of such emerging and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has not occurred by accident but instead reflects rapidly evolving changes and shifts in a “new” Texas beset by modern and globalizing forces that include rapid expansions in population together with urbanization and human migrations, altered transportation patterns, climate change, steeply declining vaccination rates, and a new paradigm of poverty known as “blue marble health.” Summarized here are the major NTDs now affecting Texas. In addition to the vector-borne viral diseases highlighted above, there also is a high level of parasitic infections, including Chagas disease, trichomoniasis, and possibly leishmaniasis and toxocariasis, as well as typhus-group rickettsiosis, a vector-borne bacterial infection. I also highlight some of the key shifts in emerging and neglected disease patterns, partly due to an altered and evolving economic and ecological landscape in the new Texas, and provide some preliminary disease burden estimates for the major prevalent and incident NTDs. PMID:29346369

Animal disease outbreak control: the use of crisis management tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroschewski, K; Kramer, M; Micklich, A; Staubach, C; Carmanns, R; Conraths, F J

2006-04-01

In this era of globalisation the effective control of animal disease outbreaks requires powerful crisis management tools. In the 1990s software packages for different sectors of the government and agricultural industry began to be developed. In 2004, as a special application for tracking the movement of animals and animal products, the European Union developed the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) on the basis of its predecessor, the ANImal MOvement (ANIMO) project. The nationwide use of the ANIMO system by the veterinary authorities in Germany marked the beginning of the development in 1993 of a computerised national animal disease reporting system--the TierSeuchenNachrichten (TSN)--using the ANIMO hardware and software components. In addition to TRACES and TSN the third pillar for the management of animal disease outbreaks and crises in Germany is the national cattle and swine database--called Herkunftssicherungs- und Informationssystem für Tiere. A high degree of standardisation is necessary when integrating the different solutions at all levels of government and with the private sector. In this paper, the authors describe the use of these tools on the basis of their experience and in relation to what we can do now and what we should opt for in the future.

Ad hoc method for the assessment on listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

compiled by disease scientists. A mapping was developed to identify which parameters from Article 7 were needed to inform each Article 5, 8 and 9 criterion. Specifically, for Articles 5 and 9 criteria, a categorical assessment was performed, by applying an expert judgement procedure, based on the mapped......The European Commission has requested EFSA to assess animal diseases according to the criteria as laid down in Articles 5, 7, 8 and Annex IV for the purpose of categorisation of diseases in accordance with Article 9 of the Regulation (EU) No 2016/429 (Animal Health Law). This scientific opinion...... addresses the ad hoc method developed for assessing any animal disease for the listing and categorisation of diseases within the Animal Health Law (AHL) framework. The assessment of individual diseases is addressed in distinct scientific opinions that are published separately. The assessment of Articles 5...

Re-imagining the future of diagnosis of Neglected Tropical Diseases

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Rosanna W. Peeling

Full Text Available Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs affect an estimated 1 billion people in 149 countries. The World Health Organization (WHO prioritised 17 NTDs for control and elimination by 2020 and defined a Road Map to help countries reach these goals. Improved diagnostics for NTDs are essential for guiding treatment strategies at different thresholds of control, interruption of transmission, elimination and post-elimination surveillance. While substantial progress has been made in the last decade with chemotherapy, the same cannot be said of diagnostics, largely due to the perceived lack of a commercially viable market for NTD diagnostics.New sample in-answer out nucleic acid amplification technologies that can be performed at the point-of-care offer improved performance over current technologies and the potential to test for multiple pathogens using a single specimen. Finding commonalities for different NTDs in terms of geographic overlap, sentinel populations and treatment strategy will allow NTD programs to leverage these innovations to build cost-effective multiplex surveillance platforms. Connectivity solutions linking data from diagnostic laboratories and POC test readers/devices provide opportunities for automated surveillance systems to make health systems more efficient, improving patient outcomes and assessing impact of interventions in real time. New models of public–private product development partnerships are critical in leveraging diagnostic innovation in other priority area for better diagnosis, control and elimination of NTDs. Keywords: Neglected tropical diseases, Diagnostics, Control, Elimination, Surveillance

Animal Fascioliasis: Perspectives from high altitudinal regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyngdoh, Damanbha; Sharma, Sunil; Roy, Bishnupada; Tandon, Veena

2016-12-15

The parasitic flukes of the genus Fasciola (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda: Digenea) cause fascioliasis or liver-rot disease in ruminant livestock in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Classically, two species of Fasciola- F. hepatica and F. gigantica, are universally recognized as taxonomically valid species. Our survey studies on ovid and bovid animals including yak and mithun from high altitudinal mountainous regions in Northeast India revealed the occurrence of Fasciola gigantica and also Fasciola sp.- an intermediate form, at altitudes between 5000 and 14,085 feet above sea level (asl). Two morphotypes- F. hepatica - like and F. gigantica - like, of Fasciola species were reported from the high altitudinal areas of Northeast India; most of these locales constitute new-locality and first records for the occurrence of these liver flukes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cancer-disease associations: A visualization and animation through medical big data.

Science.gov (United States)

Iqbal, Usman; Hsu, Chun-Kung; Nguyen, Phung Anh Alex; Clinciu, Daniel Livius; Lu, Richard; Syed-Abdul, Shabbir; Yang, Hsuan-Chia; Wang, Yao-Chin; Huang, Chu-Ya; Huang, Chih-Wei; Chang, Yo-Cheng; Hsu, Min-Huei; Jian, Wen-Shan; Li, Yu-Chuan Jack

2016-04-01

Cancer is the primary disease responsible for death and disability worldwide. Currently, prevention and early detection represents the best hope for cure. Knowing the expected diseases that occur with a particular cancer in advance could lead to physicians being able to better tailor their treatment for cancer. The aim of this study was to build an animated visualization tool called as Cancer Associations Map Animation (CAMA), to chart the association of cancers with other disease over time. The study population was collected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database during the period January 2000 to December 2002, 782 million outpatient visits were used to compute the associations of nine major cancers with other diseases. A motion chart was used to quantify and visualize the associations between diseases and cancers. The CAMA motion chart that was built successfully facilitated the observation of cancer-disease associations across ages and genders. The CAMA system can be accessed online at http://203.71.86.98/web/runq16.html. The CAMA animation system is an animated medical data visualization tool which provides a dynamic, time-lapse, animated view of cancer-disease associations across different age groups and gender. Derived from a large, nationwide healthcare dataset, this exploratory data analysis tool can detect cancer comorbidities earlier than is possible by manual inspection. Taking into account the trajectory of cancer-specific comorbidity development may facilitate clinicians and healthcare researchers to more efficiently explore early stage hypotheses, develop new cancer treatment approaches, and identify potential effect modifiers or new risk factors associated with specific cancers. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Acute and potentially life-threatening tropical diseases in western travelers--a GeoSentinel multicenter study, 1996-2011

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jensenius, Mogens; Han, Pauline V.; Schlagenhauf, Patricia; Schwartz, Eli; Parola, Philippe; Castelli, Francesco; von Sonnenburg, Frank; Loutan, Louis; Leder, Karin; Freedman, David O.; Simon, Fabrice; Delmont, Jean; Carosi, Giampiero; Chappuis, François; Caumes, Eric; Pérignon, Alice; Burchard, Gerd-Dieter; Torresi, Joseph; Brown, Graham; Kain, Kevin; Boggild, Andrea; Keystone, Jay S.; Pandey, Prativa; Pradhan, Rashila; Murphy, Holly; Coyle, Christina M.; Wittner, Murray; de Vries, Peter; Grobusch, Martin C.; Gadroen, Kartini; Rapp, Christophe; Aoun, Olivier; Kanagawa, Shuzo; Kato, Yasuyuki; Mizunno, Yasutaka; Gkrania-Klotsas, Effrossyni; McCarthy, Anne; Weber, Rainer; Steffen, Robert; Hagmann, Stefan; Henry, Michael; Miller, Andy O.; Hale, Devon C.; Anand, Rahul; Gelman, Stephanie S.; Kozarsky, Phyllis E.; Fairley, Jessica; Franco-Paredes, Carlos; Barnett, Elizabeth D.; Libman, Michael D.

2013-01-01

We performed a descriptive analysis of acute and potentially life-threatening tropical diseases among 82,825 ill western travelers reported to GeoSentinel from June of 1996 to August of 2011. We identified 3,655 patients (4.4%) with a total of 3,666 diagnoses representing 13 diseases, including

Risk and economic consequences of contagious animal disease introduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horst, H.S.

1998-01-01

Introduction

Within the European Union, epidemics of contagious animal diseases such as Classical Swine Fever (CSF) and Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) are to be eradicated according to strict EU- prescriptions including stamping-out of infected herds,

Threats from emerging and re-emerging neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, Tim K; Liang, Bryan A

2012-01-01

Neglected tropical diseases impact over 1 billion of the world's poorest populations and require special attention. However, within the NTDs recognized by the World Health Organization, some are also dually categorized as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases requiring more detailed examination on potential global health risks. We reviewed the 17 NTDs classified by the WHO to determine if those NTDs were also categorized by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (''EReNTDs''). We then identified common characteristics and risks associated with EReNTDs. Identified EReNTDs of dengue, rabies, Chagas Disease, and cysticercosis disproportionately impact resource-poor settings with poor social determinants of health, spread through globalization, are impacted by vector control, lack available treatments, and threaten global health security. This traditionally neglected subset of diseases requires urgent attention and unique incentive structures to encourage investment in innovation and coordination. Multi-sectorial efforts and targeted public-private partnerships would spur needed R&D for effective and accessible EReNTD treatments, improvement of social determinants of health, crucial low-income country development, and health system strengthening efforts. Utilization of One Health principles is essential for enhancing knowledge to efficaciously address public health aspects of these EReNTDs globally.

Chapter 50: history of tropical neurology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogunniyi, Adesola

2010-01-01

Tropical neurology began less than two centuries ago. Consumption of dietary toxins predominated at the beginning and gave birth to the geographic entity. The story moved from lathyrism through Jamaican neuropathy to cassava-induced epidemic neuropathy, which was contrasted with Konzo, also associated with cassava. Other tropical diseases enumerated with chronological details include: Chaga's diseases, kwashiorkor, Madras type of motor neuron disease, atlanto-axial dislocation, Burkitt's lymphoma and Kuru, associated with cannibalism among the Fore linguistic group in New Guinea. More recent documentation includes the Cuban neuropathy in 1991 with an epidemic of visual loss and neuropathy, Anaphe venata entomophagy in Nigeria presenting as seasonal ataxia, and neurological aspects of the human immunodeficiency virus infection complete the picture. With time, professional associations were formed and the pioneers were given prominence. The World Federation of Neurology featured Geographic Neurology as a theme in 1977 and Tropical Neurology was given prominence at its 1989 meeting in New Delhi, India. The situation remains unchanged with regards to rare diseases like Meniere's, multiple sclerosis, hereditary disorders. However, with westernization and continued urbanization, changing disease patterns are being observed and tropical neurology may depart from dietary toxins to more western world-type disorders.

Endometriosis research: animal models for the study of a complex disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Tirado-González, Irene; Barrientos, Gabriela; Tariverdian, Nadja; Arck, Petra C; García, Mariana G; Klapp, Burghard F; Blois, Sandra M

2010-11-01

Endometriosis is a common gynaecological disease that is characterized and defined as the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, causing painful periods and subfertility in approximately 10% of women. After more than 50 years of research, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the development and establishment of this condition. Animal models allow us to study the temporal sequence of events involved in disease establishment and progression. Also, because this disease occurs spontaneously only in humans and non-human primates and there are practical problems associated with studying the disease, animal models have been developed for the evaluation of endometriosis. This review describes the animal models for endometriosis that have been used to date, highlighting their importance for the investigation of disease mechanisms that would otherwise be more difficult to elucidate, and proposing new alternatives aimed at overcoming some of these limitations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seroprevalence of five neglected parasitic diseases among immigrants accessing five infectious and tropical diseases units in Italy: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Martelli, G; Di Girolamo, C; Zammarchi, L; Angheben, A; Morandi, M; Tais, S; Degani, M; El Hamad, I; Caligaris, S; Ciannameo, A; Grilli, E; Urbinati, L; Monteiro, G B; Scarcella, C; Petrosillo, N; Digaetano, M; Rabbi, L; Bazzanini, N; Cacciatore, F; Marta, B L; Moro, M L; Bartoloni, A; Viale, P; Verucchi, G

2017-05-01

This multicentre cross-sectional study aims to estimate the prevalence of five neglected tropical diseases (Chagas disease, filariasis, schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis and toxocariasis) among immigrants accessing health care facilities in five Italian cities (Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Rome, Verona). Individuals underwent a different set of serological tests, according to country of origin and presence of eosinophilia. Seropositive patients were treated and further followed up. A total of 930 adult immigrants were enrolled: 477 men (51.3%), 445 women (47.9%), eight transgender (0.8%); median age was 37.81 years (range 18-80 years). Most of them had come from the African continent (405/930, 43.5%), the rest from East Europe, South America and Asia, and 9.6% (89/930) were diagnosed with at least one of the infections under study. Seroprevalence of each specific infection varied from 3.9% (7/180) for Chagas disease to 9.7% (11/113) for toxocariasis. Seropositive people were more likely to be 35-40 years old and male, and to come from South East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa or South America. The results of our study confirm that neglected tropical diseases represent a substantial health problem among immigrants and highlight the need to address this emerging public health issue. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monkeypox disease transmission in an experimental setting: prairie dog animal model.

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Christina L Hutson

Full Text Available Monkeypox virus (MPXV is considered the most significant human public health threat in the genus Orthopoxvirus since the eradication of variola virus (the causative agent of smallpox. MPXV is a zoonotic agent endemic to forested areas of Central and Western Africa. In 2003, MPXV caused an outbreak in the United States due to the importation of infected African rodents, and subsequent sequential infection of North American prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus and humans. In previous studies, the prairie dog MPXV model has successfully shown to be very useful for understanding MPXV since the model emulates key characteristics of human monkeypox disease. In humans, percutaneous exposure to animals has been documented but the primary method of human-to-human MPXV transmission is postulated to be by respiratory route. Only a few animal model studies of MPXV transmission have been reported. Herein, we show that MPXV infected prairie dogs are able to transmit the virus to naive animals through multiple transmission routes. All secondarily exposed animals were infected with MPXV during the course of the study. Notably, animals secondarily exposed appeared to manifest more severe disease; however, the disease course was very similar to those of experimentally challenged animals including inappetence leading to weight loss, development of lesions, production of orthopoxvirus antibodies and shedding of similar levels or in some instances higher levels of MPXV from the oral cavity. Disease was transmitted via exposure to contaminated bedding, co-housing, or respiratory secretions/nasal mucous (we could not definitively say that transmission occurred via respiratory route exclusively. Future use of the model will allow us to evaluate infection control measures, vaccines and antiviral strategies to decrease disease transmission.

Diseases of livestock in the Pacific Islands region: setting priorities for food animal biosecurity.

Science.gov (United States)

Brioudes, Aurélie; Warner, Jeffrey; Hedlefs, Robert; Gummow, Bruce

2015-03-01

Most Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) have developing economies and face a critical shortage of veterinarians with limited financial resources allocated to their animal disease surveillance programmes. Thus, animal health authorities have to set priorities for better focusing their scarce resources. The main objective of this study was to identify animal diseases perceived to be of importance by decision makers within selected PICTs, at the regional and national levels, to ensure better targeting of animal health resources. A second objective was to investigate whether the targeted surveillance programmes resulting from this rationalized approach would also benefit the local communities engaged in livestock production. A multi-criteria prioritization process was developed, involving local experts, to score and rank 132 animal diseases based on their priority at the regional and national levels for four PICTs: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, which form part of a regional Food Animal Biosecurity Network. In parallel interviews with farmers and field animal health and production workers were conducted to assess their perception of animal diseases. The list of the top-twenty ranked diseases for the Pacific Islands region shows a mix of endemic zoonotic diseases (such as leptospirosis ranked first; brucellosis third; tuberculosis sixth; and endoparasites and ectoparasites, respectively eleventh and thirteenth) with exotic diseases (such as HPAI ranked second, FMD fifth, and rabies ninth). There were different disease ranking lists for each of the four targeted PICTs, confirming different strategies of disease prevention and control may be required for each country, rather than a regional approach. Interviewed animal health and production workers were unfamiliar with most of the prioritized diseases and a majority acknowledged that they would not be able to recognize clinical signs if outbreaks were to occur in their area

Continuity of Business Plans for Animal Disease Outbreaks: Using a Logic Model Approach to Protect Animal Health, Public Health, and Our Food Supply

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Heather Allen

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Foreign animal diseases can have a devastating impact on the American economy and agriculture system, while significantly disrupting the food supply chain, and affecting animal health and public health. Continuity of business during an animal disease outbreak aims to mitigate these agriculture-related losses by facilitating normal business operations through the managed movement of non-infected animals and non-contaminated animal products. During a foreign animal disease outbreak, there are competing objectives of trying to control and contain the outbreak while allowing non-infected premises to continue normal business operations to the greatest extent possible. Using a logic model approach, this article discusses the importance of continuity of business planning during an animal disease outbreak, providing a detailed and transparent theoretical framework for continuity of business planning for animal agriculture stakeholders. The logic model provides a basis for continuity of business planning, which is rapidly gaining focus and interest in the animal emergency management community. This unique logic model offers a framework for effective planning and subsequent evaluation of continuity of business plans and processes, by identifying explicit stakeholders, inputs, and activities, alongside the desired outputs and outcomes of such planning.

A Study of the U.S. Capacity to Address Tropical Disease Problems

Science.gov (United States)

1986-04-01

associated with a range of symptoms, can lead to jaundice, renal insufficiency, and anemia . Case fatality rates can be as high as 20 percent in high...an important federal center for research on tropical disease pathogens. Army studies of anemia in Puerto Rico led to the discovery of hookworm as the...vaccine development and testing. The university has research links with groups in Chile and Peru . The University of Washington has a similar program, on

Measuring the burden of neglected tropical diseases: the global burden of disease framework.

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Colin D Mathers

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Reliable, comparable information about the main causes of disease and injury in populations, and how these are changing, is a critical input for debates about priorities in the health sector. Traditional sources of information about the descriptive epidemiology of diseases, injuries, and risk factors are generally incomplete, fragmented, and of uncertain reliability and comparability. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD study has provided a conceptual and methodological framework to quantify and compare the health of populations using a summary measure of both mortality and disability, the disability-adjusted life year (DALY.This paper describes key features of the Global Burden of Disease analytic approach, which provides a standardized measurement framework to permit comparisons across diseases and injuries, as well as risk factors, and a systematic approach to the evaluation of data. The paper describes the evolution of the GBD, starting from the first study for the year 1990, summarizes the methodological improvements incorporated into GBD revisions for the years 2000-2004 carried out by the World Health Organization, and examines priorities and issues for the next major GBD study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and commencing in 2007.The paper presents an overview of summary results from the Global Burden of Disease study 2002, with a particular focus on the neglected tropical diseases, and also an overview of the comparative risk assessment for 26 global risk factors. Taken together, trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, intestinal nematode infections, Japanese encephalitis, dengue, and leprosy accounted for an estimated 177,000 deaths worldwide in 2002, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and about 20 million DALYs, or 1.3% of the global burden of disease and injuries. Further research is currently underway to revise and update these estimates.

Does the dilution effect generally occur in animal diseases?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huang, Zheng Y.X.; Yu, Yang; Langevelde, Van Frank; Boer, De Willem F.

2017-01-01

The dilution effect (DE) has been reported in many diseases, but its generality is still highly disputed. Most current criticisms of DE are related to animal diseases. Particularly, some critical studies argued that DE is less likely to occur in complex environments. Here our meta-analyses

Sherlock Holmes and tropical medicine: a centennial appraisal.

Science.gov (United States)

Sodeman, W A

1994-01-01

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle incorporated an unidentified tropical disease as a murder weapon in the Sherlock Holmes story, "The Dying Detective," written in 1913. Documentary and circumstantial evidence suggests that the disease mentioned was melioidosis. The description of the newly identified disease occurred shortly before Doyle's death. Doyle's other works at the time reflect a consistent interest in tropical disease.

Direct and indirect effects of wastewater use and herd environment on the occurrence of animal diseases and animal health in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Elahi, Ehsan; Zhang, Liqin; Abid, Muhammad; Javed, Muhammad Tariq; Xinru, Han

2017-03-01

The use of wastewater for rearing domestic animals is a common phenomenon in most of the developing countries like Pakistan that face a serious shortage of freshwater resources. However, most of the literature has only focused on the indirect effects of wastewater use on animal health or productivity, and literature on the direct effects of wastewater use is rare. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of wastewater usage on the prevalence of animal diseases and animal health in Pakistan. The study is based on a household-level survey of 360 domestic water buffalo herds collected from 12 districts of Punjab Province, Pakistan. We tested the prevalence of the animal's diseases, animal's health, and wastewater-use preference with various econometric tools, such as the Poisson, negative binomial, and logistic regressions. The findings of the study show that the majority of the farmers use wastewater for buffalo bathing due to the shortage of freshwater resources. Results explore the prevalence of diseases such as clinical mastitis, tick infestation, and foot and mouth disease at the farm level significantly associated with buffalo bathing in the wastewater. Moreover, bathing in wastewater pre- and post-milking also plays a role in the occurrence of diseases. Particularly, if the buffalo's access to wastewater for bathing is within 60 min after milking, the probability of the animals being exposed to mastitis is higher. Furthermore, on investigation, a number of factors are found, such as the distance to the water source, power shortage, groundwater availability, and the education of farmers that influence farmers' behavior of letting their animals take a bath in wastewater. Moreover, the use of different preventive measures improves the animal's health.

Utilization of tropical crop residues and agroindustrial by-products in animal nutrition. Constraints and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preston, T.R.; Parra, R.

1983-01-01

The importance of by-products and crop residues as animal feeds is increasing steadily. This is a consequence of the increasing demand for cereal grains as both human and animal (chiefly poultry) food, and the increasing demand for energy coupled with decreasing availability of fossil fuels. The effects of these two trends are that primary use of land for livestock production (usually grazing systems) will steadily diminish; at the same time, sources of biomass will increase in importance as renewable energy sources, and greater emphasis will be placed on draught animal power. Most by-products and crop residues are fibrous and therefore of only low to moderate nutritive value, or have special physical and chemical characteristics making them difficult to incorporate in conventional ''balanced'' rations. Such feed raw materials may need special processing and/or special forms of supplementation if they are to be used efficiently. It is hypothesized that industrial by-products and crop residues will be more efficiently utilized if they are incorporated in diversified and integrated production systems, i.e. (a) livestock production is integrated with production of cash crops both for food and fuel; (b) different livestock species are utilized in the same enterprise in a complementary way; (c) livestock feeding is based on crop residues (energy) supplemented with protein-rich forages and aquatic plants; and (d) animal wastes are recycled and used for food, fertilizer and fuel. This strategy is particularly suitable for the conditions in (i) tropical countries, whose climate favours high crop/biomass yields per unit area and ease of fermentation of organic wastes, and (ii) family farms, for which diversification means greater opportunity for self-sufficiency and increased possibilities for use of family resources. (author)

Cellular Metabolic Rate Is Influenced by Life-History Traits in Tropical and Temperate Birds

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Jimenez, Ana Gabriela; Van Brocklyn, James; Wortman, Matthew; Williams, Joseph B.

2014-01-01

In general, tropical birds have a “slow pace of life,” lower rates of whole-animal metabolism and higher survival rates, than temperate species. A fundamental challenge facing physiological ecologists is the understanding of how variation in life-history at the whole-organism level might be linked to cellular function. Because tropical birds have lower rates of whole-animal metabolism, we hypothesized that cells from tropical species would also have lower rates of cellular metabolism than cells from temperate species of similar body size and common phylogenetic history. We cultured primary dermal fibroblasts from 17 tropical and 17 temperate phylogenetically-paired species of birds in a common nutritive and thermal environment and then examined basal, uncoupled, and non-mitochondrial cellular O2 consumption (OCR), proton leak, and anaerobic glycolysis (extracellular acidification rates [ECAR]), using an XF24 Seahorse Analyzer. We found that multiple measures of metabolism in cells from tropical birds were significantly lower than their temperate counterparts. Basal and uncoupled cellular metabolism were 29% and 35% lower in cells from tropical birds, respectively, a decrease closely aligned with differences in whole-animal metabolism between tropical and temperate birds. Proton leak was significantly lower in cells from tropical birds compared with cells from temperate birds. Our results offer compelling evidence that whole-animal metabolism is linked to cellular respiration as a function of an animal’s life-history evolution. These findings are consistent with the idea that natural selection has uniquely fashioned cells of long-lived tropical bird species to have lower rates of metabolism than cells from shorter-lived temperate species. PMID:24498080

Research advances in animal models of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

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HUANG Haiyan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD has increased gradually along with the rising prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, and NAFLD has become one of the most common chronic liver diseases in the world and the second major liver disease after chronic viral hepatitis in China. However, its pathogenesis has not yet been clarified. Animal models are playing an important role in researches on NAFLD due to the facts that the development and progression of NAFLD require a long period of time, and ethical limitations exist in conducting drug trials in patients or collecting liver tissues from patients. The animal models with histopathology similar to that of NAFLD patients are reviewed, and their modeling principle, as well as the advantages and disadvantages, are compared. Animal models provide a powerful tool for further studies of NAFLD pathogenesis and drug screening for prevention and treatment of NAFLD.

The Role of Natural Products in Drug Discovery and Development against Neglected Tropical Diseases

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Peter Mubanga Cheuka

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Endemic in 149 tropical and subtropical countries, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs affect more than 1 billion people annually, including 875 million children in developing economies. These diseases are also responsible for over 500,000 deaths per year and are characterized by long-term disability and severe pain. The impact of the combined NTDs closely rivals that of malaria and tuberculosis. Current treatment options are associated with various limitations including widespread drug resistance, severe adverse effects, lengthy treatment duration, unfavorable toxicity profiles, and complicated drug administration procedures. Natural products have been a valuable source of drug regimens that form the cornerstone of modern pharmaceutical care. In this review, we highlight the potential that remains untapped in natural products as drug leads for NTDs. We cover natural products from plant, marine, and microbial sources including natural-product-inspired semi-synthetic derivatives which have been evaluated against the various causative agents of NTDs. Our coverage is limited to four major NTDs which include human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis.

Prioritization of Companion Animal Transmissible Diseases for Policy Intervention in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cito, F.; Rijks, J.; Rantsios, A.T.

2016-01-01

A number of papers have been published on the prioritization of transmissible diseases in farm animals and wildlife, based either on semiquantitative or truly quantitative methods, but there is no published literature on the prioritization of transmissible diseases in companion animals. In this s...... reptiles. The methodology presented in this paper can be used to generate accurate priority lists according to narrower and more specific objectives....

Threats from emerging and re-emerging neglected tropical diseases (NTDs

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Tim K. Mackey

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Neglected tropical diseases impact over 1 billion of the world's poorest populations and require special attention. However, within the NTDs recognized by the World Health Organization, some are also dually categorized as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases requiring more detailed examination on potential global health risks. Methods: We reviewed the 17 NTDs classified by the WHO to determine if those NTDs were also categorized by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (‘‘EReNTDs’’. We then identified common characteristics and risks associated with EReNTDs. Results: Identified EReNTDs of dengue, rabies, Chagas Disease, and cysticercosis disproportionately impact resource-poor settings with poor social determinants of health, spread through globalization, are impacted by vector control, lack available treatments, and threaten global health security. This traditionally neglected subset of diseases requires urgent attention and unique incentive structures to encourage investment in innovation and coordination. Discussion: Multi-sectorial efforts and targeted public–private partnerships would spur needed R&D for effective and accessible EReNTD treatments, improvement of social determinants of health, crucial low-income country development, and health system strengthening efforts. Utilization of One Health principles is essential for enhancing knowledge to efficaciously address public health aspects of these EReNTDs globally.

9 CFR 80.4 - Segregation of animals positive to an official Johne's disease test during interstate movement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... official Johne's disease test during interstate movement. 80.4 Section 80.4 Animals and Animal Products... animals positive to an official Johne's disease test during interstate movement. Animals that are positive... from the animals positive to an official Johne's disease test to the healthy animals in the vehicle. ...

Quantum associative memory with linear and non-linear algorithms for the diagnosis of some tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Tchapet Njafa, J-P; Nana Engo, S G

2018-01-01

This paper presents the QAMDiagnos, a model of Quantum Associative Memory (QAM) that can be a helpful tool for medical staff without experience or laboratory facilities, for the diagnosis of four tropical diseases (malaria, typhoid fever, yellow fever and dengue) which have several similar signs and symptoms. The memory can distinguish a single infection from a polyinfection. Our model is a combination of the improved versions of the original linear quantum retrieving algorithm proposed by Ventura and the non-linear quantum search algorithm of Abrams and Lloyd. From the given simulation results, it appears that the efficiency of recognition is good when particular signs and symptoms of a disease are inserted given that the linear algorithm is the main algorithm. The non-linear algorithm helps confirm or correct the diagnosis or give some advice to the medical staff for the treatment. So, our QAMDiagnos that has a friendly graphical user interface for desktop and smart-phone is a sensitive and a low-cost diagnostic tool that enables rapid and accurate diagnosis of four tropical diseases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cellular Metabolic Rate Is Influenced by Life-History Traits in Tropical and Temperate Birds

OpenAIRE

Jimenez, Ana Gabriela; Van Brocklyn, James; Wortman, Matthew; Williams, Joseph B.

2014-01-01

In general, tropical birds have a "slow pace of life," lower rates of whole-animal metabolism and higher survival rates, than temperate species. A fundamental challenge facing physiological ecologists is the understanding of how variation in life-history at the whole-organism level might be linked to cellular function. Because tropical birds have lower rates of whole-animal metabolism, we hypothesized that cells from tropical species would also have lower rates of cellular metabolism than cel...

9 CFR 80.3 - Movement of domestic animals that are positive to an official Johne's disease test.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... positive to an official Johne's disease test. 80.3 Section 80.3 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND... animals that are positive to an official Johne's disease test. (a) Movement of domestic animals for slaughter. Domestic animals that are positive to an official Johne's disease test may be moved interstate...

Animal Production Research Advances: Submissions

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Where this is not possible, authors should submit two copies of original article not yet published anywhere and accompanied with a 3.5” diskette containing the article labeled appropriately in MS Word version to: Editor–in–Chief, Animal Production Research Advances Tropical Animal Health and Production Research Lab

Turbulent dispersivity under conditions relevant to airborne disease transmission between laboratory animals

Science.gov (United States)

Halloran, Siobhan; Ristenpart, William

2013-11-01

Virologists and other researchers who test pathogens for airborne disease transmissibility often place a test animal downstream from an inoculated animal and later determine whether the test animal became infected. Despite the crucial role of the airflow in pathogen transmission between the animals, to date the infectious disease community has paid little attention to the effect of airspeed or turbulent intensity on the probability of transmission. Here we present measurements of the turbulent dispersivity under conditions relevant to experimental tests of airborne disease transmissibility between laboratory animals. We used time lapse photography to visualize the downstream transport and turbulent dispersion of smoke particulates released from a point source downstream of an axial fan, thus mimicking the release and transport of expiratory aerosols exhaled by an inoculated animal. We show that for fan-generated turbulence the plume width is invariant with the mean airspeed and, close to the point source, increases linearly with downstream position. Importantly, the turbulent dispersivity is insensitive to the presence of meshes placed downstream from the point source, indicating that the fan length scale dictates the turbulent intensity and corresponding dispersivity.

Analogs of human genetic skin disease in domesticated animals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justin Finch, MD

2017-09-01

The genetic skin diseases we will review are pigmentary mosaicism, piebaldism, albinism, Griscelli syndrome, ectodermal dysplasias, Waardenburg syndrome, and mucinosis in both humans and domesticated animals.

Common and emerging infectious diseases in the animal shelter.

Science.gov (United States)

Pesavento, P A; Murphy, B G

2014-03-01

The beneficial role that animal shelters play is unquestionable. An estimated 3 to 4 million animals are cared for or placed in homes each year, and most shelters promote public health and support responsible pet ownership. It is, nonetheless, inevitable that shelters are prime examples of anthropogenic biological instability: even well-run shelters often house transient, displaced, and mixed populations of animals. Many of these animals have received minimal to no prior health care, and some have a history of scavenging or predation to survive. Overcrowding and poor shelter conditions further magnify these inherent risks to create individual, intraspecies, and interspecies stress and provide an environment conducive to exposure to numerous potentially collaborative pathogens. All of these factors can contribute to the evolution and emergence of new pathogens or to alterations in virulence of endemic pathogens. While it is not possible to effectively anticipate the timing or the pathogen type in emergence events, their sites of origin are less enigmatic, and pathologists and diagnosticians who work with sheltered animal populations have recognized several such events in the past decade. This article first considers the contribution of the shelter environment to canine and feline disease. This is followed by summaries of recent research on the pathogenesis of common shelter pathogens, as well as research that has led to the discovery of novel or emerging diseases and the methods that are used for their diagnosis and discovery. For the infectious agents that commonly affect sheltered dogs and cats, including canine distemper virus, canine influenza virus, Streptococcus spp, parvoviruses, feline herpesvirus, feline caliciviruses, and feline infectious peritonitis virus, we present familiar as well as newly recognized lesions associated with infection. Preliminary studies on recently discovered viruses like canine circovirus, canine bocavirus, and feline norovirus

On the surveillance for animal diseases in small herds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greiner, Matthias; Dekker, Aldo

2005-01-01

Small herds may present a problem in surveillance for infectious animal diseases because typical levels of a within-herd design prevalence are not directly applicable. We suggest a definition of small herds as those smaller than 2/(within-herd design prevalence) on the basis that such herds would...... be expected to have less than two (i.e. only one) infected animals. Consequently, the probability of detecting small herds cannot be improved by choosing a larger sample size within the herd. We derive necessary sample sizes of herds and the probability ("confidence") of detecting disease within a stratum...... conservative (lower) estimates of the confidence for a given sample size and should therefore be preferred....

Economic inequality caused by feedbacks between poverty and the dynamics of a rare tropical disease: the case of Buruli ulcer in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Garchitorena, Andrés; Ngonghala, Calistus N; Guegan, Jean-Francois; Texier, Gaëtan; Bellanger, Martine; Bonds, Matthew; Roche, Benjamin

2015-11-07

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have received increasing attention in recent years by the global heath community, as they cumulatively constitute substantial burdens of disease as well as barriers for economic development. A number of common tropical diseases such as malaria, hookworm or schistosomiasis have well-documented economic impacts. However, much less is known about the population-level impacts of diseases that are rare but associated with high disability burden, which represent a great number of tropical diseases. Using an individual-based model of Buruli ulcer (BU), we demonstrate that, through feedbacks between health and economic status, such NTDs can have a significant impact on the economic structure of human populations even at low incidence levels. While average wealth is only marginally affected by BU, the economic conditions of certain subpopulations are impacted sufficiently to create changes in measurable population-level inequality. A reduction of the disability burden caused by BU can thus maximize the economic growth of the poorest subpopulations and reduce significantly the economic inequalities introduced by the disease in endemic regions. © 2015 The Author(s).

Gross and histologic features of gastritis due to Ophidascaris arndti in tropical rattlesnakes ( Crotalus durissus

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É.M. Mello

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The tropical rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus is a snake of great importance for biomedical industry since its poison is used for the production of antiophidic serum and researches. Several conditions related to animal health, such as diseases and parasites, which can promote the reduction of poison production by these snakes should be investigated. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to characterize the gross and microscopic lesions related to the presence of Ophidascaris arndti in stomachs of tropical rattlesnakes. The gastrointestinal tract of thirty-five South American rattlesnakes captured in Southeastern region of Brazil were analyzed and nineteen animals showed infestation by the parasites, found in the small intestine and, especially, in the stomach of the hosts. Grossly, lesions were characterized by mucosal ulcers occasionally associated with hemorrhage. Microscopic alterations included histiocytic granulomas, fibrosis, necrosis, and hemorrhage. Based on these findings, the diagnosis of a parasitic granulomatous disease was made. The lesions may be related to the cause of death in captivity snakes, since the lesions can promote secondary infections by opportunistic bacteria. Moreover, the intense inflammatory response accompanied by fibrosis may be related to poor functioning of the gastric snakes, which it may exhibit frequent regurgitation of the food.

O 'combate' às doenças tropicais na imprensa colonial alemã 'Combating' tropical diseases in the German colonial press

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Sílvio Marcus de Souza Correa

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Demonstra o quanto determinados jornais em língua alemã constituíram veículo de divulgação para o público leigo sobre o 'combate' às doenças tropicais. Pela imprensa, imigrantes e seus descendentes no Brasil eram informados não apenas sobre as doenças que acometiam os colonos alemães na África, mas também sobre medidas de saneamento, profilaxia, experimentos da medicina tropical etc. A partir de fontes hemerográficas, demonstra o quanto as comunidades alemãs no ultramar lograram compartilhar suas experiências em relação à saúde em regiões tropicais e/ou subtropicais.This article shows how much certain German language newspapers were a vehicule for reporting to the lay public on 'combating' tropical diseases. Through the press, immigrants and their descendents in Brazil were informed not only about the diseases which afflicted German colonists in Africa, but also about measures concerning sanitation, prophylaxis and experiments with tropical medicine, etc. Based on hemerographic sources, it shows how successful the overseas German communities were in sharing their experiences regarding health in tropical and/or sub-tropical regions.

Integration and disease control: notes from the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine Colloquium 2002.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahendradhata, Yodi; Moerman, Filip

2004-06-01

The discussion on the desirability or not to integrate disease control activities with general health services is a longstanding one. The recent creations of global health initiatives for poverty-related disease control have refueled the debate. The Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) convened a colloquium in Antwerp to clarify concepts involved in integrated disease control and contribute to the creation of a common scientific language and a better understanding of the issues at stake. We present an overview of highlights from the colloquium sessions. Some of the contributions reported here are presented in more detail elsewhere in this special issue.

A knowledge based approach to matching human neurodegenerative disease and animal models

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Maryann E Martone

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Neurodegenerative diseases present a wide and complex range of biological and clinical features. Animal models are key to translational research, yet typically only exhibit a subset of disease features rather than being precise replicas of the disease. Consequently, connecting animal to human conditions using direct data-mining strategies has proven challenging, particularly for diseases of the nervous system, with its complicated anatomy and physiology. To address this challenge we have explored the use of ontologies to create formal descriptions of structural phenotypes across scales that are machine processable and amenable to logical inference. As proof of concept, we built a Neurodegenerative Disease Phenotype Ontology and an associated Phenotype Knowledge Base using an entity-quality model that incorporates descriptions for both human disease phenotypes and those of animal models. Entities are drawn from community ontologies made available through the Neuroscience Information Framework and qualities are drawn from the Phenotype and Trait Ontology. We generated ~1200 structured phenotype statements describing structural alterations at the subcellular, cellular and gross anatomical levels observed in 11 human neurodegenerative conditions and associated animal models. PhenoSim, an open source tool for comparing phenotypes, was used to issue a series of competency questions to compare individual phenotypes among organisms and to determine which animal models recapitulate phenotypic aspects of the human disease in aggregate. Overall, the system was able to use relationships within the ontology to bridge phenotypes across scales, returning non-trivial matches based on common subsumers that were meaningful to a neuroscientist with an advanced knowledge of neuroanatomy. The system can be used both to compare individual phenotypes and also phenotypes in aggregate. This proof of concept suggests that expressing complex phenotypes using formal

Adult carrion arthropod community in a tropical rainforest of Malaysia: analysis on three common forensic entomology animal models.

Science.gov (United States)

Azwandi, A; Nina Keterina, H; Owen, L C; Nurizzati, M D; Omar, B

2013-09-01

Decomposing carrion provides a temporary microhabitat and food source for a distinct community of organisms. Arthropods constitute a major part of this community and can be utilized to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI) of cadavers during criminal investigations. However, in Malaysia, knowledge of carrion arthropod assemblages and their succession is superficial. Therefore, a study on three types of forensic entomology animal model was conducted from 27 September 2010 to 28 October 2010 in a tropical rainforest at National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Over one month collections of arthropods were made on nine animal carcasses: three laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus, mean weight: 0.508 ± 0.027 kg), three rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus, mean weight: 2.538 ± 0.109 kg) and three long tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis, mean weight: 5.750 ± 0.551 kg). A total of 31,433 arthropods belonging to eight orders and twenty-eight families were collected from all carcasses. Among 2924 of adults flies collected, approximately 19% were calliphorids with Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) being the most abundant. Arthropod taxon richness was lower on rat carcasses compared to that of rabbit and monkey carcasses, and this was more apparent during the first week of decomposition. However, there were no significant differences in Shannon-Weiner index (H'), Simpson dominance index (C) and Pielou's Evenness index (J) between different animal model. The arthropod assemblages associated to animal model were different significantly (pforensic cases in Malaysia.

Compensation and exotic livestock disease management: the views of animal keepers and veterinarians in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton-Webb, A; Naylor, R; Little, R; Maye, D

2016-11-19

Relatively little is known about the perceived influence of different compensation systems on animal keepers' management of exotic livestock disease. This paper aims to address this research gap by drawing on interviews with 61 animal keepers and 21 veterinarians, as well as a series of nine animal keeper focus groups across five different livestock sectors in England. The perceived influence of current compensation systems on disease control behaviour was explored and alternative compensation systems that respectively reward positive practices and penalise poor practices were presented in the form of scenarios, alongside a third system that considered the option of a cost-sharing levy system between industry and government. The results indicate that animal keepers consider themselves to be influenced by a range of non-financial factors, for example, feelings of responsibility, reputation and animal welfare concerns, in the context of their exotic disease management practices. The majority of animal keepers were unaware of the current compensation systems in place for exotic diseases, and were therefore not consciously influenced by financial recompense. Concerns were raised about linking compensation to disease management behaviour due to auditing difficulties. A cost-sharing levy system would likely raise awareness of exotic disease and compensation among animal keepers, but differentiation of payments based upon individual farm-level risk assessments was called for by participants as a strategy to promote positive disease management practices. British Veterinary Association.

Animal models for Gaucher disease research

OpenAIRE

Farfel-Becker, Tamar; Vitner, Einat B.; Futerman, Anthony H.

2011-01-01

Gaucher disease (GD), the most common lysosomal storage disorder (LSD), is caused by the defective activity of the lysosomal hydrolase glucocerebrosidase, which is encoded by the GBA gene. Generation of animal models that faithfully recapitulate the three clinical subtypes of GD has proved to be more of a challenge than first anticipated. The first mouse to be produced died within hours after birth owing to skin permeability problems, and mice with point mutations in Gba did not display sympt...

Asymmetries of poverty: why global burden of disease valuations underestimate the burden of neglected tropical diseases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles H King

2008-03-01

Full Text Available The disability-adjusted life year (DALY initially appeared attractive as a health metric in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD program, as it purports to be a comprehensive health assessment that encompassed premature mortality, morbidity, impairment, and disability. It was originally thought that the DALY would be useful in policy settings, reflecting normative valuations as a standardized unit of ill health. However, the design of the DALY and its use in policy estimates contain inherent flaws that result in systematic undervaluation of the importance of chronic diseases, such as many of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs, in world health. The conceptual design of the DALY comes out of a perspective largely focused on the individual risk rather than the ecology of disease, thus failing to acknowledge the implications of context on the burden of disease for the poor. It is nonrepresentative of the impact of poverty on disability, which results in the significant underestimation of disability weights for chronic diseases such as the NTDs. Finally, the application of the DALY in policy estimates does not account for the nonlinear effects of poverty in the cost-utility analysis of disease control, effectively discounting the utility of comprehensively treating NTDs. The present DALY framework needs to be substantially revised if the GBD is to become a valid and useful system for determining health priorities.

Climate change and animal diseases: making the case for adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cáceres, Sigfrido Burgos

2012-12-01

The exponential expansion of the human population has led to overexploitation of resources and overproduction of items that have caused a series of potentially devastating effects, including ocean acidification, ozone depletion, biodiversity loss, the spread of invasive flora and fauna and climatic changes - along with the emergence of new diseases in animals and humans. Climate change occurs as a result of imbalances between incoming and outgoing radiation in the atmosphere. This process generates heat. As concentrations of atmospheric gases reach record levels, global temperatures are expected to increase significantly. The hydrologic cycle will be altered, since warmer air can retain more moisture than cooler air. This means that some geographic areas will have more rainfall, whereas others have more drought and severe weather. The potential consequences of significant and permanent climatic changes are altered patterns of diseases in animal and human populations, including the emergence of new disease syndromes and changes in the prevalence of existing diseases. A wider geographic distribution of known vectors and the recruitment of new strains to the vector pool could result in infections spreading to more and potentially new species of hosts. If these predictions turn out to be accurate, there will be a need for policymakers to consider alternatives, such as adaptation. This review explores the linkages between climate change and animal diseases, and examines interrelated issues that arise from altered biological dynamics. Its aim is to consider various risks and vulnerabilities and to make the case for policies favoring adaptation.

Assessment of current burden of human rabies at Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases (Government Fever Hospital – Five year study

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Dukkipati Kalyani

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Human rabies has been still endemic in India. There are an increasing number of studies estimating the burden of human rabies, but the true incidence of the disease and endemicity were rarely reported in the literature. The main objectives of the present study were to determine the endemicity and to estimate the current burden of human rabies in and around Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases (SRRIT & CD, Nallakunta, Hyderabad. All cases admitted at SRRIT & CD with signs and symptoms of rabies were studied during the period of January 2009 and December 2013. The annual incidence of human rabies in this hospital was estimated to be 152. It is endemic mainly in urban areas that include many areas in Hyderabad and Secunderabad and also adjacent districts. The majority of the patients were children and adult male, from urban areas, and had not taken post exposure prophylaxis (PEP i.e. wound care, active immunization (ARV and passive immunization (RIG. The main animals responsible for bites were dogs (99%, most of which were stray and the most common bite sites were the extremities. Most common clinical feature was hydrophobia. About 92.76% of these patients had not taken PEP. Human rabies continues to be a dreadful disease in India and the dogs are the principal reservoir, mainly stray dogs. This study provides strong evidence that human rabies is still an endemic disease even in urban areas. This is mainly due to lack of awareness about proper PEP. Improved coverage with modern rabies vaccines, control of rabies due to dogs and other animals and intensifying public education about the disease play main role in the reduction of the disease. [J Med Allied Sci 2017; 7(1.000: 14-19

Infectious diseases among animals : combining models with data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koeijer, A.A. de

2003-01-01

To eradicate or control the spread of infectious diseases, knowledge on the spread of the infection between (groups of) animals is necessary. Models can include such information and can subsequently be used to observe the efficacy of various control measures in fighting the infection. However, the

Impacts of Present and Future Climate Variability On Agriculture and Forestry in the Humid and Sub-Humid Tropics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Y.; Wang, C.; Wang, S.; Tibig, Lourdes V.

2005-01-01

Although there are different results from different studies, most assessments indicate that climate variability would have negative effects on agriculture and forestry in the humid and sub-humid tropics. Cereal crop yields would decrease generally with even minimal increases in temperature. For commercial crops, extreme events such as cyclones, droughts and floods lead to larger damages than only changes of mean climate. Impacts of climate variability on livestock mainly include two aspects; impacts on animals such as increase of heat and disease stress-related death, and impacts on pasture. As to forestry, climate variability would have negative as well as some positive impacts on forests of humid and sub-humid tropics. However, in most tropical regions, the impacts of human activities such as deforestation will be more important than climate variability and climate change in determining natural forest cover

Household exposure and animal-bite surveillance following human rabies detection in Southern Ghana

OpenAIRE

Afakye, Kofi; Kenu, Ernest; Nyarko, Kofi Mensah; Johnson, Sherry Ama Mawuko; Wongnaah, Florence; Bonsu, George Kwame

2016-01-01

Introduction Rabies remains a neglected tropical zoonotic disease with 100% case fatality rate and estimated 6,000 global mortality annually, and yet vaccine preventable. In Ghana, rabies outbreaks receive poor response. We investigated rabies in a 5-year old boy to find the source of infection, identify exposed persons for post-exposure prophylaxis and describe animal-bite surveillance in Manya-Krobo District of Ghana. Methods We actively searched for cases and exposures by interviewing hous...

Upper temperature limits of tropical marine ectotherms: global warming implications.

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Khanh Dung T Nguyen

Full Text Available Animal physiology, ecology and evolution are affected by temperature and it is expected that community structure will be strongly influenced by global warming. This is particularly relevant in the tropics, where organisms are already living close to their upper temperature limits and hence are highly vulnerable to rising temperature. Here we present data on upper temperature limits of 34 tropical marine ectotherm species from seven phyla living in intertidal and subtidal habitats. Short term thermal tolerances and vertical distributions were correlated, i.e., upper shore animals have higher thermal tolerance than lower shore and subtidal animals; however, animals, despite their respective tidal height, were susceptible to the same temperature in the long term. When temperatures were raised by 1°C hour(-1, the upper lethal temperature range of intertidal ectotherms was 41-52°C, but this range was narrower and reduced to 37-41°C in subtidal animals. The rate of temperature change, however, affected intertidal and subtidal animals differently. In chronic heating experiments when temperature was raised weekly or monthly instead of every hour, upper temperature limits of subtidal species decreased from 40°C to 35.4°C, while the decrease was more than 10°C in high shore organisms. Hence in the long term, activity and survival of tropical marine organisms could be compromised just 2-3°C above present seawater temperatures. Differences between animals from environments that experience different levels of temperature variability suggest that the physiological mechanisms underlying thermal sensitivity may vary at different rates of warming.

Journal of Tropical Microbiology and Biotechnology

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Journal of Tropical Microbiology and Biotechnology (JTMB) formerly Journal of Tropical Microbiology gives preeminence to the central role of modern biotechnology and microorganisms as tools and targets in current research, which is largely multidisciplinary. JTMB covers a broad range of topics, such as disease ...

Ebola outbreak in West Africa: a neglected tropical disease

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Alcides Troncoso

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs are remediable injustices of our times. Poverty is the starting point, and the ultimate outcome, of NTD. Ebola is just one of many NTDs that badly need attention. Ebola exacerbates West Africa's poverty crisis. The virus spreading in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has led to food shortages and neglect of other devastating tropical illnesses. A health crisis that was ignored for months until it was out of control is now beginning to get the attention required, if not the resources. So far, the world´s nations have contributed far less than the $ 1 billion. The U.N. estimates would need to control the epidemic before it becomes endemic. Past outbreaks of Ebola have flared up in remote, forested communities, disconnected from much of the outside world. But the outbreak in West Africa has not slowed yet, and it worsens there the chances of it spreading to other countries. Ebola draws attention to NTD. Ebola is not only a health emergency, but also it´s a poverty crisis. The current Global Ebola crisis presents a multitude of challenges in terms of our capacity to respond; the future is even less predictable. Ebola outbreak represents inequity in health as the occurrence of health differences considered unnecessary, avoidable, unfair, and unjust, thus adding a moral and ethical dimension to health inequalities. Health equity does not refer only to the fairness in the distribution of health or the provision of health care; rather, it is linked with the larger issues of fairness and justice in social arrangements.

Currently important animal disease management issues in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, G R

2009-03-01

The present international approach to management of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) is based on the assumption that most can be eradicated; consequently, that is the usual objective adopted by international organizations concerned with animal health. However, for sub-Saharan Africa and southern Africa more particularly, eradication of most TADs is impossible for the foreseeable future for a variety of technical, financial and logistical reasons. Compounding this, the present basis for access to international markets for products derived from animals requires that the area of origin (country or zone) is free from trade-influencing TADs. The ongoing development of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs), extending across huge areas of southern Africa, therefore presents a development conundrum because it makes creation of geographic areas free from TADs more difficult and brings development based on wildlife conservation on the one hand and that based on livestock production on the other into sharp conflict. Sub-Saharan Africa is consequently confronted by a complex problem that contributes significantly to retarded rural development which, in turn, impedes poverty alleviation. In southern Africa specifically, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) presents the greatest problem in relation to access to international markets for animal products. However, it is argued that this problem could be overcome by a combination between (1) implementation of a commodity-based approach to trade in products derived from animals and (2) amendment of the international standards for FMD specifically (i.e. the FMD chapter in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health [OIE]) so that occurrence of SAT serotype viruses in free-living African buffalo need not necessarily mean exclusion of areas where buffalo occur from international markets for animal products. This would overcome a presently intractable constraint to market access for southern African

Novel treatment strategies for chronic kidney disease: insights from the animal kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Stenvinkel, Peter; Painer, Johanna; Kuro-O, Makoto; Lanaspa, Miguel; Arnold, Walter; Ruf, Thomas; Shiels, Paul G; Johnson, Richard J

2018-04-01

Many of the >2 million animal species that inhabit Earth have developed survival mechanisms that aid in the prevention of obesity, kidney disease, starvation, dehydration and vascular ageing; however, some animals remain susceptible to these complications. Domestic and captive wild felids, for example, show susceptibility to chronic kidney disease (CKD), potentially linked to the high protein intake of these animals. By contrast, naked mole rats are a model of longevity and are protected from extreme environmental conditions through mechanisms that provide resistance to oxidative stress. Biomimetic studies suggest that the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) offers protection in extreme environmental conditions and promotes longevity in the animal kingdom. Similarly, during months of fasting, immobilization and anuria, hibernating bears are protected from muscle wasting, azotaemia, thrombotic complications, organ damage and osteoporosis - features that are often associated with CKD. Improved understanding of the susceptibility and protective mechanisms of these animals and others could provide insights into novel strategies to prevent and treat several human diseases, such as CKD and ageing-associated complications. An integrated collaboration between nephrologists and experts from other fields, such as veterinarians, zoologists, biologists, anthropologists and ecologists, could introduce a novel approach for improving human health and help nephrologists to find novel treatment strategies for CKD.

The role of nutrition in integrated programs to control neglected tropical diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hall Andrew

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract There are strong and direct relationships between undernutrition and the disease caused by infectious organisms, including the diverse pathogens labeled as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs. Undernutrition increases the risk of infection, the severity of disease and the risk that children will die, while the physical damage, loss of appetite, and host responses during chronic infection can contribute substantially to undernutrition. These relationships are often synergistic. This opinion article examines the role of nutrition in controlling NTDs and makes the point that mass drug treatment - the major strategy currently proposed to control several diseases - is crucial to controlling disease and transmission, but is only the start of the process of physical recovery. Without adequate energy and nutrients to repair damaged tissues or recover lost growth and development, the benefits of treatment may not be evident quickly; the effects of control programs may be not appreciated by beneficiaries; while vulnerability to reinfection and disease may not be reduced. There is substantial potential for nutritional interventions to be added to large-scale programs to deliver drug treatments and thereby contribute, within a broad strategy of public health interventions and behavior change activities, to controlling and preventing NTDs in populations, and to restoring their health.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): Borna disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Borna disease has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Borna disease to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of Borna disease according to disease prevention...... at collective level. The output is composed of the categorical answer, and for the questions where no consensus was reached, the different supporting views are reported. Details on the methodology used for this assessment are explained in a separate opinion. According to the assessment performed, Borna disease...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

Ebola virus disease has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Ebola virus disease to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of Ebola virus disease according...... to disease prevention and control rules as in Annex IV and Article 8 on the list of animal species related to Ebola virus disease. The assessment has been performed following a methodology composed of information collection and compilation, expert judgement on each criterion at individual and...... to the assessment performed, Ebola virus disease can be considered eligible to be listed for Union intervention as laid down in Article 5(3) of the AHL. The disease would comply with the criteria as in Sections 4 and 5 of Annex IV of the AHL, for the application of the disease prevention and control rules referred...

Model for product development of vaccines against neglected tropical diseases: a vaccine against human hookworm.

Science.gov (United States)

Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Brown, Ami Shah

2008-12-01

This article provides an overview of the advances in product development and technology transfer of the vaccine against human hookworm, with particular emphasis on the lessons learned and the challenges of developing a vaccine in the nonprofit sector. The comprehensive approach to vaccine development established by the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative (HHVI) identifies key operational and technical aspects that are essential for a successful partnership with a developing country vaccine manufacturer. This article also highlights the importance of a global access roadmap to guide the vaccine development program. The advancement of new products for the control of neglected tropical diseases portends great challenges for global access, including aspects related to vaccine design, product development and manufacture, vaccine introduction and distribution, financing, knowledge dissemination and intellectual property management. With only three vaccines for neglected tropical diseases in clinical trials - hookworm, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis - we are at the nascent stages of developing vaccines for neglected populations. Product development public-private partnerships, such as the HHVI, continue to show great promise on this front and will eventually provide significant control tools for achieving millennium development goals related to poverty reduction, as well as child and maternal health.

Monitoring the efficacy of drugs for neglected tropical diseases controlled by preventive chemotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Albonico, M; Levecke, B; LoVerde, P T; Montresor, A; Prichard, R; Vercruysse, J; Webster, J P

2015-12-01

In the last decade, pharmaceutical companies, governments and global health organisations under the leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) have pledged large-scale donations of anthelmintic drugs, including ivermectin (IVM), praziquantel (PZQ), albendazole (ALB) and mebendazole (MEB). This worldwide scale-up in drug donations calls for strong monitoring systems to detect any changes in anthelmintic drug efficacy. This review reports on the outcome of the WHO Global Working Group on Monitoring of Neglected Tropical Diseases Drug Efficacy, which consists of three subgroups: (i) soil-transmitted helminthiases (ALB and MEB); (ii) onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (IVM); and (iii) schistosomiasis (PZQ). Progress of ongoing work, challenges and research needs for each of the four main drugs used in helminthic preventive chemotherapy (PC) are reported, laying the ground for appropriate implementation of drug efficacy monitoring programmes under the co-ordination and guidelines of the WHO. Best practices for monitoring drug efficacy should be made available and capacity built as an integral part of neglected tropical disease (NTD) programme monitoring. Development of a disease-specific model to predict the impact of PC programmes, to detect outliers and to solicit responses is essential. Research studies on genetic polymorphisms in relation to low-efficacy phenotypes should be carried out to identify markers of putative resistance against all NTD drugs and ultimately to develop diagnostic assays. Development of combination and co-administration of NTD drugs as well as of new drug entities to boost the armamentarium of the few drugs available for NTD control and elimination should be pursued in parallel. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High Leptospira Diversity in Animals and Humans Complicates the Search for Common Reservoirs of Human Disease in Rural Ecuador.

Science.gov (United States)

Barragan, Veronica; Chiriboga, Jorge; Miller, Erin; Olivas, Sonora; Birdsell, Dawn; Hepp, Crystal; Hornstra, Heidie; Schupp, James M; Morales, Melba; Gonzalez, Manuel; Reyes, Soraya; de la Cruz, Carmen; Keim, Paul; Hartskeerl, Rudy; Trueba, Gabriel; Pearson, Talima

2016-09-01

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease responsible for high morbidity around the world, especially in tropical and low income countries. Rats are thought to be the main vector of human leptospirosis in urban settings. However, differences between urban and low-income rural communities provide additional insights into the epidemiology of the disease. Our study was conducted in two low-income rural communities near the coast of Ecuador. We detected and characterized infectious leptospira DNA in a wide variety of samples using new real time quantitative PCR assays and amplicon sequencing. We detected infectious leptospira in a high percentage of febrile patients (14.7%). In contrast to previous studies on leptospirosis risk factors, higher positivity was not found in rats (3.0%) but rather in cows (35.8%) and pigs (21.1%). Six leptospira species were identified (L. borgpetersenii, L kirschnerii, L santarosai, L. interrogans, L noguchii, and an intermediate species within the L. licerasiae and L. wolffii clade) and no significant differences in the species of leptospira present in each animal species was detected (χ2 = 9.89, adj.p-value = 0.27). A large portion of the world's human population lives in low-income, rural communities, however, there is limited information about leptospirosis transmission dynamics in these settings. In these areas, exposure to peridomestic livestock is particularly common and high prevalence of infectious leptospira in cows and pigs suggest that they may be the most important reservoir for human transmission. Genotyping clinical samples show that multiple species of leptospira are involved in human disease. As these genotypes were also detected in samples from a variety of animals, genotype data must be used in conjunction with epidemiological data to provide evidence of transmission and the importance of different potential leptospirosis reservoirs.

Exploring gender dimensions of treatment programmes for neglected tropical diseases in Uganda.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather Rilkoff

Full Text Available Gender remains a recognized but relatively unexamined aspect of the potential challenges for treatment programmes for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs. We sought to explore the role of gender in access to treatment in the Uganda National Neglected Tropical Disease Control Programme.Quantitative and qualitative data was collected in eight villages in Buyende and Kamuli districts, Eastern Uganda. Quantitative data on the number of persons treated by age and gender was identified from treatment registers in each village. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with sub-county supervisors, participant observation and from focus group discussions with community leaders, community medicine distributors (CMDs, men, women who were pregnant or breastfeeding at the time of mass-treatment, and adolescent males and females. Findings include the following: (i treatment registers are often incomplete making it difficult to obtain accurate estimates of the number of persons treated; (ii males face more barriers to accessing treatment than women due to occupational roles which keep them away from households or villages for long periods, and males may be more distrustful of treatment; (iii CMDs may be unaware of which medicines are safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women, resulting in women missing beneficial treatments.Findings highlight the need to improve community-level training in drug distribution which should include gender-specific issues and guidelines for treating pregnant and breastfeeding women. Accurate age and sex disaggregated measures of the number of community members who swallow the medicines are also needed to ensure proper monitoring and evaluation of treatment programmes.

Borna disease virus and its role in the pathology of animals and humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. O. Mikheev

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Infectious diseases that are caused by numerous pathogenic microorganisms – bacteria, viruses, protozoa or fungi – can be transmitted from patients or carriers to healthy people or animals. A large group of infectious disease is caused by pathogens of animal infections – zoonoses. The issue of zoonoses is of great significance in human pathology and requires comprehensive study. This is of particular relevance to Ukraine, as the question of prevalence, level within the population and threats to human life and health from zoonoses, though highly important, has remained insufficiently studied. Information about many of these pathogens is absent in the existing scientific literature accessible in Ukraine – both veterinary and medical. This applies, in particular, to a causative agent of viral zoonoses the Borna disease virus or Bornavirus. For this purpose, an analysis of the literature concerning the role of the Bornavirus in the pathology of animals and humans was conducted. It is well known that a large number of pathogens of animal infections (zoonoses, including viral, pose a potential threat to human health. Among these potential threats is the Borna disease virus belonging to the family of Bornaviridae, order Mononegavirales. This order includes representatives of deadly human diseases like rabies (family Rhabdoviridae, Ebola virus (family Filoviridae and Nipah virus (family Paramyxoviridae. Borna virus disease affects mainly mammals, but can infect birds and even reptiles (Aspid bornavirus. It is established that Bornaviruses have a wide range of natural hosts (horses, sheeps, cats, bats and various birds, including domestic animals, which poses a potential threat to human health. This is evidenced by numerous, although contradictory, research into the role of the Borna disease virus in human pathologies such as schizophrenia, depression, prolonged fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis and others. Analysis of the literature clearly

Pediatric Neglected Tropical Diseases in a Major Metropolitan Children's Hospital in the United States, 2004-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweet, Leigh R; Palazzi, Debra L

2016-12-01

We conducted a retrospective study of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) diagnosed at Texas Children's Hospital between 2004 and 2013. Forty-three patients with an NTD were identified; 47% had never traveled outside of the United States. The results of this study highlight the importance of physician awareness of NTDs in children in the United States. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

Aujeszky's disease has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Aujeszky's disease to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of Aujeszky's disease according...

Combinations of chromosome transfer and genome editing for the development of cell/animal models of human disease and humanized animal models.

Science.gov (United States)

Uno, Narumi; Abe, Satoshi; Oshimura, Mitsuo; Kazuki, Yasuhiro

2018-02-01

Chromosome transfer technology, including chromosome modification, enables the introduction of Mb-sized or multiple genes to desired cells or animals. This technology has allowed innovative developments to be made for models of human disease and humanized animals, including Down syndrome model mice and humanized transchromosomic (Tc) immunoglobulin mice. Genome editing techniques are developing rapidly, and permit modifications such as gene knockout and knockin to be performed in various cell lines and animals. This review summarizes chromosome transfer-related technologies and the combined technologies of chromosome transfer and genome editing mainly for the production of cell/animal models of human disease and humanized animal models. Specifically, these include: (1) chromosome modification with genome editing in Chinese hamster ovary cells and mouse A9 cells for efficient transfer to desired cell types; (2) single-nucleotide polymorphism modification in humanized Tc mice with genome editing; and (3) generation of a disease model of Down syndrome-associated hematopoiesis abnormalities by the transfer of human chromosome 21 to normal human embryonic stem cells and the induction of mutation(s) in the endogenous gene(s) with genome editing. These combinations of chromosome transfer and genome editing open up new avenues for drug development and therapy as well as for basic research.

Cross inoculation of anthracnose pathogens infecting various tropical fruits

Science.gov (United States)

Suparman; Rahmiyah, M.; Pujiastuti, Y.; Gunawan, B.; Arsi

2018-01-01

Anthracnose disease is very important disease of tropical fruits causing significant yield losses. The disease is caused by Colletotrichum spp. and infects almost all tropical fruit species, especially the succulent ones. Various species of Colletotrichum infect various tropical fruits and there are possibilities for cross inoculation to occur among tropical fruits which might cause severe infection. An experimental research was conducted to examine the effect of cross inoculation of anthracnose pathogen among papaya, eggplant, chili and common bean on the infection development and severity of the disease on each inoculated fruit species. Colletotrichum spp. were isolated from naturally infected papaya, eggplant, chili and common bean. Each fungal isolate was purified and identified to determine the species name. The spores of each isolate were then used to separately inoculate healthy and sterilized papaya, eggplant, chili and common bean. The results showed that cross infection developed on chili, eggplant and papaya but not on bean. Chili showed the highest susceptibility to all Colletotrichum isolates and significantly different from eggplant and papaya. The anthracnose pathogen isolated from common bean showed no pathogenicity to other hosts and might be used as cross protection inoculant to the disease in the other hosts.

Acute coccidiosis in an organic dairy farm in tropical region, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mônica M. Florião

2015-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT. Florião M.M., Lopes B. do B., Berto B.P. & Lopes C.W.G. Acute coccidiosis in an organic dairy farm in tropical region, Brazil. [Coccidiose aguda em uma fazenda de gado leiteiro orgânico na região tropical, Brasil.] Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 37(Supl.1:6-12, 2015. Curso de Pós- -Graduação em Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação em Agropecuária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, Km 7, Campus Seropédica, RJ 23897- 970, Brasil. E-mail: monicafloriao@hotmail.com Coccidiosis or bovine eimeriosis is an intestinal disease caused by species of the genus Eimeria Schneider, 1875. It is responsible for gastrointestinal disorders and in some cases, animals died, especially the young animals. The proposed organic management for the system was relevant in establishing the health of the studied herd. Only some of the animals had clinical signs of acute eimeriosis. In nursing calves clinical signs appeared at 30 days old, during the first period of the study (2013-2014, occurring shortly after abrupt change in management, when the amount of milk supplied to animals of this extract was reduced. The other two cases occurred during the second period of the study (2014-2015, after fire in the area of pastures, causing the batch of weaned calves come into pasture destined to cows, with such abrupt change in management developed clinical signs of acute eimeriosis. The most frequent species was E. zuernii in both extracts, followed by E. cylindrica in nursing calves, and E. bovis and E. bukidnonensis in the weaned calves. The recovery of the animals was performed with the return to the proposed organic management associated with use of homeopathic medication. In addition, the animals recovered their body weight gains established for Gir breed (zebu dairy cattle and its cross breeds.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

Koi herpes virus (KHV) disease has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of KHV disease to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of KHV disease according...

Disease Risk Assessments Involving Companion Animals: an Overview for 15 Selected Pathogens Taking a European Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Rijks, J M; Cito, F; Cunningham, A A; Rantsios, A T; Giovannini, A

2016-07-01

Prioritization of companion animal transmissible diseases was performed by the Companion Animals multisectoriaL interprofessionaL Interdisciplinary Strategic Think tank On zoonoses (CALLISTO) project. The project considered diseases occurring in domesticated species commonly kept as pets, such as dogs and cats, but also included diseases occurring in captive wild animals and production animal species. The prioritization process led to the selection of 15 diseases of prime public health relevance, agricultural economic importance, or both. An analysis was made of the current knowledge on the risk of occurrence and transmission of these diseases among companion animals, and from companion animals to man (zoonoses) or to livestock. The literature was scanned for risk assessments for these diseases. Studies were classified as import risk assessments (IRAs) or risk factor analyses (RFAs) in endemic areas. For those pathogens that are absent from Europe, only IRAs were considered; for pathogens present throughout Europe, only RFAs were considered. IRAs were identified for seven of the eight diseases totally or partially absent from Europe. IRAs for classical rabies and alveolar echinococcosis found an increased risk for introduction of the pathogen into officially disease-free areas as a consequence of abandoning national rules and adopting the harmonized EU rules for pet travel. IRAs for leishmaniosis focused on risk associated with the presence of persistently infected dogs in new geographical areas, taking into consideration the risk of disease establishment should a competent vector arise. IRAs for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever and West Nile fever indicated that the likelihood of introduction via companion animals was low. IRAs for bluetongue paid no attention to the risk of introduction via companion animals, which was also the case for IRAs for foot-and-mouth disease, the only disease considered to be absent from Europe. RFAs dealing with the risk factors for

Regional and international approaches on prevention and control of animal transboundary and emerging diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Domenech, J; Lubroth, J; Eddi, C; Martin, V; Roger, F

2006-10-01

Transboundary animal diseases pose a serious risk to the world animal agriculture and food security and jeopardize international trade. The world has been facing devastating economic losses from major outbreaks of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) such as foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever, rinderpest, peste des petits ruminants (PPR), and Rift Valley fever. Lately the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) due to H5N1 virus, has become an international crisis as all regions around the world can be considered at risk. In the past decades, public health authorities within industrialized countries have been faced with an increasing number of food safety issues. The situation is equally serious in developing countries. The globalization of food (and feed) trade, facilitated by the liberalization of world trade, while offering many benefits and opportunities, also represents new risks. The GF-TADs Global Secretariat has carried out several regional consultations for the identification of priority diseases and best ways for their administration, prevention and control. In the questionnaires carried out and through the consultative process, it was noted that globally, FMD was ranked as the first and foremost priority. Rift Valley fever, and today highly pathogenic avian influenza, are defined as major animal diseases which also affect human health. PPR and CBPP, a disease which is particularly serious in Africa and finally, African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF) are also regionally recognised as top priorities on which the Framework is determined to work. The FAO philosophy--shared by the OIE--embraces the need to prevent and control TADs and emerging diseases at their source, which is most of the time in developing countries. Regional and international approaches have to be followed, and the FAO and OIE GF-TADs initiative provides the appropriate concepts and objectives as well as an organizational framework to link international and

International trade standards for commodities and products derived from animals: the need for a system that integrates food safety and animal disease risk management.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, G R; Penrith, M-L; Atkinson, M W; Thalwitzer, S; Mancuso, A; Atkinson, S J; Osofsky, S A

2013-12-01

A case is made for greater emphasis to be placed on value chain management as an alternative to geographically based disease risk mitigation for trade in commodities and products derived from animals. The geographic approach is dependent upon achievement of freedom in countries or zones from infectious agents that cause so-called transboundary animal diseases, while value chain-based risk management depends upon mitigation of animal disease hazards potentially associated with specific commodities or products irrespective of the locality of production. This commodity-specific approach is founded on the same principles upon which international food safety standards are based, viz. hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP). Broader acceptance of a value chain approach enables animal disease risk management to be combined with food safety management by the integration of commodity-based trade and HACCP methodologies and thereby facilitates 'farm to fork' quality assurance. The latter is increasingly recognized as indispensable to food safety assurance and is therefore a pre-condition to safe trade. The biological principles upon which HACCP and commodity-based trade are based are essentially identical, potentially simplifying sanitary control in contrast to current separate international sanitary standards for food safety and animal disease risks that are difficult to reconcile. A value chain approach would not only enable more effective integration of food safety and animal disease risk management of foodstuffs derived from animals but would also ameliorate adverse environmental and associated socio-economic consequences of current sanitary standards based on the geographic distribution of animal infections. This is especially the case where vast veterinary cordon fencing systems are relied upon to separate livestock and wildlife as is the case in much of southern Africa. A value chain approach would thus be particularly beneficial to under-developed regions of

Diagnosis of selected tropical diseases (Shistosomiasis and Malaria) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chembe, E.

1985-01-01

Immunological reactions are commonly used in diagnostic procedures on the basis of their high levels of specificity and sensitivity. Antibodies or antigens labelled with various markers have been found to be particularly useful for assays of logical substances. The applications of Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbent Assays (ELISA) to research on various tropical and non-tropical diseases is now well established. The procedure depends on the labelling of one of the reactants with enzymes which can be detected accurately by an appropriate substrate. The detection mechanism depends on the labelling of one of the reactants in such a way that their their reactivity is not impaired or affected. In the present study, ELISA was applied to sera from kampumbu area of Isoka district in the Northern province of Zambia. The objective of this presentation is to show the relative positivity rate for antigen and antibody and the endemicity of schistosomiasis and malaria as assessed by classical parasitological procedures. (author)

Control of tropical theileriosis (Theileria annulata infection in cattle in North Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Gharbi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Tropical theileriosis (Theileria annulata infection is a protozoan disease of cattle transmitted by Hyalomma ticks. This parasite is causing high losses in several countries in South Europe, North Africa and Asia. Indeed, both symptomatic and subclinical forms are present in infected animals causing live weight decrease, milk yield decrease, abortions and in some cases death. Due to its high medical and financial impact, the control of this disease is of paramount importance. It can be implemented through five control measures: (i treatment of infected animals with theilericidal drugs and other symptomatic treatments (this option is used for the treatment of animals and is insufficient to eradicate the parasite, (ii use of acaricides in animals which contain several side effects for humans, animals and the environment, (iii roughcasting and smoothing of the outer and inner surfaces of the cattle buildings for endophilic tick species (this control option is expensive but leads to the eradication of the parasite from the farm, (iv vaccination against ticks, a control option used with success against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus species but not still available for Hyalomma ticks and (v vaccination against the parasite with live attenuated vaccines. These control options were presented in the paper and their advantages and limits were discussed. The implementation of one (or more of these control options should take into account other considerations (social, political, etc.; they sometimes cause the failure of the control action.

The history of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) 1920-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Robert P; Ellis, L Susanne Squires; Kohler, Erwin M

2015-12-01

The following history has been compiled and written by the authors. The historical facts are available from the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases (CRWAD) archives, dating back to letters and summaries written by the founders, and by a few of the Secretary-Treasurers from the early decades through 2014. THE ORGANIZATION AND PURPOSE: The CRWAD is a non-profit organization and has been since its origin. The sole purpose of CRWAD is to discuss and disseminate the most current research advances in animal diseases. Graduate students and industry and academic professionals present and discuss the most recent advances on subjects of interest to the CRWAD and of importance to the global livestock and companion animal industries. The oral and poster abstracts of new and unpublished data presented at the meeting sessions are published each year in the CRWAD Proceedings (formerly the CRWAD Abstracts). CRWAD publishes, copyrights, and distributes the Proceedings. The presentations are arranged into the following 10 sections, according to the primary topic of the presentation: Bacterial Pathogenesis, Biosafety and Biosecurity, Companion Animal Epidemiology, Ecology and Management of Foodborne Agents, Epidemiology and Animal Health Economics, Immunology, Pathobiology of Enteric and Foodborne Pathogens, Respiratory Diseases, Vector-Borne and Parasitic Diseases, and Viral Pathogenesis. Prospective members should be actively engaged in animal disease research or research administration. Meeting information and membership applications may be obtained by contacting the Executive Director or by visiting the CRWAD website. Annual abstracts are currently available on-line at the On-line Meeting Planner and Itinerary Builder, with access through the CRWAD website.

Household Animal and Human Medicine Use and Animal Husbandry Practices in Rural Bangladesh: Risk Factors for Emerging Zoonotic Disease and Antibiotic Resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Roess, A A; Winch, P J; Akhter, A; Afroz, D; Ali, N A; Shah, R; Begum, N; Seraji, H R; El Arifeen, S; Darmstadt, G L; Baqui, A H

2015-11-01

Animal antimicrobial use and husbandry practices increase risk of emerging zoonotic disease and antibiotic resistance. We surveyed 700 households to elicit information on human and animal medicine use and husbandry practices. Households that owned livestock (n = 265/459, 57.7%) reported using animal treatments 630 times during the previous 6 months; 57.6% obtained medicines, including antibiotics, from drug sellers. Government animal healthcare providers were rarely visited (9.7%), and respondents more often sought animal health care from pharmacies and village doctors (70.6% and 11.9%, respectively), citing the latter two as less costly and more successful based on past performance. Animal husbandry practices that could promote the transmission of microbes from animals to humans included the following: the proximity of chickens to humans (50.1% of households reported that the chickens slept in the bedroom); the shared use of natural bodies of water for human and animal bathing (78.3%); the use of livestock waste as fertilizer (60.9%); and gender roles that dictate that females are the primary caretakers of poultry and children (62.8%). In the absence of an effective animal healthcare system, villagers must depend on informal healthcare providers for treatment of their animals. Suboptimal use of antimicrobials coupled with unhygienic animal husbandry practices is an important risk factor for emerging zoonotic disease and resistant pathogens. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Where to next with animal health in Latin America? The transition from endemic to disease-free status.

Science.gov (United States)

Rojas, H; Romero, J R

2017-04-01

The Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC) is a leading global producer and exporter of animal products. Its livestock production systems are diverse, ranging from large-scale commercial enterprises to family farms. Countries in this region have sought to improve their animal health status through both public and private efforts. Despite significant advances in eradicating such diseases as foot and mouth disease and classical swine fever, other animal health challenges remain; constraining exports, causing negative economic impacts and threatening food security. Obtaining certification of disease-free status is only the first step towards gaining benefits from improvements in animal health. Increasing international trade means that countries must manage the sustainability of their disease-free status in conjunction with trade partners and must comply with additional food safety and animal welfare standards. This paper comments on the challenges created by this new scenario in relation to the epidemiology and economics of animal health, when seeking to improve decisionmaking for animal health management. The authors characterise the current LAC livestock landscape and animal health situation, describing transitions in disease control and the use of economics in improving animal health. They conclude with remarks on the challenges presented by decision-making, economic rationality, sources of benefits, distribution and incentives.

Fundamental Moral Attitudes to Animals and Their Role in Judgment: An Empirical Model to Describe Fundamental Moral Attitudes to Animals and Their Role in Judgment on the Culling of Healthy Animals During an Animal Disease Epidemic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cohen, N.E.; Brom, F.W.A.; Stassen, E.N.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we present and defend the theoretical framework of an empirical model to describe people’s fundamental moral attitudes (FMAs) to animals, the stratification of FMAs in society and the role of FMAs in judgment on the culling of healthy animals in an animal disease epidemic. We used

Neglected Tropical Diseases and the Millennium Development Goals-why the "other diseases" matter: reality versus rhetoric

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Molyneux David H

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Since 2004 there has been an increased recognition of the importance of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs as impediments to development. These diseases are caused by a variety of infectious agents - viruses, bacteria and parasites - which cause a diversity of clinical conditions throughout the tropics. The World Health Organisation (WHO has defined seventeen of these conditions as core NTDs. The objectives for the control, elimination or eradication of these conditions have been defined in World Health Assembly resolutions whilst the strategies for the control or elimination of individual diseases have been defined in various WHO documents. Since 2005 there has been a drive for the expanded control of these diseases through an integrated approach of mass drug administration referred to as Preventive Chemotherapy via community-based distribution systems and through schools. This has been made possible by donations from major pharmaceutical companies of quality and efficacious drugs which have a proven track record of safety. As a result of the increased commitment of endemic countries, bilateral donors and non-governmental development organisations, there has been a considerable expansion of mass drug administration. In particular, programmes targeting lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, trachoma and soil transmitted helminth infections have expanded to treat 887. 8 million people in 2009. There has been significant progress towards guinea worm eradication, and the control of leprosy and human African trypanosomiasis. This paper responds to what the authors believe are inappropriate criticisms of these programmes and counters accusations of the motives of partners made in recently published papers. We provide a detailed response and update the information on the numbers of global treatments undertaken for NTDs and list the success stories to date. The paper acknowledges that in undertaking any health programme in

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Border disease has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Border disease to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of Border disease according to disease...

Tropical veterinary parasites at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Science.gov (United States)

Conn, David Bruce

2008-12-01

Tropical veterinary parasites have been maintained by the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) at Harvard University since the mid 1800s. Most of these are maintained by the Department of Invertebrate Zoology, but many vectors and intermediate hosts are maintained by the Departments of Entomology and Malacology. The largest collections are of avian and mammalian ticks (Acarina) that are important as both parasites and vectors. Nematodes are second in numbers, followed by cestodes, trematodes, and several minor helminth groups, crustacean parasites of fish, and protozoan parasites of various hosts. The MCZ directed or participated in several major expeditions to tropical areas around the globe in the early 1900s. Many of these expeditions focused on human parasites, but hundreds of veterinary and zoonotic parasites were also collected from these and numerous, smaller, tropical expeditions. Host sources include companion animals, livestock, laboratory species, domestic fowl, reptiles, amphibians, exotics/zoo animals, commercially important fishes, and other wildlife. Specimens are curated, either fixed whole in vials or mounted on slides as whole mounts or histopathological sections. The primary emphasis of MCZ's current work with tropical veterinary parasites is on voucher specimens from epidemiological, experimental, and clinical research.

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission: Monitoring the Global Tropics for 3 Years and Beyond. 1.1

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, Marshall; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) was launched in November 1997 as a joint U.S.-Japanese mission to advance understanding of the global energy and water cycle by providing distributions of rainfall and latent heating over the global tropics. As a part of NASA's Earth System Enterprise, TRMM seeks to understand the mechanisms through which changes in tropical rainfall influence global circulation. Additionally, a goal is to improve the ability to model these processes in order to predict global circulations and rainfall variability at monthly and longer time scales. Such understanding has implications for assessing climate processes related to El Nino/La Nina and Global Warming. TRMM has also provided unexpected and exciting new knowledge and applications in areas related to hurricane monitoring, lightning, pollution, hydrology, and other areas. This CD-ROM includes a self-contained PowerPoint presentation that provides an overview of TRMM and significant science results; a set of data movies or animation; and listings of current TRMM-related publications in the literature.

Transgenic animal models for study of the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease and therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Renbao; Liu, Xudong; Li, Shihua; Li, Xiao-Jiang

2015-01-01

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by a genetic mutation that results in polyglutamine expansion in the N-terminal regions of huntingtin. As a result, this polyQ expansion leads to the misfolding and aggregation of mutant huntingtin as well as age-dependent neurodegeneration. The genetic mutation in HD allows for generating a variety of animal models that express different forms of mutant huntingtin and show differential pathology. Studies of these animal models have provided an important insight into the pathogenesis of HD. Mouse models of HD include transgenic mice, which express N-terminal or full-length mutant huntingtin ubiquitously or selectively in different cell types, and knock-in mice that express full-length mutant Htt at the endogenous level. Large animals, such as pig, sheep, and monkeys, have also been used to generate animal HD models. This review focuses on the different features of commonly used transgenic HD mouse models as well as transgenic large animal models of HD, and also discusses how to use them to identify potential therapeutics. Since HD shares many pathological features with other neurodegenerative diseases, identification of therapies for HD would also help to develop effective treatment for different neurodegenerative diseases that are also caused by protein misfolding and occur in an age-dependent manner.

Malaria and Tropical Travel

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2008-05-15

Malaria is a serious mosquito-borne disease that can lead to death. This podcast discusses malaria risk when traveling to tropical areas, as well as how to protect yourself and your family from malaria infection.  Created: 5/15/2008 by National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED).   Date Released: 5/29/2008.

In Silico Chemogenomics Drug Repositioning Strategies for Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Carolina Horta; Neves, Bruno Junior; Melo-Filho, Cleber Camilo; Rodrigues, Juliana; Silva, Diego Cabral; Braga, Rodolpho Campos; Cravo, Pedro Vitor Lemos

2018-03-08

Only ~1% of all drug candidates against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) have reached clinical trials in the last decades, underscoring the need for new, safe and effective treatments. In such context, drug repositioning, which allows finding novel indications for approved drugs whose pharmacokinetic and safety profiles are already known, is emerging as a promising strategy for tackling NTDs. Chemogenomics is a direct descendent of the typical drug discovery process that involves the systematic screening of chemical compounds against drug targets in high-throughput screening (HTS) efforts, for the identification of lead compounds. However, different to the one-drug-one-target paradigm, chemogenomics attempts to identify all potential ligands for all possible targets and diseases. In this review, we summarize current methodological development efforts in drug repositioning that use state-of-the-art computational ligand- and structure-based chemogenomics approaches. Furthermore, we highlighted the recent progress in computational drug repositioning for some NTDs, based on curation and modeling of genomic, biological, and chemical data. Additionally, we also present in-house and other successful examples and suggest possible solutions to existing pitfalls. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Spontaneous appearance of Tay-Sachs disease in an animal model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, B J; Torres, P A; Viner, T C; Wang, Z H; Raghavan, S S; Alroy, J; Pastores, G M; Kolodny, E H

2008-01-01

Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder due to an autosomal recessively inherited deficiency of beta-hexosaminidase A (Hex A). Deficiency of Hex A in TSD is caused by a defect of the alpha-subunit resulting from mutations of the HEXA gene. To date, there is no effective treatment for TSD. Animal models of genetic diseases, similar to those known to exist in humans, are valuable and essential research tools for the study of potentially effective therapies. However, there is no ideal animal model of TSD available for use in therapeutic trials. In the present study, we report an animal model (American flamingo; Phoenicopterus ruber) of TSD with Hex A deficiency occurring spontaneously in nature, with accumulation of G(M2)-ganglioside, deficiency of Hex A enzymatic activity, and a homozygous P469L mutation in exon 12 of the hexa gene. In addition, we have isolated the full-length cDNA sequence of the flamingo, which consists of 1581 nucleotides encoding a protein of 527 amino acids. Its coding sequence indicates approximately 71% identity at the nucleotide level and about 72.5% identity at the amino acid level with the encoding region of the human HEXA gene. This animal model, with many of the same features as TSD in humans, could represent a valuable resource for investigating therapy of TSD.

Basal metabolism in tropical birds: Latitude, altitude, and the 'pace of life'

OpenAIRE

Londoño, GA; Chappell, MA; Castañeda, MDR; Jankowski, JE; Robinson, SK

2015-01-01

© 2014 The Authors. Life history varies across latitudes, with the 'pace of life' being 'slower' in tropical regions. Because life history is coupled to energy metabolism via allocation tradeoffs and links between performance capacity and energy use, low metabolic intensity is expected in tropical animals. Low metabolism has been reported for lowland tropical birds, but it is unclear if this is due to 'slow' life history or to a warm, stable environment. We measured basal metabolic rates (BMR...

Malaria and Tropical Travel

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

Malaria is a serious mosquito-borne disease that can lead to death. This podcast discusses malaria risk when traveling to tropical areas, as well as how to protect yourself and your family from malaria infection.

Diagnosis and epidemiology of animal diseases in Latin America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooling, A.

1998-01-01

Support for scientists and their endeavours in developing countries by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is provided through FAO/IAEA Co-ordinated Research Projects (CRP) and IAEA Technical Co-operation Projects (TCPs). Using these mechanisms the Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agricultural aims to encourage and improve the capacity of national institutions in developing countries to identify and resolve problems connected with improving livestock productivity and health. In 1986, the Section introduced and animal health component into its Project. The initial support was for five years but in 1991 this was extended for a further three years and linked with the support available from the IAEA's Technical Co-operation Project through national and regional TCPs and ARCAL activities in Latin America dealing with diagnosis of animal diseases. Central to this overall project ws the use of ELISA for the diagnosis and control of livestock diseases. FAO/IAEA CRPs are developed around a well defined research topic on which between 15 and 20 national institutes collaborate - the topic itself being defined through consultation with national authorities in developing and developed countries and international agricultural research centers and organizations. The primary role of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture in such programmes is to ensure that the inputs and efforts under these programmes are co-ordinated and that the results are published. The studies being reported in this IAEA TECDOC were initiated in 1991 and whilst the focus was on three major disease affecting livestock in the region (foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), brucellosis and babesiosis) the approach taken by individual Research Control holders was different and thus in some cases research concentrated on assay validation whilst in other cases the focus was on the

Animal genomics and infectious disease resistance in poultry.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, J; Gheyas, A; Burt, D W

2016-04-01

Avian pathogens are responsible for major costs to society, both in terms of huge economic losses to the poultry industry and their implications for human health. The health and welfare of millions of birds is under continued threat from many infectious diseases, some of which are increasing in virulence and thus becoming harder to control, such as Marek's disease virus and avian influenza viruses. The current era in animal genomics has seen huge developments in both technologies and resources, which means that researchers have never been in a better position to investigate the genetics of disease resistance and determine the underlying genes/mutations which make birds susceptible or resistant to infection. Avian genomics has reached a point where the biological mechanisms of infectious diseases can be investigated and understood in poultry and other avian species. Knowledge of genes conferring disease resistance can be used in selective breeding programmes or to develop vaccines which help to control the effects of these pathogens, which have such a major impact on birds and humans alike.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Oxidative Stress and Cardiovascular Disease: Lessons from Animal Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rio Dumitrascu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular (CV diseases such as arterial hypertension, heart failure, and stroke. Based on human research, sympathetic activation, inflammation, and oxidative stress are thought to play major roles in the pathophysiology of OSA-related CV diseases. Animal models of OSA have shown that endothelial dysfunction, vascular remodelling, and systemic and pulmonary arterial hypertension as well as heart failure can develop in response to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH. The available animal data are clearly in favour of oxidative stress playing a key role in the development of all of these CV manifestations of OSA. Presumably, the oxidative stress is due to an activation of NADPH oxidase and other free oxygen radicals producing enzymes within the CV system as evidenced by data from knockout mice and pharmacological interventions. It is hoped that animal models of OSA-related CV disease will continue to contribute to a deeper understanding of their underlying pathophysiology and will foster the way for the development of cardioprotective treatment options other than conventional CPAP therapy.

Highly dynamic animal contact network and implications on disease transmission

OpenAIRE

Shi Chen; Brad J. White; Michael W. Sanderson; David E. Amrine; Amiyaal Ilany; Cristina Lanzas

2014-01-01

Contact patterns among hosts are considered as one of the most critical factors contributing to unequal pathogen transmission. Consequently, networks have been widely applied in infectious disease modeling. However most studies assume static network structure due to lack of accurate observation and appropriate analytic tools. In this study we used high temporal and spatial resolution animal position data to construct a high-resolution contact network relevant to infectious disease transmissio...

Unraveling the disease consequences and mechanisms of modular structure in animal social networks

Science.gov (United States)

Sah, Pratha; Leu, Stephan T.; Cross, Paul C.; Hudson, Peter J.; Bansal, Shweta

2017-01-01

Disease risk is a potential cost of group living. Although modular organization is thought to reduce this cost in animal societies, empirical evidence toward this hypothesis has been conflicting. We analyzed empirical social networks from 43 animal species to motivate our study of the epidemiological consequences of modular structure in animal societies. From these empirical studies, we identified the features of interaction patterns associated with network modularity and developed a theoretical network model to investigate when and how subdivisions in social networks influence disease dynamics. Contrary to prior work, we found that disease risk is largely unaffected by modular structure, although social networks beyond a modular threshold experience smaller disease burden and longer disease duration. Our results illustrate that the lowering of disease burden in highly modular social networks is driven by two mechanisms of modular organization: network fragmentation and subgroup cohesion. Highly fragmented social networks with cohesive subgroups are able to structurally trap infections within a few subgroups and also cause a structural delay to the spread of disease outbreaks. Finally, we show that network models incorporating modular structure are necessary only when prior knowledge suggests that interactions within the population are highly subdivided. Otherwise, null networks based on basic knowledge about group size and local contact heterogeneity may be sufficient when data-limited estimates of epidemic consequences are necessary. Overall, our work does not support the hypothesis that modular structure universally mitigates the disease impact of group living.

[The design and development of a quality system for the diagnosis of exotic animal diseases at the National Centre for Animal and Plant Health in Cuba].

Science.gov (United States)

de Oca, N Montes; Villoch, A; Pérez Ruano, M

2004-12-01

A quality system for the diagnosis of exotic animal diseases was developed at the national centre for animal and plant health (CENSA), responsible for coordinating the clinical, epizootiological and laboratory diagnosis of causal agents of exotic animal diseases in Cuba. A model was designed on the basis of standard ISO 9001:2000 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), standard ISO/IEC 17025:1999 of ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission, recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and other regulatory documents from international and national organisations that deal specifically with the treatment of emerging diseases. Twenty-nine standardised operating procedures were developed, plus 13 registers and a checklist to facilitate the evaluation of the system. The effectiveness of the quality system was confirmed in the differential diagnosis of classical swine fever at an animal virology laboratory in Cuba.

Neglected tropical diseases in sub-saharan Africa: review of their prevalence, distribution, and disease burden.

Science.gov (United States)

Hotez, Peter J; Kamath, Aruna

2009-08-25

The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the most common conditions affecting the poorest 500 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and together produce a burden of disease that may be equivalent to up to one-half of SSA's malaria disease burden and more than double that caused by tuberculosis. Approximately 85% of the NTD disease burden results from helminth infections. Hookworm infection occurs in almost half of SSA's poorest people, including 40-50 million school-aged children and 7 million pregnant women in whom it is a leading cause of anemia. Schistosomiasis is the second most prevalent NTD after hookworm (192 million cases), accounting for 93% of the world's number of cases and possibly associated with increased horizontal transmission of HIV/AIDS. Lymphatic filariasis (46-51 million cases) and onchocerciasis (37 million cases) are also widespread in SSA, each disease representing a significant cause of disability and reduction in the region's agricultural productivity. There is a dearth of information on Africa's non-helminth NTDs. The protozoan infections, human African trypanosomiasis and visceral leishmaniasis, affect almost 100,000 people, primarily in areas of conflict in SSA where they cause high mortality, and where trachoma is the most prevalent bacterial NTD (30 million cases). However, there are little or no data on some very important protozoan infections, e.g., amebiasis and toxoplasmosis; bacterial infections, e.g., typhoid fever and non-typhoidal salmonellosis, the tick-borne bacterial zoonoses, and non-tuberculosis mycobaterial infections; and arboviral infections. Thus, the overall burden of Africa's NTDs may be severely underestimated. A full assessment is an important step for disease control priorities, particularly in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the greatest number of NTDs may occur.

Neglected tropical diseases in sub-saharan Africa: review of their prevalence, distribution, and disease burden.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J Hotez

Full Text Available The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs are the most common conditions affecting the poorest 500 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA, and together produce a burden of disease that may be equivalent to up to one-half of SSA's malaria disease burden and more than double that caused by tuberculosis. Approximately 85% of the NTD disease burden results from helminth infections. Hookworm infection occurs in almost half of SSA's poorest people, including 40-50 million school-aged children and 7 million pregnant women in whom it is a leading cause of anemia. Schistosomiasis is the second most prevalent NTD after hookworm (192 million cases, accounting for 93% of the world's number of cases and possibly associated with increased horizontal transmission of HIV/AIDS. Lymphatic filariasis (46-51 million cases and onchocerciasis (37 million cases are also widespread in SSA, each disease representing a significant cause of disability and reduction in the region's agricultural productivity. There is a dearth of information on Africa's non-helminth NTDs. The protozoan infections, human African trypanosomiasis and visceral leishmaniasis, affect almost 100,000 people, primarily in areas of conflict in SSA where they cause high mortality, and where trachoma is the most prevalent bacterial NTD (30 million cases. However, there are little or no data on some very important protozoan infections, e.g., amebiasis and toxoplasmosis; bacterial infections, e.g., typhoid fever and non-typhoidal salmonellosis, the tick-borne bacterial zoonoses, and non-tuberculosis mycobaterial infections; and arboviral infections. Thus, the overall burden of Africa's NTDs may be severely underestimated. A full assessment is an important step for disease control priorities, particularly in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the greatest number of NTDs may occur.

Animal viral diseases and global change: bluetongue and West Nile fever as paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez-Clavero, Miguel Á

2012-01-01

Environmental changes have an undoubted influence on the appearance, distribution, and evolution of infectious diseases, and notably on those transmitted by vectors. Global change refers to environmental changes arising from human activities affecting the fundamental mechanisms operating in the biosphere. This paper discusses the changes observed in recent times with regard to some important arboviral (arthropod-borne viral) diseases of animals, and the role global change could have played in these variations. Two of the most important arboviral diseases of animals, bluetongue (BT) and West Nile fever/encephalitis (WNF), have been selected as models. In both cases, in the last 15 years an important leap forward has been observed, which has lead to considering them emerging diseases in different parts of the world. BT, affecting domestic ruminants, has recently afflicted livestock in Europe in an unprecedented epizootic, causing enormous economic losses. WNF affects wildlife (birds), domestic animals (equines), and humans, thus, beyond the economic consequences of its occurrence, as a zoonotic disease, it poses an important public health threat. West Nile virus (WNV) has expanded in the last 12 years worldwide, and particularly in the Americas, where it first occurred in 1999, extending throughout the Americas relentlessly since then, causing a severe epidemic of disastrous consequences for public health, wildlife, and livestock. In Europe, WNV is known long time ago, but it is since the last years of the twentieth century that its incidence has risen substantially. Circumstances such as global warming, changes in land use and water management, increase in travel, trade of animals, and others, can have an important influence in the observed changes in both diseases. The following question is raised: What is the contribution of global changes to the current increase of these diseases in the world?

Animal viral diseases and global change: Bluetongue and West Nile fever as paradigms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Angel eJimenez-Clavero

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Environmental changes have an undoubted influence on the appearance, distribution and evolution of infectious diseases, and notably on those transmitted by vectors. Global change refers to environmental changes arising from human activities affecting the fundamental mechanisms operating in the biosphere. This paper discusses the changes observed in recent times with regard to some important arboviral (arthropod-borne viral diseases of animals, and the role global change could have played in these variations. Two of the most important arboviral diseases of animals, bluetongue and West Nile fever/encephalitis, have been selected as models. In both cases, in the last 15 years an important leap forward has been observed, which has lead to considering them emerging diseases in different parts of the world. Bluetongue, affecting domestic ruminants, has recently afflicted livestock in Europe in an unprecedented epizootic, causing enormous economic losses. West Nile fever/encephalitis affects wildlife (birds, domestic animals (equines and humans, thus, beyond the economic consequences of its occurrence, as a zoonotic disease, it poses an important public health threat. West Nile virus has expanded in the last 12 years worldwide, and particularly in the Americas, where it first occurred in 1999, extending throughout the Americas relentlessly since then, causing a severe epidemic of disastrous consequences for public health, wildlife and livestock. In Europe, West Nile virus is known long time ago, but it is since the last years of the XXth century that its incidence has risen substantially. Circumstances such as global warming, changes in land use and water management, increase in travel, trade of animals, and others, can have an important influence in the observed changes in both diseases. The following question is raised: What is the contribution of global changes to the current increase of these diseases in the world?

[Unconventional disease agents--a danger for humans and animals?].

Science.gov (United States)

Kaaden, O R

1994-02-01

The occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Great Britain in 1985/86, has focused again the public concern as well as scientific interest to the Scrapie disease of sheep and goat known more than 150 years. The agents of scrapie and BSE are characterized by unusual biological and physical-chemical properties, especially their high tenacity. Therefore, they are also designated "unconventional agents of viruses". Different theories have been proposed about their infectious characteristics--especially because of the apparent or real missing of an agent-specific nucleic acid--which are named Virinos, Prions or Nemavirus. The broad host range of Scrapie respective BSE, which includes domestic and wild ruminants, Suidae, Felidae, Mustelidae, small rodents, birds and non-primates, has created some concern since there might be an aetiological correlation between the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies of man (Creutzfeld-Jakob- and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker-Disease) and that of animals. Although at present neither epidemiological nor molecular biological evidence whatsoever was proved, the hypothesis cannot be completely disproved. The probability of infection through digestive tract seems to be rather unlikely but special precautions should be taken as far as production, investigation and application of human medicine drugs of animal origin. Furthermore, research about the aetiology of "unconventional agents" and pathogenesis of resulting diseases is necessary and should be intensified in Germany. Finally, only an early intra vitam-Diagnose and in vitro detection can avoid an further spread of this new category of diseases.

Mobile technologies for disease surveillance in humans and animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Mwabukusi, Mpoki; Karimuribo, Esron D; Rweyemamu, Mark M; Beda, Eric

2014-04-23

A paper-based disease reporting system has been associated with a number of challenges. These include difficulties to submit hard copies of the disease surveillance forms because of poor road infrastructure, weather conditions or challenging terrain, particularly in the developing countries. The system demands re-entry of the data at data processing and analysis points, thus making it prone to introduction of errors during this process. All these challenges contribute to delayed acquisition, processing and response to disease events occurring in remote hard to reach areas. Our study piloted the use of mobile phones in order to transmit near to real-time data from remote districts in Tanzania (Ngorongoro and Ngara), Burundi (Muyinga) and Zambia (Kazungula and Sesheke). Two technologies namely, digital and short messaging services were used to capture and transmit disease event data in the animal and human health sectors in the study areas based on a server-client model. Smart phones running the Android operating system (minimum required version: Android 1.6), and which supported open source application, Epicollect, as well as the Open Data Kit application, were used in the study. These phones allowed collection of geo-tagged data, with the opportunity of including static and moving images related to disease events. The project supported routine disease surveillance systems in the ministries responsible for animal and human health in Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as data collection for researchers at the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania. During the project implementation period between 2011 and 2013, a total number of 1651 diseases event-related forms were submitted, which allowed reporters to include GPS coordinates and photographs related to the events captured. It was concluded that the new technology-based surveillance system is useful in providing near to real-time data, with potential for enhancing timely response in rural remote areas of

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Borna disease has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Borna disease to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of Borna disease according to disease prevention...

How to become a top model: impact of animal experimentation on human Salmonella disease research.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsolis, Renée M; Xavier, Mariana N; Santos, Renato L; Bäumler, Andreas J

2011-05-01

Salmonella serotypes are a major cause of human morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over the past decades, a series of animal models have been developed to advance vaccine development, provide insights into immunity to infection, and study the pathogenesis of human Salmonella disease. The successive introduction of new animal models, each suited to interrogate previously neglected aspects of Salmonella disease, has ushered in important conceptual advances that continue to have a strong and sustained influence on the ideas driving research on Salmonella serotypes. This article reviews important milestones in the use of animal models to study human Salmonella disease and identify research needs to guide future work.

Animal models for human genetic diseases | Sharif | African Journal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study of human genetic diseases can be greatly aided by animal models because of their similarity to humans in terms of genetics. In addition to understand diverse aspects of basic biology, model organisms are extensively used in applied research in agriculture, industry, and also in medicine, where they are used to ...

Heterocyclic N-oxides - A Promising Class of Agents Against Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Dos Santos Fernandes, Guilherme Felipe; Pavan, Aline Renata; Dos Santos, Jean Leandro

2018-04-17

Heterocyclic N-oxides have emerged as promising agents against a number of diseases and disorders, especially infectious diseases. This review analyzes the emergence and development of this scaffold in the medicinal chemistry, focusing mainly on the discovery of new heterocyclic N-oxide compounds with potent activity against tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases (i.e. leishmaniasis and Chagas disease). A number of heterocyclic N-oxide are described herein, nevertheless, the following chemical classes deserve to be highlighted due to the large number of reports in the literature about their promising pharmacological effects: furoxan, benzofuroxan, quinoxaline 1,4-di-N-oxide, indolone N-oxide and benzimidazole N-oxide. In order to describe those most promising compounds, we included in this review only those most biologically active heterocyclic N-oxide published since 2000. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Disease Risk Assessments Involving Companion Animals : an Overview for 15 Selected Pathogens Taking a European Perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijks, J M|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/151266093; Cito, F; Cunningham, A A; Rantsios, A T; Giovannini, A

Prioritization of companion animal transmissible diseases was performed by the Companion Animals multisectoriaL interprofessionaL Interdisciplinary Strategic Think tank On zoonoses (CALLISTO) project. The project considered diseases occurring in domesticated species commonly kept as pets, such as

MeCP2-Related Diseases and Animal Models

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Chinelo D. Ezeonwuka

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The role of epigenetics in human disease has become an area of increased research interest. Collaborative efforts from scientists and clinicians have led to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which epigenetic regulation is involved in the pathogenesis of many human diseases. Several neurological and non-neurological disorders are associated with mutations in genes that encode for epigenetic factors. One of the most studied proteins that impacts human disease and is associated with deregulation of epigenetic processes is Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2. MeCP2 is an epigenetic regulator that modulates gene expression by translating epigenetic DNA methylation marks into appropriate cellular responses. In order to highlight the importance of epigenetics to development and disease, we will discuss how MeCP2 emerges as a key epigenetic player in human neurodevelopmental, neurological, and non-neurological disorders. We will review our current knowledge on MeCP2-related diseases, including Rett Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Hirschsprung disease, and Cancer. Additionally, we will briefly discuss about the existing MeCP2 animal models that have been generated for a better understanding of how MeCP2 impacts certain human diseases.

[Tropical chronic pancreatitis in a young patient].

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, J; Ginard, D; Barranco, L; Riera, J; Obrador, A

2001-11-01

Tropical chronic pancreatitis is a form of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis that has not previously been described in Spain. Typically it is related to dietary factors and malnutrition, although genetic factors may also play a significant role in the development of the disease. We report a case of chronic tropical pancreatitis in a 27-year-old woman from the Dominican Republic domiciled in Spain since 1992. The patient was admitted to our hospital for acute pancreatitis that fulfilled the diagnostic criteria (clinical and radiological) for chronic tropical pancreatitis. This case has led us to review this uncommon entity. Because of the increasing number of immigrants from tropical countries, chronic tropical pancreatitis will probably need to be taken into account in the differential diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis in our patients.

Beyond bushmeat: animal contact, injury, and zoonotic disease risk in Western Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Paige, Sarah B; Frost, Simon D W; Gibson, Mhairi A; Jones, James Holland; Shankar, Anupama; Switzer, William M; Ting, Nelson; Goldberg, Tony L

2014-12-01

Zoonotic pathogens cause an estimated 70% of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in humans. In sub-Saharan Africa, bushmeat hunting and butchering is considered the primary risk factor for human-wildlife contact and zoonotic disease transmission, particularly for the transmission of simian retroviruses. However, hunting is only one of many activities in sub-Saharan Africa that bring people and wildlife into contact. Here, we examine human-animal interaction in western Uganda, identifying patterns of injuries from animals and contact with nonhuman primates. Additionally, we identify individual-level risk factors associated with contact. Nearly 20% (246/1,240) of participants reported either being injured by an animal or having contact with a primate over their lifetimes. The majority (51.7%) of injuries were dog bites that healed with no long-term medical consequences. The majority (76.8%) of 125 total primate contacts involved touching a carcass; however, butchering (20%), hunting (10%), and touching a live primate (10%) were also reported. Red colobus (Piliocolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles) accounted for most primate contact events. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that men who live adjacent to forest fragments are at elevated risk of animal contact and specifically primate contact. Our results provide a useful comparison to West and Central Africa where "bushmeat hunting" is the predominant paradigm for human-wildlife contact and zoonotic disease transmission.

Role of Biotechnology in Animal Production Systems in Hot Climates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. J. Hansen

1996-01-01

Full Text Available Developments in the biological sciences in the last three decades have revolutionized mankind's ability to manipulate the genetics, cell biology and physiology of biological organisms. These techniques, collectively termed biotechnology, create the opportunity for modifying domestic animals in ways that markedly increase the efficiency of production. Among the procedures being developed for animal production systems are marker-assisted selection of specific alleles of a gene that are associated with high production, production of transgenic animals , super ovulation and embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, embryo sexing and cloning, production of large amounts of previously-rare proteins through use of genetically -engineered bacteria or other cells, and identification of new biologically-active molecules as potential regulators of animal function. To date, most uses of biotechnology have concentrated on problems of general relevance to animal agriculture rather than specific problems related to livestock production in hot climates. However, it is likely that biotechnology will be used for this latter purpose also. Strategies to increase disease resistance using marker-assisted selection, production of transgenic animals expressing viral proteins, and recombinant cytokines to enhance immune function should prove useful to reducing the incidence and seventy of various tropical diseases. Additionally, there are methods to reduce effects of heat stress on oestrus detection and establishment of pregnancy. These include remote sensing of oestrus, ovulation synchronization systems and embryo transfer. More research regarding the physiological processes determining heat tolerance and of the pathways through which heat stress alters physiological function will be required before molecular biology techniques can be used to reduce the adverse effects of heat stress on animal production.

The Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (CTVM) pulling its weight in the field of draught animal research.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, R A; Lawrence, P R; Smith, A J

1996-02-01

Draught animal research carried out by scientists at the Centre for Topical Veterinary Medicine (CTVM) in Edinburgh and overseas is reviewed and the major findings are reported. The remit for the work has been to provide basic information on draught animals which can be applied by researchers and extension workers to their own geographic situations. Instrumentation is described which has been designed and manufactured to assist in the measurement of draught animal performance, particularly work output and energy consumption. Energy requirements of cattle, buffaloes and equids for work and ways in which these can be met from feed intake and body reserves reported. Studies on heat stress and diseases, 2 of the constraints to work performance, are also described.

Taking the Lab into the Field. Nuclear Applications Rapidly Diagnose Animal Disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potterton, Louise

2012-01-01

Livestock supports the livelihoods and food security of almost a billion people worldwide. As populations increase, countries not only need to increase livestock production, but also need more efficient tools for the prevention, diagnosis and control of animal diseases. Nuclear and nuclear-related technologies have an essential role to play in maintaining animal health and protecting vulnerable communities.

European cloth and "tropical" skin: clothing material and British ideas of health and hygiene in tropical climates.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ryan

2009-01-01

As Britain's imperial and colonial ambitions intensified toward the end of the nineteenth century, the preservation of white European health in tropical climates became an increasingly important concern. Since at least the seventeenth century, the "tropics" had been seen as spaces holding vast potential wealth but also death and disease. To combat these deadly but desirable landscapes, the British built a considerable commodity culture around the preservation of white European health, and for many, tropical clothing was one of the most important and essential items in their "kits." This article investigates the composition and use of such clothing in relation to British ideas of health and hygiene in tropical climates. First, it considers debates that ensued over the best material--wool, cotton, linen, silk, or a combination of these materials--and the role of "black" skin and local practice in the development of tropical clothing. Second, it demonstrates the importance of location in any discussion of tropical medicine and hygiene, and the tension and ambiguity that still surrounded British ideas of health and hygiene in the tropical colonies. Third, it argues that tropical clothing was important in the maintenance of climatic etiologies despite advances in parasitology and sanitary science. Finally, it considers the relationship of tropical clothing to the formation of a unique colonial identity. To British men and women embarking for any number of tropical destinations, proper clothing was not a banal and mundane component of their outfitting. For many, the clothing signified a departure from the safe and "civil" climes of Britain for adventure in the expanding tropical empire.

Early-life stress origins of gastrointestinal disease: animal models, intestinal pathophysiology, and translational implications

Science.gov (United States)

Pohl, Calvin S.; Medland, Julia E.

2015-01-01

Early-life stress and adversity are major risk factors in the onset and severity of gastrointestinal (GI) disease in humans later in life. The mechanisms by which early-life stress leads to increased GI disease susceptibility in adult life remain poorly understood. Animal models of early-life stress have provided a foundation from which to gain a more fundamental understanding of this important GI disease paradigm. This review focuses on animal models of early-life stress-induced GI disease, with a specific emphasis on translational aspects of each model to specific human GI disease states. Early postnatal development of major GI systems and the consequences of stress on their development are discussed in detail. Relevant translational differences between species and models are highlighted. PMID:26451004

Animal Production and Health Newsletter. No. 15

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-12-01

This newsletter contains brief reviews of the meetings held between September and November, 1991, and a list of the nine co-ordinated research projects (CRPs) organized by the Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division is given. A tenth CRP, focussing on the development of supplementation strategies for milk-producing animals in tropical and subtropical environments, is currently being planned. Developments at the Animal Production Unit of the IAEA Laboratory, Seibersdorf are detailed

Eliminating the Neglected Tropical Diseases: Translational Science and New Technologies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J Hotez

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Today, the World Health Organization recognizes 17 major parasitic and related infections as the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs. Despite recent gains in the understanding of the nature and prevalence of NTDs, as well as successes in recent scaled-up preventive chemotherapy strategies and other health interventions, the NTDs continue to rank among the world's greatest global health problems. For virtually all of the NTDs (including those slated for elimination under the auspices of a 2012 London Declaration for NTDs and a 2013 World Health Assembly resolution [WHA 66.12], additional control mechanisms and tools are needed, including new NTD drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and vector control agents and strategies. Elimination will not be possible without these new tools. Here we summarize some of the key challenges in translational science to develop and introduce these new technologies in order to ensure success in global NTD elimination efforts.

Computational Prediction of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease MicroRNAs in Domestic Animals

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Hai Yang Wang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available As the most common neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s disease (AD and Parkinson’s disease (PD are two of the main health concerns for the elderly population. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs have been used as biomarkers of infectious, genetic, and metabolic diseases in humans but they have not been well studied in domestic animals. Here we describe a computational biology study in which human AD- and PD-associated miRNAs (ADM and PDM were utilized to predict orthologous miRNAs in the following domestic animal species: dog, cow, pig, horse, and chicken. In this study, a total of 121 and 70 published human ADM and PDM were identified, respectively. Thirty-seven miRNAs were co-regulated in AD and PD. We identified a total of 105 unrepeated human ADM and PDM that had at least one 100% identical animal homolog, among which 81 and 54 showed 100% sequence identity with 241 and 161 domestic animal miRNAs, respectively. Over 20% of the total mature horse miRNAs (92 showed perfect matches to AD/PD-associated miRNAs. Pigs, dogs, and cows have similar numbers of AD/PD-associated miRNAs (63, 62, and 59. Chickens had the least number of perfect matches (34. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG pathway analyses suggested that humans and dogs are relatively similar in the functional pathways of the five selected highly conserved miRNAs. Taken together, our study provides the first evidence for better understanding the miRNA-AD/PD associations in domestic animals, and provides guidance to generate domestic animal models of AD/PD to replace the current rodent models.

Transgenic animal models for study of the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease and therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang RB

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Renbao Chang,1 Xudong Liu,1 Shihua Li,2 Xiao-Jiang Li1,2 1State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA Abstract: Huntington’s disease (HD is caused by a genetic mutation that results in polyglutamine expansion in the N-terminal regions of huntingtin. As a result, this polyQ expansion leads to the misfolding and aggregation of mutant huntingtin as well as age-dependent neurodegeneration. The genetic mutation in HD allows for generating a variety of animal models that express different forms of mutant huntingtin and show differential pathology. Studies of these animal models have provided an important insight into the pathogenesis of HD. Mouse models of HD include transgenic mice, which express N-terminal or full-length mutant huntingtin ubiquitously or selectively in different cell types, and knock-in mice that express full-length mutant Htt at the endogenous level. Large animals, such as pig, sheep, and monkeys, have also been used to generate animal HD models. This review focuses on the different features of commonly used transgenic HD mouse models as well as transgenic large animal models of HD, and also discusses how to use them to identify potential therapeutics. Since HD shares many pathological features with other neurodegenerative diseases, identification of therapies for HD would also help to develop effective treatment for different neurodegenerative diseases that are also caused by protein misfolding and occur in an age-dependent manner. Keywords: transgenic animal models, Huntington’s disease, pathogenesis, therapy

From animal models to human disease: a genetic approach for personalized medicine in ALS.

Science.gov (United States)

Picher-Martel, Vincent; Valdmanis, Paul N; Gould, Peter V; Julien, Jean-Pierre; Dupré, Nicolas

2016-07-11

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is the most frequent motor neuron disease in adults. Classical ALS is characterized by the death of upper and lower motor neurons leading to progressive paralysis. Approximately 10 % of ALS patients have familial form of the disease. Numerous different gene mutations have been found in familial cases of ALS, such as mutations in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), fused in sarcoma (FUS), C9ORF72, ubiquilin-2 (UBQLN2), optineurin (OPTN) and others. Multiple animal models were generated to mimic the disease and to test future treatments. However, no animal model fully replicates the spectrum of phenotypes in the human disease and it is difficult to assess how a therapeutic effect in disease models can predict efficacy in humans. Importantly, the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of ALS leads to a variety of responses to similar treatment regimens. From this has emerged the concept of personalized medicine (PM), which is a medical scheme that combines study of genetic, environmental and clinical diagnostic testing, including biomarkers, to individualized patient care. In this perspective, we used subgroups of specific ALS-linked gene mutations to go through existing animal models and to provide a comprehensive profile of the differences and similarities between animal models of disease and human disease. Finally, we reviewed application of biomarkers and gene therapies relevant in personalized medicine approach. For instance, this includes viral delivering of antisense oligonucleotide and small interfering RNA in SOD1, TDP-43 and C9orf72 mice models. Promising gene therapies raised possibilities for treating differently the major mutations in familial ALS cases.

Cutaneous larva migrans – a threat to divers in the tropics

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Olszański Romuald

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents a dermatosis that occurs in tropical and subtropical countries. Though the definitive hosts of the cutaneous larva migrans parasite are animals, humans can become accidental hosts and they are infected when their skin comes into contact with damp soil, most frequently sand. The disease is only present in the epidermis where an itch is brought about by the mining activity of the larva. Sunbathers and divers who put on their gear on a beach, on account of the epidermis maceration caused by a prolonged exposure to water, are particularly susceptible to the penetrative activities of the larva. In Poland the cutaneous larva migrans is in most cases mistaken for nettle rash or eczema.

Animal models of gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Animal models of infant short bowel syndrome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sangild, Per Torp; Ney, Denise M; Sigalet, David L

2014-01-01

enterocolitis, atresia, gastroschisis, volvulus and aganglionosis. Patient outcomes have improved, but there is a need to develop new therapies for SBS and to understand intestinal adaptation after different diseases, resection types, nutritional interventions and growth factor therapies. Animal studies may......, newborn pigs and weanling rats represent a translational advantage for infant SBS due to their immature intestine. A balance among practical, economical, experimental and ethical constraints determines the choice of SBS model for each clinical or basic research question....

Leptospirosis on captive wild animals in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, Anahi S; Lilenbaum, Walter

2017-12-01

Leptospirosis is a worldwide bacterial infection, being more prevalent in tropical regions. Human beings, domestic animals and wildlife species are susceptible to a wide variety of serovars. Zoos have a great importance in keeping endangered species, increasing populations and accumulating knowledge on these species. Although some studies describe the occurrence of leptospirosis in captivity animals, a systematic review regarding the infection in these animals in tropical areas has never been conducted. Thus, the objective of this study was to systematically gather and analyze data regarding leptospirosis among captive wild animals in Latin America. A total of 141 species were studied, 93 genus, 44 families and 15 orders from three classes. Median seroprevalence ranged from 0 to 52% and predominant serogroups were Canicola and Icterohaemorrhagiae for mammalian, and Sejroe for reptiles. One important outcome is that, when kept on zoos, wildlife is more frequently infected by incidental strains instead of adapted strains. Preventive measures should consider periodic serosurvey of all animal species in captivity, as well as the use of commercial vaccines to reduce leptospiral infection and its hazards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International Journal of Tropical Agriculture and Food Systems ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Manuscript should be typed on white A4 paper, double-spaced with wide margin. ... Anyanwu, G. A., Esonu, B. O., Iwuala, F., Okorie, K. and Etuk, E. B. (2003). ... Books: Payne, W. J. A. (1990). An introduction to animal husbandry in the tropics.

Tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri as a novel laboratory disease animal model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji Xiao

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri is a promising laboratory animal that possesses a closer genetic relationship to primates than to rodents. In addition, advantages such as small size, easy breeding, and rapid reproduction make the tree shrew an ideal subject for the study of human disease. Numerous tree shrew disease models have been generated in biological and medical studies in recent years. Here we summarize current tree shrew disease models, including models of infectious diseases, cancers, depressive disorders, drug addiction, myopia, metabolic diseases, and immune-related diseases. With the success of tree shrew transgenic technology, this species will be increasingly used in biological and medical studies in the future.

Emerging Animal Parasitic Diseases: A Global Overview and Appropriate Strategies for their Monitoring and Surveillance in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Atehmengo, Ngongeh L; Nnagbo, Chiejina S

2014-01-01

Emerging animal parasitic diseases are reviewed and appropriate strategies for efficient monitoring and surveillance in Nigeria are outlined. Animal and human parasitic infections are distinguished. Emerging diseases have been described as those diseases that are being recognised for the first time or diseases that are already recorded but their frequency and/or geographic range is being increased tremendously. Emergence of new diseases may be due to a number of factors such as the spread of a new infectious agent, recognition of an infection that has been in existence but undiagnosed, or when it is realised that an established disease has an infectious origin. The terms could also be used to describe the resurgence of a known infection after its incidence had been known to have declined. Emerging infections are compounding the control of infectious diseases and huge resources are being channeled to alleviate the rising challenge. The diseases are numerous and include helminth, protozoal / rickettsial and entomological. A list of parasitic emerging diseases in Nigeria is included. Globally occurring emerging parasitic diseases are also outlined. Emerging and re-emerging infections can be brought about by many factors including climate change and global warming, changes in biodiversity, population mobility, movement of animals, globalisation of commerce/trade and food supply, social and cultural factors such as food eating habits, religious beliefs, farming practices, trade of infected healthy animals, reduction in the available land for animals, immune-suppressed host and host density and misuse or over use of some drugs leading to drug resistance.

Emerging Animal Parasitic Diseases: A Global Overview and Appropriate Strategies for their Monitoring and Surveillance in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Atehmengo, Ngongeh L; Nnagbo, Chiejina S

2014-01-01

Emerging animal parasitic diseases are reviewed and appropriate strategies for efficient monitoring and surveillance in Nigeria are outlined. Animal and human parasitic infections are distinguished. Emerging diseases have been described as those diseases that are being recognised for the first time or diseases that are already recorded but their frequency and/or geographic range is being increased tremendously. Emergence of new diseases may be due to a number of factors such as the spread of a new infectious agent, recognition of an infection that has been in existence but undiagnosed, or when it is realised that an established disease has an infectious origin. The terms could also be used to describe the resurgence of a known infection after its incidence had been known to have declined. Emerging infections are compounding the control of infectious diseases and huge resources are being channeled to alleviate the rising challenge. The diseases are numerous and include helminth, protozoal / rickettsial and entomological. A list of parasitic emerging diseases in Nigeria is included. Globally occurring emerging parasitic diseases are also outlined. Emerging and re-emerging infections can be brought about by many factors including climate change and global warming, changes in biodiversity, population mobility, movement of animals, globalisation of commerce/trade and food supply, social and cultural factors such as food eating habits, religious beliefs, farming practices, trade of infected healthy animals, reduction in the available land for animals, immune-suppressed host and host density and misuse or over use of some drugs leading to drug resistance. PMID:25328553

Early-life stress origins of gastrointestinal disease: animal models, intestinal pathophysiology, and translational implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Pohl, Calvin S; Medland, Julia E; Moeser, Adam J

2015-12-15

Early-life stress and adversity are major risk factors in the onset and severity of gastrointestinal (GI) disease in humans later in life. The mechanisms by which early-life stress leads to increased GI disease susceptibility in adult life remain poorly understood. Animal models of early-life stress have provided a foundation from which to gain a more fundamental understanding of this important GI disease paradigm. This review focuses on animal models of early-life stress-induced GI disease, with a specific emphasis on translational aspects of each model to specific human GI disease states. Early postnatal development of major GI systems and the consequences of stress on their development are discussed in detail. Relevant translational differences between species and models are highlighted. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Mobile technologies for disease surveillance in humans and animals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mpoki Mwabukusi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A paper-based disease reporting system has been associated with a number of challenges. These include difficulties to submit hard copies of the disease surveillance forms because of poor road infrastructure, weather conditions or challenging terrain, particularly in the developing countries. The system demands re-entry of the data at data processing and analysis points, thus making it prone to introduction of errors during this process. All these challenges contribute to delayed acquisition, processing and response to disease events occurring in remote hard to reach areas. Our study piloted the use of mobile phones in order to transmit near to real-time data from remote districts in Tanzania (Ngorongoro and Ngara, Burundi (Muyinga and Zambia (Kazungula and Sesheke. Two technologies namely, digital and short messaging services were used to capture and transmit disease event data in the animal and human health sectors in the study areas based on a server–client model. Smart phones running the Android operating system (minimum required version: Android 1.6, and which supported open source application, Epicollect, as well as the Open Data Kit application, were used in the study. These phones allowed collection of geo-tagged data, with the opportunity of including static and moving images related to disease events. The project supported routine disease surveillance systems in the ministries responsible for animal and human health in Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as data collection for researchers at the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania. During the project implementation period between 2011 and 2013, a total number of 1651 diseases event-related forms were submitted, which allowed reporters to include GPS coordinates and photographs related to the events captured. It was concluded that the new technology-based surveillance system is useful in providing near to real-time data, with potential for enhancing

Basal metabolism in tropical birds: latitude, altitude, and the ‘pace of life’

OpenAIRE

Londoño, Gustavo Adolfo

2015-01-01

Life history varies across latitudes, with the ‘pace of life’ being ‘slower’ in tropical regions. Because life history is coupled to energy metabolism via allocation tradeoffs and links between performance capacity and energy use, low metabolic intensity is expected in tropical animals. Low metabolism has been reported for lowland tropical birds, but it is unclear if this is due to ‘slow’ life history or to a warm, stable environment. We measured basal metabolic rates (BMR) of 253 bird spe...

[A case of relapsing iridocyclitis in tropical malaria].

Science.gov (United States)

Kravchinina, V V; Dushin, N V; Beliaev, V S; Barashkov, V I; Gonchar, P A; Frolov, M A

1997-01-01

An African student developed bilateral relapsing iridocyclitis with increased intraocular pressure. General examinations and parasitological studies revealed tropical malaria. Etiotropic and local therapy normalized intraocular pressure and improved vision acuity of both eyes. This case should be borne in mind by general practitioners as a possibility of transportation of various tropical diseases.

In vitro propagation of tropical hardwood tree species — A review (2001-2011)

Science.gov (United States)

Paula M. Pijut; Rochelle R. Beasley; Shaneka S. Lawson; Kaitlin J. Palla; Micah E. Stevens; Ying. Wang

2012-01-01

Tropical hardwood tree species are important economically and ecologically, and play a significant role in the biodiversity of plant and animal species within an ecosystem. There are over 600 species of tropical timbers in the world, many of which are commercially valuable in the international trade of plywood, roundwood, sawnwood, and veneer. Many of these tree...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of LPAI to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of LPAI according to disease...

Neglected tropical diseases, neglected data sources, and neglected issues.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burton H Singer

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Lymphatic filariasis (LF is a so-called neglected tropical disease, currently overshadowed by higher-profile efforts to address malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. Despite recent successes in arresting transmission, some 40 million people who already have the disease have been largely neglected. This study aims to increase understanding of how this vulnerable, neglected group can be helped. METHODS: We used purposive sampling to select 60 men and women with filarial lymphoedema (45 with filarial elephantiasis and 15 men with filarial hydrocoele from the south of Sri Lanka in 2004-2005. Participants were selected to give a balance of men and women and poor and nonpoor, and a range of stages of the disease. Participants' experiences and the consequences of their disease for the household were explored with in-depth qualitative, semistructured interviews. FINDINGS: LF was extremely debilitating to participants over long periods of time. The stigma attached to the condition caused social isolation and emotional distress, and delayed diagnosis and treatment, resulting in undue advancement of the disease. Free treatment services at government clinics were avoided because the participants' condition would be identifiable in public. Loss of income due to the condition was reported by all households in the sample, not just the poorest. Households that were already on low incomes were pushed into near destitution, from which it was almost impossible to escape. Affected members of low-income households also had less opportunity to obtain appropriate treatment from distant clinics, and had living and working conditions that made hygiene and compliance difficult. SIGNIFICANCE: This highly vulnerable category of patients has low visibility, thus becoming marginalized and forgotten. With an estimated 300,000 total cases of elephantiasis and/or oedema in Sri Lanka, and around 300,000 men with filarial hydrocoele, the affected households will need

Optogenetic approaches to evaluate striatal function in animal models of Parkinson disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Krystal L; Kim, Youngcho; Alberico, Stephanie L; Emmons, Eric B; Narayanan, Nandakumar S

2016-03-01

Optogenetics refers to the ability to control cells that have been genetically modified to express light-sensitive ion channels. The introduction of optogenetic approaches has facilitated the dissection of neural circuits. Optogenetics allows for the precise stimulation and inhibition of specific sets of neurons and their projections with fine temporal specificity. These techniques are ideally suited to investigating neural circuitry underlying motor and cognitive dysfunction in animal models of human disease. Here, we focus on how optogenetics has been used over the last decade to probe striatal circuits that are involved in Parkinson disease, a neurodegenerative condition involving motor and cognitive abnormalities resulting from degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. The precise mechanisms underlying the striatal contribution to both cognitive and motor dysfunction in Parkinson disease are unknown. Although optogenetic approaches are somewhat removed from clinical use, insight from these studies can help identify novel therapeutic targets and may inspire new treatments for Parkinson disease. Elucidating how neuronal and behavioral functions are influenced and potentially rescued by optogenetic manipulation in animal models could prove to be translatable to humans. These insights can be used to guide future brain-stimulation approaches for motor and cognitive abnormalities in Parkinson disease and other neuropsychiatric diseases.

Effects of the thermal environment on animal production in the tropics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertshaw, D.

1986-01-01

The problems of heat stress in animal production can be solved by an interdisciplinary approach whereby the engineer, animal scientist and animal physiologist can all interact. By understanding the principles associated with heat flow between an animal and its environment it is possible to predict the potential success of an animal production system. This review analyses the nature of the thermal environment and the way in which it can affect production. Methods for alleviating heat stress are also described. (author)

Prioritizing Zoonotic Diseases: Differences in Perspectives Between Human and Animal Health Professionals in North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, V; Sargeant, J M

2016-05-01

Zoonoses pose a significant burden of illness in North America. Zoonoses represent an additional threat to public health because the natural reservoirs are often animals, particularly wildlife, thus eluding control efforts such as quarantine, vaccination and social distancing. As there are limited resources available, it is necessary to prioritize diseases in order to allocate resources to those posing the greatest public health threat. Many studies have attempted to prioritize zoonoses, but challenges exist. This study uses a quantitative approach, conjoint analysis (CA), to overcome some limitations of traditional disease prioritization exercises. We used CA to conduct a zoonoses prioritization study involving a range of human and animal health professionals across North America; these included epidemiologists, public health practitioners, research scientists, physicians, veterinarians, laboratory technicians and nurses. A total of 699 human health professionals (HHP) and 585 animal health professionals (AHP) participated in this study. We used CA to prioritize 62 zoonotic diseases using 21 criteria. Our findings suggest CA can be used to produce reasonable criteria scores for disease prioritization. The fitted models were satisfactory for both groups with a slightly better fit for AHP compared to HHP (84.4% certainty fit versus 83.6%). Human-related criteria were more influential for HHP in their decision to prioritize zoonoses, while animal-related criteria were more influential for AHP resulting in different disease priority lists. While the differences were not statistically significant, a difference of one or two ranks could be considered important for some individuals. A potential solution to address the varying opinions is discussed. The scientific framework for disease prioritization presented can be revised on a regular basis by updating disease criteria to reflect diseases as they evolve over time; such a framework is of value allowing diseases of

Importance of adaptation and genotype × environment interactions in tropical beef breeding systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Burrow, H M

2012-05-01

This paper examines the relative importance of productive and adaptive traits in beef breeding systems based on Bos taurus and tropically adapted breeds across temperate and (sub)tropical environments. In the (sub)tropics, differences that exist between breeds in temperate environments are masked by the effects of environmental stressors. Hence in tropical environments, breeds are best categorised into breed types to compare their performance across environments. Because of the presence of environmental stressors, there are more sources of genetic variation in tropical breeding programmes. It is therefore necessary to examine the genetic basis of productive and adaptive traits for breeding programmes in those environments. This paper reviews the heritabilities and genetic relationships between economically important productive and adaptive traits relevant to (sub)tropical breeding programmes. It is concluded that it is possible to simultaneously genetically improve productive and adaptive traits in tropically adapted breeds of beef cattle grazed in tropical environments without serious detrimental consequences for either adaptation or production. However, breed-specific parameters are required for genetic evaluations. The paper also reviews the magnitude of genotype × environment (G × E) interactions impacting on production and adaptation of cattle, where 'genotype' is defined as breed (within a crossbreeding system), sire within breed (in a within-breed selection programme) or associations between economically important traits and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs - within a marker-assisted selection programme). It is concluded that re-ranking of breeds across environments is best managed by the use of the breed type(s) best suited to the particular production environment. Re-ranking of sires across environments is apparent in poorly adapted breed types across extreme tropical and temperate environments or where breeding animals are selected in a temperate

Tropical Agroecosystems: These habitats are misunderstood by the temperate zones, mismanaged by the tropics.

Science.gov (United States)

Janzen, D H

1973-12-21

require a great deal of pantropical information exchange. This information exchange will cost a great deal of resource, not only in travel funds and support of on-site study, but in insurance policies for the countries that are willing to take the risk of trying to change from an exploitative agroecosystem to an SYTA. For such an experiment to be sociologically successful, it will require a complete change in tropical educational systems, from emphasizing descriptions of events as they now stand, to emphasizing analysis of why things happen the way they do. This will also be very expensive, not only in retreading the technology and mind-sets of current teaching programs, but in gathering the facts on why the tropics have met their current fate. There is a surfeit of biological and agricultural reports dealing with ecological experiments and generalities which suggest that such and such will be the outcome if such and such form of resource harvest is attempted. It is clear that human desiderata regarding a particular site are often radically different from the needs of the "average" wild animals and plants that formed the basis for such experiments and generalities. A finely tuned SYTA will come close to providing a unique solution for each region. The generalities that will rule it are highly stochastic. The more tropical the region, the more evenly weighted the suboutcomes will be, and thus the more likely each region will be to have a unique overall outcome. For example, it is easy to imagine four different parts of the tropics, each with the same kind of soil and the same climate, with four different, successful SYTA's, one based on paddy rice, one on shelterwood forestry, one on tourism, and one on shifting maize culture. A regional experiment station working holistically toward an SYTA is potentially one of the best solutions available. As currently structured, however, almost all tropical experiment stations are inadequate for such a mission. Most commonly they are

Extinction risk escalates in the tropics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana C Vamosi

Full Text Available The latitudinal biodiversity gradient remains one of the most widely recognized yet puzzling patterns in nature. Presently, the high level of extinction of tropical species, referred to as the "tropical biodiversity crisis", has the potential to erode this pattern. While the connection between species richness, extinction, and speciation has long intrigued biologists, these interactions have experienced increased poignancy due to their relevancy to where we should concentrate our conservation efforts. Natural extinction is a phenomenon thought to have its own latitudinal gradient, with lower extinction rates in the tropics being reported in beetles, birds, mammals, and bivalves. Processes that have buffered ecosystems from high extinction rates in the past may also buffer ecosystems against disturbance of anthropogenic origin. While potential parallels between historical and present-day extinction patterns have been acknowledged, they remain only superficially explored and plant extinction patterns have been particularly neglected. Studies on the disappearances of animal species have reached conflicting conclusions, with the rate of extinction appearing either higher or lower in species richness hotspots. Our global study of extinction risk in vascular plants finds disproportionately higher extinction risk in tropical countries, even when indicators of human pressure (GDP, population density, forest cover change are taken into account. Our results are at odds with the notion that the tropics represent a museum of plant biodiversity (places of historically lowered extinction and we discuss mechanisms that may reconcile this apparent contradiction.

Extinction risk escalates in the tropics.

Science.gov (United States)

Vamosi, Jana C; Vamosi, Steven M

2008-01-01

The latitudinal biodiversity gradient remains one of the most widely recognized yet puzzling patterns in nature. Presently, the high level of extinction of tropical species, referred to as the "tropical biodiversity crisis", has the potential to erode this pattern. While the connection between species richness, extinction, and speciation has long intrigued biologists, these interactions have experienced increased poignancy due to their relevancy to where we should concentrate our conservation efforts. Natural extinction is a phenomenon thought to have its own latitudinal gradient, with lower extinction rates in the tropics being reported in beetles, birds, mammals, and bivalves. Processes that have buffered ecosystems from high extinction rates in the past may also buffer ecosystems against disturbance of anthropogenic origin. While potential parallels between historical and present-day extinction patterns have been acknowledged, they remain only superficially explored and plant extinction patterns have been particularly neglected. Studies on the disappearances of animal species have reached conflicting conclusions, with the rate of extinction appearing either higher or lower in species richness hotspots. Our global study of extinction risk in vascular plants finds disproportionately higher extinction risk in tropical countries, even when indicators of human pressure (GDP, population density, forest cover change) are taken into account. Our results are at odds with the notion that the tropics represent a museum of plant biodiversity (places of historically lowered extinction) and we discuss mechanisms that may reconcile this apparent contradiction.

The role of domestic animals in the epidemiology of human African trypanosomiasis in Ngorongoro conservation area, Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz, Juan P; Nyingilili, Hamisi S; Mbata, Geofrey H; Malele, Imna I

2015-10-06

Trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the trypanosome parasite and transmitted by the tsetse fly vector. In Sub-saharan Africa, both the human and animal variants of the disease are a great obstacle towards agriculture, development, and health. In order to better understand and therefore combat Trypanosomiasis, characterizing disease hotspots across species is critical. In this study, 193 samples from cattle, sheep, and goats were collected from eight sites. Samples were taken from animals belonging mostly to Maasai herdsmen in the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area (NCA) and analysed for the presence of trypanosomiasis infection using PCR techniques. Those that tested positive for T. brucei parasite were further tested using SRA LAMP technique to check for T. brucei rhodesiense, the human infective subspecies of parasite. Our study found a high incidence of Trypanosoma brucei infections across species. Of animals tested, 47 % of cattle, 91.7 % of sheep, and 60.8 % of goats were infected. Most of the infections were of the T. brucei species. We also identified sheep and goats as carriers of the T. brucei rhodesiense subspecies, which causes acute human trypanosomiasis. Together, these results point toward the need for stricter control strategies in the area to prevent disease outbreak.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Paratuberculosis has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of paratuberculosis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of paratuberculosis according to disease...

Towards an information ecosystem for animal disease surveillance using voice services

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Sharma Grover, A

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we introduce a solution for disease surveillance and monitoring in the primary animal health care (PAHC) domain that uses inbound voice-based services and voice- and text-based outbound services for connecting rural veterinarians...

Advances in neglected tropical disease vaccines: Developing relative potency and functional assays for the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel hookworm vaccine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jill B Brelsford

2017-02-01

Full Text Available A new generation of vaccines for the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs have now advanced into clinical development, with the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine already being tested in Phase 1 studies in healthy adults. The current manuscript focuses on the often overlooked critical aspects of NTD vaccine product development, more specifically, vaccine stability testing programs. A key measure of vaccine stability testing is "relative potency" or the immunogenicity of the vaccine during storage. As with most NTD vaccines, the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine was not developed by attenuation or inactivation of the pathogen (Necator americanus, so conventional methods for measuring relative potency are not relevant for this investigational product. Herein, we describe a novel relative potency testing program and report for the first time on the clinical lot of this NTD vaccine during its first 60 months of storage at 2-8°C. We also describe the development of a complementary functional assay that measures the ability of IgG from animals or humans immunized with Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel to neutralize this important hookworm enzyme. While 90% inhibition of the catalytic activity of Na-GST-1 was achieved in animals immunized with Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel, lower levels of inhibition were observed in immunized humans. Moreover, anti-Na-GST-1 antibodies from volunteers in non-hookworm endemic areas were better able to inhibit catalytic activity than anti-Na-GST-1 antibodies from volunteers resident in hookworm endemic areas. The results described herein provide the critical tools for the product development of NTD vaccines.

Advances in neglected tropical disease vaccines: Developing relative potency and functional assays for the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel hookworm vaccine

Science.gov (United States)

Brelsford, Jill B.; Plieskatt, Jordan L.; Yakovleva, Anna; Jariwala, Amar; Keegan, Brian P.; Peng, Jin; Xia, Pengjun; Li, Guangzhao; Campbell, Doreen; Periago, Maria Victoria; Correa-Oliveira, Rodrigo; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Hotez, Peter J.

2017-01-01

A new generation of vaccines for the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have now advanced into clinical development, with the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine already being tested in Phase 1 studies in healthy adults. The current manuscript focuses on the often overlooked critical aspects of NTD vaccine product development, more specifically, vaccine stability testing programs. A key measure of vaccine stability testing is "relative potency" or the immunogenicity of the vaccine during storage. As with most NTD vaccines, the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine was not developed by attenuation or inactivation of the pathogen (Necator americanus), so conventional methods for measuring relative potency are not relevant for this investigational product. Herein, we describe a novel relative potency testing program and report for the first time on the clinical lot of this NTD vaccine during its first 60 months of storage at 2–8°C. We also describe the development of a complementary functional assay that measures the ability of IgG from animals or humans immunized with Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel to neutralize this important hookworm enzyme. While 90% inhibition of the catalytic activity of Na-GST-1 was achieved in animals immunized with Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel, lower levels of inhibition were observed in immunized humans. Moreover, anti-Na-GST-1 antibodies from volunteers in non-hookworm endemic areas were better able to inhibit catalytic activity than anti-Na-GST-1 antibodies from volunteers resident in hookworm endemic areas. The results described herein provide the critical tools for the product development of NTD vaccines. PMID:28192438

[Animal Health Law-- the National Animal Health Act and the European Animal Health Law].

Science.gov (United States)

Bätza, Hans-Joachim; Mettenleiter, Thomas

2013-01-01

The Animal Health Act that replaces the Animal Disease Act, which is currently in force, creates a regulatory framework in order to not only, as has been the case so far, control animal diseases that had already broken out, but in order to already prevent in advance possible outbreaks of animal diseases by means of preventive measures. The instruments to this effect are described here. At European level, too, the idea of prevention is set to play a greater role in the future, with the draft EU legal instrument on animal health, that has to date only been discussed at Commission level, also contributing to a simplification and easier implementation by the persons subject to law by harmonising the currently fragmented Community law. It remains to be seen when the deliberations in the Council and European Parliament will begin.

Can Neglected Tropical Diseases Compromise Human Wellbeing in Sex-, Age-, and Trait-Specific Ways?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David C Geary

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Traits that facilitate competition for reproductive resources or that influence mate choice have evolved to signal resilience to infectious disease and other stressors. As a result, the dynamics of competition and choice can, in theory, be used to generate predictions about sex-, age-, and trait-specific vulnerabilities for any sexually reproducing species, including humans. These dynamics and associated vulnerabilities are reviewed for nonhuman species, focusing on traits that are compromised by exposure to parasites. Using the same approach, sex-, age-, and trait-specific vulnerabilities to parasitic disease are illustrated for children's and adolescent's physical growth and fitness. Suggestions are then provided for widening the assessment of human vulnerabilities to include age-appropriate measures of behavioral (e.g., children's play and cognitive (e.g., language fluency traits. These are traits that are likely to be compromised by infection in age- and sex-specific ways. Inclusion of these types of measures in studies of neglected tropic diseases has the potential to provide a more nuanced understanding of how these diseases undermine human wellbeing and may provide a useful means to study the efficacy of associated treatments.

Isotope and radiation research on animal diseases and their vectors. Proceedings series

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

To solve the world-wide problems of famine, malnutrition and environmental pollution it is imperative that all techniques and resources for the protection of animals and plants be mobilized. N'gana (animal trypansomiasis) alone profoundly affects the socio-economic development of Africa. Its vector, the tsetse fly, is widespread and prevents agricultural development over much of this continent of 7 million square kilometres. To discuss these problems the symposium was convened by the International Atomic Energy Agency from 7 to 11 May 1979. It was an integral part of the IAEA and FAO's effort to promote a greater awareness of the actual and potential application of nuclear techniques in the resolution of problems in the control of arthropod vectors of animal diseases and of animal pathogens, and in pesticide management. A total of 58 participants from 19 countries attended, and 37 papers were presented, which covered a variety of topics, including the sterile insect technique as applied to tsetse flies. Several papers were presented covering its various aspects such as mass rearing, sterility induction, ecology, behavior and computer modelling. Other topics emphasized were pathogenesis and immunology of vector-borne diseases such as trypanosomiasis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and leishmaniasis. Also included were presentations of insect repellents and the biotransformation and degradation of labelled pesticides.

Isotope and radiation research on animal diseases and their vectors. Proceedings series

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

To solve the world-wide problems of famine, malnutrition and environmental pollution it is imperative that all techniques and resources for the protection of animals and plants be mobilized. N'gana (animal trypansomiasis) alone profoundly affects the socio-economic development of Africa. Its vector, the tsetse fly, is widespread and prevents agricultural development over much of this continent of 7 million square kilometres. To discuss these problems the symposium was convened by the International Atomic Energy Agency from 7 to 11 May 1979. It was an integral part of the IAEA and FAO's effort to promote a greater awareness of the actual and potential application of nuclear techniques in the resolution of problems in the control of arthropod vectors of animal diseases and of animal pathogens, and in pesticide management. A total of 58 participants from 19 countries attended, and 37 papers were presented, which covered a variety of topics, including the sterile insect technique as applied to tsetse flies. Several papers were presented covering its various aspects such as mass rearing, sterility induction, ecology, behavior and computer modelling. Other topics emphasized were pathogenesis and immunology of vector-borne diseases such as trypanosomiasis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and leishmaniasis. Also included were presentations of insect repellents and the biotransformation and degradation of labelled pesticides.

Interaction of the role of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDS).

Science.gov (United States)

Hollenbeck, James E

2016-03-01

Most significant change in the evolution of the influenza virus is the rapid growth of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on a global scale. These industrial agricultural operations have the potential of housing thousands of animals in a relatively small area. Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) event can be considered as a shift in the pathogen-host-environment interplay characteristics described by Engering et al. (2013). These changes in the host-environment and the disease ecology are key to creating novel transmission patterns and selection of novel pathogens with a modification of genetic traits. With the development of CAFOs throughout the world, the need for training of animal caretakers to observe, identify, treat, vaccinate and cull if necessary is important to safeguard public health. The best defense against another pandemic of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) is the constant monitoring of the livestock and handlers of CAFOs and the live animal markets. These are the most likely epicenter of the next pandemic. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Trichomonosis has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of trichomonosis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of trichomonosis according to disease prevention...

Animal Toxins as Therapeutic Tools to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases

Science.gov (United States)

de Souza, Jessica M.; Goncalves, Bruno D. C.; Gomez, Marcus V.; Vieira, Luciene B.; Ribeiro, Fabiola M.

2018-01-01

Neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of individuals worldwide. So far, no disease-modifying drug is available to treat patients, making the search for effective drugs an urgent need. Neurodegeneration is triggered by the activation of several cellular processes, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial impairment, neuroinflammation, aging, aggregate formation, glutamatergic excitotoxicity, and apoptosis. Therefore, many research groups aim to identify drugs that may inhibit one or more of these events leading to neuronal cell death. Venoms are fruitful natural sources of new molecules, which have been relentlessly enhanced by evolution through natural selection. Several studies indicate that venom components can exhibit selectivity and affinity for a wide variety of targets in mammalian systems. For instance, an expressive number of natural peptides identified in venoms from animals, such as snakes, scorpions, bees, and spiders, were shown to lessen inflammation, regulate glutamate release, modify neurotransmitter levels, block ion channel activation, decrease the number of protein aggregates, and increase the levels of neuroprotective factors. Thus, these venom components hold potential as therapeutic tools to slow or even halt neurodegeneration. However, there are many technological issues to overcome, as venom peptides are hard to obtain and characterize and the amount obtained from natural sources is insufficient to perform all the necessary experiments and tests. Fortunately, technological improvements regarding heterologous protein expression, as well as peptide chemical synthesis will help to provide enough quantities and allow chemical and pharmacological enhancements of these natural occurring compounds. Thus, the main focus of this review is to highlight the most promising studies evaluating animal toxins as therapeutic tools to treat a wide variety of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, brain

Defining European preparedness and research needs regarding emerging infectious animal diseases: results from a Delphi expert consultation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wentholt, M T A; Cardoen, S; Imberechts, H; Van Huffel, X; Ooms, B W; Frewer, L J

2012-02-01

Emerging and major infectious animal diseases can have significant international impact on social, economic and environmental level, and are being driven by various factors. Prevention and control measures should be prepared at both national and international level to mitigate these disease risks. Research to support such policy development is mostly carried out at national level and dedicated transnational research programmes are still in its infancy. This research reports on part of a process to develop a common strategic research agenda on emerging and major infectious diseases of livestock in Europe, covering a 5-15-year time span. A two round online Delphi study was conducted to explore the views of experts on issues relating to research needs on emerging infectious diseases of livestock in Europe. Drivers that may influence the incidence of emerging infectious animal diseases in both the short (next 5 years) and medium term (10-15 years) were identified. Drivers related to regulatory measures and biological science developments were thought to decrease the incidence, and socio-economic factors to increase the incidence of emerging infectious animal diseases. From the first round a list of threats to animal health was compiled and participants combined these threats with relevant drivers in the second round. Next to identifying threats to animal health, also possible mitigatory actions to reduce the negative impact of these threats were identified. Participants emphasised that interdisciplinary research is needed to understand drivers of emerging infectious animal diseases, as well as to develop prevention and control measures which are both socio-economic and technical. From this it can be concluded that interdisciplinary research combining both natural and social research themes is required. Some of the European member states research budget needs to be allocated so that effective prevention and mitigation strategies can be developed. Copyright © 2011

The use of the United States FDA programs as a strategy to advance the development of drug products for neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Sachs-Barrable, Kristina; Conway, Jocelyn; Gershkovich, Pavel; Ibrahim, Fady; Wasan, Kishor M

2014-11-01

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are infections which are endemic in poor populations in lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Approximately one billion people have now or are at risk of getting an NTD and yet less than 5% of research dollars are focused on providing treatments and prevention of these highly debilitating and deadly conditions. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orphan Drug Designation program (ODDP) provides orphan status to drugs and biologics, defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases and/or disorders that affect fewer than 200 000 people in the United States, or that affect more than 200 000 persons but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing a treatment drug. These regulations have led to the translation of rare disease knowledge into innovative rare disease therapies. The FDA Guidance for Industry on developing drugs for the treatment and prevention of NTDs describes the following regulatory strategies: Orphan Product Designation, Fast Track Designation, Priority Review Designation, Accelerated Approval and Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher. This paper will discuss how these regulations and especially the ODDP can improve the clinical development and accessibility of drug products for NTDs.

[Mass culling in the context of animal disease outbreaks--veterinarians caught between ethical issues and control policies].

Science.gov (United States)

Hartnack, Sonja; Doherr, Marcus G; Grimm, Herwig; Kunzmann, Peter

2009-04-01

In recent years controversial discussions arose during major animal disease outbreaks in the EU about the ethical soundness of mass culling. In contrast to numerous publications about ethical issues and laboratory animals/animal experiments, literature concerning ethical deliberations in the case of mass culling as a means of outbreak control remain scarce. Veterinarians in charge of decision about and implementation of mass culling actions find themselves in an area of conflict in between the officially required animal disease control policy and a public that is increasingly critical. Those veterinarians are faced with the challenge to defend the relevant decisions against all stakeholders and also themselves. In this context an interdisciplinary workshop was initiated in Switzerland in October 2007 with ethicians and (official) veterinarians from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. With the aim to identify ethical components of animal disease control for official veterinarians, talks and moderated group discussions took place. This article summarizes selected discussion points and conclusions.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of VEE to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of VEE according to disease...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of IBR to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of IBR according to disease...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of BVD to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of BVD according to disease prevention...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of EBL to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of EBL according to disease prevention...

SRTM-DEM and Landsat ETM+ data for mapping tropical dry forest cover and biodiversity assessment in Nicaragua

Science.gov (United States)

S.E. Sesnie; S.E. Hagell; S.M. Otterstrom; C.L. Chambers; B.G. Dickson

2008-01-01

Tropical dry and deciduous forest comprises as much as 42% of the world’s tropical forests, but has received far less attention than forest in wet tropical areas. Land use change threatens to greatly reduce the extent of dry forest that is known to contain high levels of plant and animal diversity. Forest fragmentation may further endanger arboreal mammals that play...

The owner-animal-environment triad in the treatment of canine periodontal disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, Fraser A

2003-06-01

In a perfect world, all veterinarians and veterinary dental technicians would understand periodontal disease as well as the dental specialist. They would all be able to recognize the early signs of periodontal disease and recommend treatment to prevent its progression. The owners would have the financial resources, time, and desire to maintain their pet's oral health. The dogs would all be calm and compliant with home care and have no particular anesthetic risks. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. Some veterinarians do not understand periodontal disease any better that I understand cosmic string theory. Some owners have limited financial resources and are not particularly committed to their pet's oral health. Some animals will not tolerate any type or manner of home care. Given that animals, their mouths, and their owners come in an infinite variety of shapes and sizes (figuratively and literally), how can we talk about the treatment of periodontal disease as if it is a single condition with a single treatment, or even only a few treatment options? Each owner, animal, and its environment must be assessed on an individual basis to develop a treatment plan that is reasonable and attainable based on the unique circumstances of each case. So, what should be the goal when treating periodontal disease? Is it the preservation of all teeth at all costs? Is it the preservation of important teeth if the costs can be kept reasonable? I would suggest that the overriding goal of periodontal treatment should be the elimination and prevention of oral infection and oral pain. In the domestic environment, dogs have no real need to defend territory. They have no need to prehend and kill live prey animals. In short, the domesticated pet dog does not need teeth at all. This may seem like an odd statement for a veterinary dentist to make, but I feel quite strongly that a dog is far better off having no teeth than having bad teeth. My preference is that a dog should have a full

Fear of feces? Trade-offs between disease risk and foraging drive animal activity around raccoon latrines

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Sara B.; Moura, Chad W.; Mendez, Jon Francis; Lafferty, Kevin D.

2017-01-01

Fear of predation alters prey behavior, which can indirectly alter entire landscapes. A parasite-induced ecology of fear might also exist if animals avoid parasite-contaminated resources when infection costs outweigh foraging benefits. To investigate whether animals avoid parasite contaminated sites, and if such avoidance balances disease costs and foraging gains, we monitored animal behavior at raccoon latrines – sites that concentrate both seeds and pathogenic parasite eggs. Using wildlife cameras, we documented over 40 potentially susceptible vertebrate species in latrines and adjacent habitat. Latrine contact rates reflected background activity, diet preferences and disease risk. Disease-tolerant raccoons and rats displayed significant site attraction, while susceptible birds and small mammals avoided these high-risk sites. This suggests that parasites, like predators, might create a landscape of fear for vulnerable hosts. Such non-consumptive parasite effects could alter disease transmission, population dynamics, and even ecosystem structure.

Community Attitudes Toward Mass Drug Administration for Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases After the 2014 Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in Lofa County, Liberia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogus, Joshua; Gankpala, Lincoln; Fischer, Kerstin; Krentel, Alison; Weil, Gary J; Fischer, Peter U; Kollie, Karsor; Bolay, Fatorma K

2016-03-01

The recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) interrupted mass drug administration (MDA) programs to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases in Liberia. MDA programs treat entire communities with medication regardless of infection status to interrupt transmission and eliminate lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. Following reports of hostilities toward health workers and fear that they might be spreading EVD, it was important to determine whether attitudes toward MDA might have changed after the outbreak. We surveyed 140 community leaders from 32 villages in Lofa County, Liberia, that had previously participated in MDA and are located in an area that was an early epicenter of the EVD outbreak. Survey respondents reported a high degree of community trust in the MDA program, and 97% thought their communities were ready to resume MDA. However, respondents predicted that fewer people would comply with MDA after the EVD epidemic than before. The survey also uncovered fears in the community that EVD and MDA might be linked. Respondents suggested that MDA programs emphasize to people that the medications are identical to those previously distributed and that MDA programs have nothing to do with EVD. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

West Nile fever (WNF) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of WNF to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of WNF according to disease prevention and control...

Biosecurity and animal disease management in organic and conventional Swedish dairy herds: a questionnaire study.

Science.gov (United States)

Emanuelson, Ulf; Sjöström, Karin; Fall, Nils

2018-04-12

Good animal health is a notion that is germane to organic dairy production, and it is expected that such herds would pay significant attention on the health of their animals. However, it is not known if the applied animal disease management is actually more adequate in organic dairy cattle herds than in conventional dairy herds. A questionnaire study on biosecurity and animal disease management activities was therefore conducted among Swedish farmers with organic and conventional dairy cattle herds. A total of 192 useable questionnaires were returned; response rates of 30.3 and 20.2% for organic and conventional farmers, respectively. Herd characteristics of the two herd types were very similar, except that pipeline/tie-stall systems were less common in organic farms and that organic farmers had a higher education level than their conventional counterparts. Also, very few systematic differences in general or specific disease management activities were observed between the two types of farms. The main exceptions being how milk from cows during antibiotic treatment was used, views on policy actions in relation to antibiotic use, and attitudes towards calling for veterinary support. Using milk from cows during antibiotic treatment was more common in conventional herds, although it was mainly given to bull calves. Farmers of organic herds were more positive to policy actions to reduce the use and need for antibiotics, and they reported waiting longer before contacting a veterinarian for calves with diarrhoea and cows with subclinical mastitis. The stated biosecurity and animal disease management was relatively equal in Swedish organic and conventional dairy herds. Our results thus indicate that animal health is as important in conventionally managed dairy herds in Sweden as in organically managed herds.

Australian contingency plans for emergency animal disease control: the role of antigen/vaccine banks.

Science.gov (United States)

Tweddle, N E

2004-01-01

Vaccination is an important element of contingency plans for many animal diseases. The decision whether or not to use vaccine is complex, and must consider epidemiological, economic and social issues. Vaccines are rarely available in a country for emergency animal diseases unless a low pathogenicity strain of the agent is present or it is localised in carrier hosts. High quality commercial vaccine from overseas is often the preferred source of vaccine in an emergency, although less reliable sources may be used with additional safeguards. Alternatively, master seeds may be imported or developed for production within the country For contingency planning, diseases may be ranked according to the expected role of vaccine in the disease eradication strategy, with diseases for which vaccine is part of the initial response strategy receiving highest priority for action. A range of preparedness options is available, ranging from identifying producers of vaccine, obtaining permits for import and use from regulatory authorities, to establishing vaccine or antigen banks. Countries need to consider their individual situations and develop strategies to address the diseases of significance to them.

Host behaviour–parasite feedback: an essential link between animal behaviour and disease ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Archie, Elizabeth A.; Craft, Meggan E.; Hawley, Dana M.; Martin, Lynn B.; Moore, Janice; White, Lauren

2016-01-01

Animal behaviour and the ecology and evolution of parasites are inextricably linked. For this reason, animal behaviourists and disease ecologists have been interested in the intersection of their respective fields for decades. Despite this interest, most research at the behaviour–disease interface focuses either on how host behaviour affects parasites or how parasites affect behaviour, with little overlap between the two. Yet, the majority of interactions between hosts and parasites are probably reciprocal, such that host behaviour feeds back on parasites and vice versa. Explicitly considering these feedbacks is essential for understanding the complex connections between animal behaviour and parasite ecology and evolution. To illustrate this point, we discuss how host behaviour–parasite feedbacks might operate and explore the consequences of feedback for studies of animal behaviour and parasites. For example, ignoring the feedback of host social structure on parasite dynamics can limit the accuracy of predictions about parasite spread. Likewise, considering feedback in studies of parasites and animal personalities may provide unique insight about the maintenance of variation in personality types. Finally, applying the feedback concept to links between host behaviour and beneficial, rather than pathogenic, microbes may shed new light on transitions between mutualism and parasitism. More generally, accounting for host behaviour–parasite feedbacks can help identify critical gaps in our understanding of how key host behaviours and parasite traits evolve and are maintained. PMID:27053751

Host behaviour-parasite feedback: an essential link between animal behaviour and disease ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ezenwa, Vanessa O; Archie, Elizabeth A; Craft, Meggan E; Hawley, Dana M; Martin, Lynn B; Moore, Janice; White, Lauren

2016-04-13

Animal behaviour and the ecology and evolution of parasites are inextricably linked. For this reason, animal behaviourists and disease ecologists have been interested in the intersection of their respective fields for decades. Despite this interest, most research at the behaviour-disease interface focuses either on how host behaviour affects parasites or how parasites affect behaviour, with little overlap between the two. Yet, the majority of interactions between hosts and parasites are probably reciprocal, such that host behaviour feeds back on parasites and vice versa. Explicitly considering these feedbacks is essential for understanding the complex connections between animal behaviour and parasite ecology and evolution. To illustrate this point, we discuss how host behaviour-parasite feedbacks might operate and explore the consequences of feedback for studies of animal behaviour and parasites. For example, ignoring the feedback of host social structure on parasite dynamics can limit the accuracy of predictions about parasite spread. Likewise, considering feedback in studies of parasites and animal personalities may provide unique insight about the maintenance of variation in personality types. Finally, applying the feedback concept to links between host behaviour and beneficial, rather than pathogenic, microbes may shed new light on transitions between mutualism and parasitism. More generally, accounting for host behaviour-parasite feedbacks can help identify critical gaps in our understanding of how key host behaviours and parasite traits evolve and are maintained. © 2016 The Author(s).

Effect of high ambient temperature on behavior of sheep under semi-arid tropical environment

Science.gov (United States)

De, Kalyan; Kumar, Davendra; Saxena, Vijay Kumar; Thirumurugan, Palanisamy; Naqvi, Syed Mohammed Khursheed

2017-07-01

High environmental temperature is a major constraint in sheep production under semi-arid tropical environment. Behavior is the earliest indicator of animal's adaptation and responses to the environmental alteration. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of high ambient temperature on the behavior of sheep under a semi-arid tropical environment. The experiment was conducted for 6 weeks on 16 Malpura cross (Garole × Malpura × Malpura (GMM)) rams. The rams were divided equally into two groups, designated as C and T. The rams of C were kept in comfortable environmental conditions served as control. The rams of T were exposed to a different temperature at different hours of the day in a climatic chamber, to simulate a high environmental temperature of summer in semi-arid tropic. The behavioral observations were taken by direct instantaneous observation at 15-min intervals for each animal individually. The feeding, ruminating, standing, and lying behaviors were recorded twice a week from morning (0800 hours) to afternoon (1700 hours) for 6 weeks. Exposure of rams to high temperature (T) significantly ( P animals of T spent significantly ( P behavior of sheep which is directed to circumvent the effect of the stressor.

Comparison of tropical and temperate freshwater animal species' acute sensitivities to chemicals: implications for deriving safe extrapolation factors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kwok, K.W.H.; Leung, K.M.Y.; Lui, G.S.G.; Chu, V.K.H.; Lam, P.K.S.; Morritt, D.; Maltby, L.; Brock, T.C.M.; Brink, van den P.J.; Warne, M.S.J.; Crane, M.

2007-01-01

Toxicity data for tropical species are often lacking for ecological risk assessment. Consequently, tropical and subtropical countries use water quality criteria (WQC) derived from temperate species (e.g., United States, Canada, or Europe) to assess ecological risks in their aquatic systems, leaving

Sex differences in acupuncture effectiveness in animal models of Parkinson's disease: A systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, S.H.; Noort, M.W.M.L. van den; Bosch, M.P.C.; Lim, S.

2016-01-01

Background: Many animal experimental studies have been performed to investigate the efficacy of acupuncture in Parkinson's disease (PD). Sex differences are a major issue in all diseases including PD. However, to our knowledge, there have been no reviews investigating sex differences on the

Understanding disease processes in multiple sclerosis through magnetic resonance imaging studies in animal models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nabeela Nathoo

2014-01-01

Full Text Available There are exciting new advances in multiple sclerosis (MS resulting in a growing understanding of both the complexity of the disorder and the relative involvement of grey matter, white matter and inflammation. Increasing need for preclinical imaging is anticipated, as animal models provide insights into the pathophysiology of the disease. Magnetic resonance (MR is the key imaging tool used to diagnose and to monitor disease progression in MS, and thus will be a cornerstone for future research. Although gadolinium-enhancing and T2 lesions on MRI have been useful for detecting MS pathology, they are not correlative of disability. Therefore, new MRI methods are needed. Such methods require validation in animal models. The increasing necessity for MRI of animal models makes it critical and timely to understand what research has been conducted in this area and what potential there is for use of MRI in preclinical models of MS. Here, we provide a review of MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS studies that have been carried out in animal models of MS that focus on pathology. We compare the MRI phenotypes of animals and patients and provide advice on how best to use animal MR studies to increase our understanding of the linkages between MR and pathology in patients. This review describes how MRI studies of animal models have been, and will continue to be, used in the ongoing effort to understand MS.

Stargardt disease: clinical features, molecular genetics, animal models and therapeutic options

Science.gov (United States)

Tanna, Preena; Strauss, Rupert W; Fujinami, Kaoru; Michaelides, Michel

2017-01-01

Stargardt disease (STGD1; MIM 248200) is the most prevalent inherited macular dystrophy and is associated with disease-causing sequence variants in the gene ABCA4. Significant advances have been made over the last 10 years in our understanding of both the clinical and molecular features of STGD1, and also the underlying pathophysiology, which has culminated in ongoing and planned human clinical trials of novel therapies. The aims of this review are to describe the detailed phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the disease, conventional and novel imaging findings, current knowledge of animal models and pathogenesis, and the multiple avenues of intervention being explored. PMID:27491360

DISCONTOOLS: a database to identify research gaps on vaccines, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics for the control of infectious diseases of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Declan; Scudamore, Jim; Charlier, Johannes; Delavergne, Morgane

2017-01-03

The public and private sector in the EU spend around €800 million per year on animal health and welfare related research. An objective process to identify critical gaps in knowledge and available control tools should aid the prioritisation of research in order to speed up the development of new or improved diagnostics, vaccines and pharmaceuticals and reduce the burden of animal diseases. Here, we describe the construction of a database based on expert consultation for 52 infectious diseases of animals. For each disease, an expert group produced a disease and product analysis document that formed the basis for gap analysis and prioritisation. The prioritisation model was based on a closed scoring system, employing identical weights for six evaluation criteria (disease knowledge; impact on animal health and welfare; impact on public health; impact on wider society; impact on trade; control tools). The diseases were classified into three groups: epizootic diseases, food-producing animal complexes or zoonotic diseases. The highly ranked diseases in the prioritisation model comprised mostly zoonotic and epizootic diseases with important gaps identified in vaccine development and pharmaceuticals, respectively. The most important outcome is the identification of key research needs by disease. The rankings and research needs by disease are provided on a public website ( www.discontools.eu ) which is currently being updated based on new expert consultations. As such, it can become a reference point for funders of research including the European Commission, member states, foundations, trusts along with private industry to prioritise research. This will deliver benefits in terms of animal health and welfare but also public health, societal benefits and a safe and secure food supply.

Mixed grazing systems of goats with cattle in tropical conditions: an alternative to improving animal production in the pasture.

Science.gov (United States)

d'Alexis, S; Periacarpin, F; Jackson, F; Boval, M

2014-08-01

Mixed grazing systems combining sheep and cattle have shown better growth performance for one or both species. This observation has been attributed to their complementary feeding behaviour and the reduced host infection by gastrointestinal nematodes. Less attention has been paid to mixed grazing systems combining goats and cattle. Here, continuously grazing goats mixed with cattle (M) were compared with control goats reared alone (C) under tropical conditions. The comparison was conducted with gastrointestinal nematode-infected (I) and non-infected (nI) goats. Thus, the four treatments were cattle with gastrointestinal nematode-infected goats (MI), gastrointestinal nematode-infected goats alone (CI), cattle with non-infected goats (MnI) and non-infected goats (CnI). Average daily gain (ADG, g/day) and grass production were measured for the four groups of animals (six goats and two heifers treated with MI or MnI) grazing for 3 months on 4 subplots. Monthly measurements were performed over 5-day periods. This pattern was replicated in space for a second set of four subplots and in time for six successive cohorts of animals (bands 1 to 6). The ADG of goats in mixed grazing conditions was higher than controls irrespective of the infection status (32.6 v. 18.4 g/day for MI v. CI; 44.2 v. 33.5 g/day for MnI v. CnI). Concomitantly, the average biomass was lower for mixed grazing animals compared with controls (174 v. 170 for MI and MnI; 235 v. 208 for CI and CnI, respectively), suggesting better use of the sward. For daily BW gain (g/kg DM), mixed grazing also yielded better results than the control (1.88 v. 0.52 g BW/kg DM per day for MI v. CI; 2.08 v. 1.47 g BW/kg DM per day for MnI and CnI). Mixed grazing of goats and heifers offers a promising alternative for increasing goat and overall animal production as well as improving the management of pastures.

Systematic review of brucellosis in Kenya: disease frequency in humans and animals and risk factors for human infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Njeru, J; Wareth, G; Melzer, F; Henning, K; Pletz, M W; Heller, R; Neubauer, H

2016-08-22

Brucellosis is a debilitating zoonotic disease affecting humans and animals. A comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of literature and officially available data on animal and human brucellosis for Kenya are missing. The aim of the current review is to provide frequency estimates of brucellosis in humans, animals and risk factors for human infection, and help to understand the current situation in Kenya. A total of accessible 36 national and international publications on brucellosis from 1916 to 2016 were reviewed to estimate the frequency of brucellosis in humans and animals, and strength of associations between potential risk factors and seropositivity in humans in Kenya. The conducted studies revealed only few and fragmented evidence of the disease spatial and temporal distribution in an epidemiological context. Bacteriological evidence revealed the presence of Brucella (B.) abortus and B. melitensis in cattle and human patients, whilst B. suis was isolated from wild rodents only. Similar evidence for Brucella spp infection in small ruminants and other animal species is unavailable. The early and most recent serological studies revealed that animal brucellosis is widespread in all animal production systems. The animal infection pressure in these systems has remained strong due to mixing of large numbers of animals from different geographical regions, movement of livestock in search of pasture, communal sharing of grazing land, and the concentration of animals around water points. Human cases are more likely seen in groups occupationally or domestically exposed to livestock or practicing risky social-cultural activities such as consumption of raw blood and dairy products, and slaughtering of animals within the homesteads. Many brucellosis patients are misdiagnosed and probably mistreated due to lack of reliable laboratory diagnostic support resulting to adverse health outcomes of the patients and routine disease underreporting. We found no studies of disease

The impact of Fusarium mycotoxins on human and animal host susceptibility to infectious diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Antonissen, Gunther; Martel, An; Pasmans, Frank; Ducatelle, Richard; Verbrugghe, Elin; Vandenbroucke, Virginie; Li, Shaoji; Haesebrouck, Freddy; Van Immerseel, Filip; Croubels, Siska

2014-01-28

Contamination of food and feed with mycotoxins is a worldwide problem. At present, acute mycotoxicosis caused by high doses is rare in humans and animals. Ingestion of low to moderate amounts of Fusarium mycotoxins is common and generally does not result in obvious intoxication. However, these low amounts may impair intestinal health, immune function and/or pathogen fitness, resulting in altered host pathogen interactions and thus a different outcome of infection. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about the impact of Fusarium mycotoxin exposure on human and animal host susceptibility to infectious diseases. On the one hand, exposure to deoxynivalenol and other Fusarium mycotoxins generally exacerbates infections with parasites, bacteria and viruses across a wide range of animal host species. Well-known examples include coccidiosis in poultry, salmonellosis in pigs and mice, colibacillosis in pigs, necrotic enteritis in poultry, enteric septicemia of catfish, swine respiratory disease, aspergillosis in poultry and rabbits, reovirus infection in mice and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus infection in pigs. However, on the other hand, T-2 toxin has been shown to markedly decrease the colonization capacity of Salmonella in the pig intestine. Although the impact of the exposure of humans to Fusarium toxins on infectious diseases is less well known, extrapolation from animal models suggests possible exacerbation of, for instance, colibacillosis and salmonellosis in humans, as well.

Ecology of soil arthropod fauna in tropical forests: A review of studies from Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Grizelle Gonzalez; María F. Barberena

2017-01-01

The majority of ecological studies in the tropics deal with organisms participating in grazing food webs, while few deal with the diversity of invertebrates in the soil, leaf litter or dead wood that participate in detrital food webs. For tropical forests, the status of information on soil animal diversity is limited, especially when compared to other ecosystems such...

Rapid Detection and Characterization of Emerging Foreign Animal Disease Pathogens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaing, C. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-11-18

To best safeguard human and animal health requires early detection and characterization of disease events. This must include effective surveillance for emerging infectious diseases. Both deliberate and natural outbreaks have enormous economic and public health impacts, and can present serious threats to national security. In this project, we developed novel next generation detection technologies to protect the agricultural economy and biosecurity. The first technology is a multiplexed assay to simultaneously detection 10 swine viral and bacterial pathogens. The second one is the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA) which can detect more than 10,000 microbial species including 4219 viruses, 5367 bacteria, 265 fungi, 117 protozoa and 293 archaea. We analyzed a series of swine clinical samples from past disease events to demonstrate the utility of the assays for faster and cheaper detection of emerging and foreign animal disease pathogens, and their utility as s routine diagnosis and surveillance tool. A second goal of the study is to better understand mechanisms of African swine fever virus (ASFV) infection in pigs to aid the development of countermeasures and diagnostics. There is no vaccine available for ASF. ASF outbreak is on the rise on several European countries. Though ASF is not currently in the U.S., a potential outbreak in the U.S. would be detrimental to the swine industry and the US agricultural economy. We pursued a genome-wide approach to characterize the pig immune responses after ASFV infection. We used RNA sequencing and bioinformatics methods to identify genes and pathways that are affected during ASF infection. We have identified a list of most differentially expressed genes that are in the immune response pathways.

[Ancient methods of animal disease prevention in Belgium].

Science.gov (United States)

Mammerickx, M

1994-06-01

The author describes traditional methods of animal disease control in Belgium and the evolution of these methods up to the present time. Evidence is drawn mainly from Belgian law. The principles of hygienic prophylaxis, which have required little modification over the passage of time, were set out at the beginning of the 18th century by Lancisi and Bates, physicians to Pope Clement XI and King George I of Great Britain, respectively. These principles were immediately incorporated into Belgian law. However, it was not until the second half of the 19th century that they were applied correctly and with success.

Ocular disease in the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus): a survey of 1000 animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, David; Sullivan, Ann

2010-09-01

Anecdotal evidence has suggested that guinea pigs have a high prevalence of ocular lesions. Here we undertook a survey of 1000 guinea pigs from populations of animals kept as laboratory animals, breeding show cavies, animals kept as pets and those from rescue and rehoming centers. Each animal was examined to assess for ocular abnormalities. A full ophthalmic examination was performed on each animal with direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy and with slit lamp biomicroscopy. Measurement of tear production using the Schirmer tear test 1 and intraocular pressure using the Tonopen applanation tonometer after topical anesthesia was undertaken in selected animals. Forty-five percent of animals examined had some ocular abnormality. The majority were lens lesions including 17% with cataract and 21% with subclinical lens abnormalities such as nuclear sclerosis. Other abnormalities included conjunctivitis in 4.7% and keratitis in 3.6%. Lipid deposition in conjunctiva was observed in 2.3% of guinea pigs and ciliary body heterotopic bone formation in 0.8% of animals. This study shows a high proportion of eyes with some degree of abnormality in animals otherwise considered healthy. Information on diseases of the guinea pig eye is important given the use of the species as a laboratory rodent and also the number kept as pets and show animals.

Animal models of disease: feline hyperthyroidism: an animal model for toxic nodular goiter.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Mark E

2014-11-01

Since first discovered just 35 years ago, the incidence of spontaneous feline hyperthyroidism has increased dramatically to the extent that it is now one of the most common disorders seen in middle-aged to senior domestic cats. Hyperthyroid cat goiters contain single or multiple autonomously (i.e. TSH-independent) functioning and growing thyroid nodules. Thus, hyperthyroidism in cats is clinically and histologically similar to toxic nodular goiter in humans. The disease in cats is mechanistically different from Graves' disease, because neither the hyperfunction nor growth of these nodules depends on extrathyroidal circulating stimulators. The basic lesion appears to be an excessive intrinsic growth capacity of some thyroid cells, but iodine deficiency, other nutritional goitrogens, or environmental disruptors may play a role in the disease pathogenesis. Clinical features of feline toxic nodular goiter include one or more palpable thyroid nodules, together with signs of hyperthyroidism (e.g. weight loss despite an increased appetite). Diagnosis of feline hyperthyroidism is confirmed by finding the increased serum concentrations of thyroxine and triiodothyronine, undetectable serum TSH concentrations, or increased thyroid uptake of radioiodine. Thyroid scintigraphy demonstrates a heterogeneous pattern of increased radionuclide uptake, most commonly into both thyroid lobes. Treatment options for toxic nodular goiter in cats are similar to that used in humans and include surgical thyroidectomy, radioiodine, and antithyroid drugs. Most authorities agree that ablative therapy with radioiodine is the treatment of choice for most cats with toxic nodular goiter, because the animals are older, and the disease will never go into remission. © 2014 Society for Endocrinology.

Utilization of tropical rabbits

African Journals Online (AJOL)

5,0' a,b"differ (P<0,05) for reproducing rabbits, and may aid the prevention of enteric diseases. In Trial 3, ADG of several tropical legumes was the same as that obtained with alfalfa (Table 3). Gains with guinea grass, cassava, stylosanthes and the winged bean were lower than with alfalfa. Digestibilityof the protein and fibre ...

Anticipating the Emerging of Some Strategical Infectious Animal Diseases in Indonesia Related to The Effect of Global Warming and Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sjamsul Bahri

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The effect of global warming and climate change is changing the season, included flooding in one area and very dry in other area, changing the temperature and humidity. These changes will trigger changing of the life of biological agent (virus, bacteria, parasites and so on, variety of animal species, variety of vectors as reservoir host of animal with the role of transmitting the disease to other animal species, This condition will trigger the new animal disease (emerging disease or old disease will be re-emerged (re-emerging diseases. This paper will discuss the effect of global warming and climate change on animal diseases in Indonesia such as Bluetongue (BT, Nipah, Japanese encephalitis (JE, West Nile (WN, and Rift Valley fever (RVF. The climate changes such as increasing the earth temperature and rainfall will cause extremely increase of vector population for BT, JE, WN and RVF. In addition, animal transportation and bird migration from one country to others or region will cause changing of ecological system and will open the chance to distribute the diseases. Hence, anticipation on those disease outbreaks should be taken by conducting the surveilance and early detection to those diseases. The possibility of entering Nipah disease in Indonesia should be anticipated because the avaibility of Nipah virus and the reservoir host (Pteropus spp and also pigs as amplifier host in the surrounding area. Other diseases such as, leptospirosis, anthrax and avian influenza (H5N1 are also have a wider potential to distributing the disease related to the climate change in Indonesia.

Anticipating the Emerging of Some Strategical Infectious Animal Diseases in Indonesia Related to The Effect of Global Warming and Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Sjamsul Bahri; T Syafriati

2011-01-01

The effect of global warming and climate change is changing the season, included flooding in one area and very dry in other area, changing the temperature and humidity. These changes will trigger changing of the life of biological agent (virus, bacteria, parasites and so on), variety of animal species, variety of vectors as reservoir host of animal with the role of transmitting the disease to other animal species, This condition will trigger the new animal disease (emerging disease) or old di...

Recent advances in leishmaniosis in pet animals: epidemiology, diagnostics and anti-vectorial prophylaxis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gramiccia, M

2011-09-08

The leishmanioses are diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, parasites infecting numerous mammal species, including humans, and transmitted by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies. They are a large group of diseases ranging over inter-tropical zones of America and Africa, and extend into temperate regions of Latin America, Europe and Asia. Pet animals are found infected with different Leishmania species but Leishmania infantum is the most widespread being dogs the main reservoir of zoonotic visceral leishmaniosis (ZVL). Dogs are very susceptible to this parasite and may suffer from a complex syndrome, canine leishmaniosis (CanL), one of the major zoonoses globally causing severe fatal disease in this animal. Infections in cats and horses have also been reported in areas where CanL is diagnosed. In Europe dogs and cats are common companion animals and their health is of great concern, therefore management of leishmaniosis in pets generally follows that of human ZVL. The recent spread of Leishmania infections in non-endemic territories has been monitored by means of canine surveys, which represent a suitable approach because of the dog's role as a sentinel host. New tools have been developed for the surveillance and control of ZVL. A number of insecticide-based preparations have been specifically registered for dog protection against sand fly bites, with elevated efficacy for both individual and mass protection. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

They see a rat, we seek a cure for diseases: the current status of animal experimentation in medical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kehinde, Elijah O

2013-01-01

The objective of this review article was to examine current and prospective developments in the scientific use of laboratory animals, and to find out whether or not there are still valid scientific benefits of and justification for animal experimentation. The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched using the following key words: animal models, basic research, pharmaceutical research, toxicity testing, experimental surgery, surgical simulation, ethics, animal welfare, benign, malignant diseases. Important relevant reviews, original articles and references from 1970 to 2012 were reviewed for data on the use of experimental animals in the study of diseases. The use of laboratory animals in scientific research continues to generate intense public debate. Their use can be justified today in the following areas of research: basic scientific research, use of animals as models for human diseases, pharmaceutical research and development, toxicity testing and teaching of new surgical techniques. This is because there are inherent limitations in the use of alternatives such as in vitro studies, human clinical trials or computer simulation. However, there are problems of transferability of results obtained from animal research to humans. Efforts are on-going to find suitable alternatives to animal experimentation like cell and tissue culture and computer simulation. For the foreseeable future, it would appear that to enable scientists to have a more precise understanding of human disease, including its diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic intervention, there will still be enough grounds to advocate animal experimentation. However, efforts must continue to minimize or eliminate the need for animal testing in scientific research as soon as possible. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The importance of genetics in the diagnosis of animal diseases - A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The use of recombinant DNA techniques in conjunction with conventional genetic methods have led to a rapid increase in knowledge of the genetic map. Many animal genes have been mapped to chromosomes. A detailed genetic map has become of great value in the diagnosis of genetic diseases and in the development ...

Tropical Glaciers

Science.gov (United States)

Fountain, Andrew

The term "tropical glacier" calls to mind balmy nights and palm trees on one hand and cold, blue ice on the other. Certainly author Gabriel Garcia Marqez exploited this contrast in One Hundred Years of Solitude. We know that tropical fish live in warm, Sun-kissed waters and tropical plants provide lush, dense foliage populated by colorful tropical birds. So how do tropical glaciers fit into this scene? Like glaciers everywhere, tropical glaciers form where mass accumulation—usually winter snow—exceeds mass loss, which is generally summer melt. Thus, tropical glaciers exist at high elevations where precipitation can occur as snowfall exceeds melt and sublimation losses, such as the Rwenzori Mountains in east Africa and the Maoke Range of Irian Jaya.

Systematic review of brucellosis in Kenya: disease frequency in humans and animals and risk factors for human infection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Njeru

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Brucellosis is a debilitating zoonotic disease affecting humans and animals. A comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of literature and officially available data on animal and human brucellosis for Kenya are missing. The aim of the current review is to provide frequency estimates of brucellosis in humans, animals and risk factors for human infection, and help to understand the current situation in Kenya. Methods A total of accessible 36 national and international publications on brucellosis from 1916 to 2016 were reviewed to estimate the frequency of brucellosis in humans and animals, and strength of associations between potential risk factors and seropositivity in humans in Kenya. Results The conducted studies revealed only few and fragmented evidence of the disease spatial and temporal distribution in an epidemiological context. Bacteriological evidence revealed the presence of Brucella (B. abortus and B. melitensis in cattle and human patients, whilst B. suis was isolated from wild rodents only. Similar evidence for Brucella spp infection in small ruminants and other animal species is unavailable. The early and most recent serological studies revealed that animal brucellosis is widespread in all animal production systems. The animal infection pressure in these systems has remained strong due to mixing of large numbers of animals from different geographical regions, movement of livestock in search of pasture, communal sharing of grazing land, and the concentration of animals around water points. Human cases are more likely seen in groups occupationally or domestically exposed to livestock or practicing risky social-cultural activities such as consumption of raw blood and dairy products, and slaughtering of animals within the homesteads. Many brucellosis patients are misdiagnosed and probably mistreated due to lack of reliable laboratory diagnostic support resulting to adverse health outcomes of the patients and routine

Use of radiation and radioisotopes for investigating metabolic diseases of animals in India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arora, S P [National Dairy Research Inst., Karnal (India). Div. of Dairy Cattle Nutrition and Physiology

1980-03-01

In the last decade, radioisotopes have been used to investigate certain metabolic diseases of animals and radiation is being utilized to produce parasitic vaccines to vaccinate animals. Some studies in which radioisotopes have been used to investigate certain metabolic disorders are reviewed. In experiments where radioimmunoassay technique for the estimation of hormones, has been utilized, the results reveal that the animals on low level of nutrition show greater oestrous cycle lengths or even long anoestrous periods. On the other hand, irradiation has been used as a tool to produce vaccines as well as degradation of certain dietary molecules for increased utilization. A number of studies wherein /sup 35/S and /sup 15/N isotopes have been used, reveal that sulphur supplementation is essential for optimum utilization of nitrogen in the ratio of 1:10. There are certain antimetabolites in feed ingredients which affect endocrine function. Evidence indicates that high nitrate forages disturb thyroid function when sup(131)I is used to elucidate its secretion rate. Similarly certain toxic substances such as tannins have been shown to affect protein metabolism and phosphorus utilization when sup(32)P isotope is used in such studies. The use of radioisotopes has also been helpful to investigate the cause of ''Degnala'' disease prevalent in village cattle in certain states of India. With the help of sup(75)Se it has been possible to trace the metabolic disturbances which lead to the onset of this disease. Another deficiency disease, hyperkeratosis, has been shown to be caused not only because of vitamin A deficiency, but also because of zinc deficiency. The latter helps in the mobilization of a normal quantity of vitamin A from the liver into the blood vitamin A pool. There is wide scope for use of radioisotopes to investigate other metabolic diseases prevalent in livestock in this country.

Use of radiation and radioisotopes for investigating metabolic diseases of animals in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arora, S.P.

1980-01-01

In the last one decade, radioisotopes are being used to investigate certain metabolic diseases of animals and radiations are being utilized to produce parasitic vaccines to vaccinate animals. Some studies in which radioisotopes have been used to investigate certain metabolic disorders are reviewed. In experiments, where radioimmunoassay technique for the estimation of hormones, has been utilized, the results reveal that the animals on low plane of nutrition show greater oestrous cycle lengths or even long anoestrous periods. On the other hand, irradiation has been used as a tool to produce vaccines as well as degradation of certain dietary molecules for increased utilization. A number of studies wherein 35 S and 15 N isotopes have been used, reveal that sulphur supplementation is essential for optimum utilization of nitrogen in the ratio of 1:10. There are certain antimetabolites in feed ingredients which affect endocrine function. Evidence indicates that high nitrate forages disturb thyroid function when sup(131)I is used to elucidate its secretion rate. Similarly certain toxic substances such as tannins have been shown to affect protein metabolism and phosphorus utilization when sup(32)P isotope is used in such studies. The use of radioisotopes have also been helpful to investigate the cause of ''Degnala'' disease prevalent in village cattle in certain states of India. With the help of sup(75)Se it has been possible to trace out the metabolic disturbances which lead to the onset of this disease. Another deficiency disease, hyperkeratosis, has been shown to be caused not only because of Vitamin A deficiency, but also because of zinc deficiency. The latter helps in the mobilization of normal quantity of vitamin A from the liver into the blood vitamin A pool. There is wide scope to use radioisotopes to investigate other metabolic diseases prevalent in livestock in this country. (auth.)

Strategies for differentiating infection in vaccinated animals (DIVA) for foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever and avian influenza

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Uttenthal, Åse; Parida, Satya; Rasmussen, Thomas Bruun

2010-01-01

for the presence of infection. This literature review describes the current knowledge on the use of DIVA diagnostic strategies for three important transboundary animal diseases: foot-and-mouth disease in cloven-hoofed animals, classical swine fever in pigs and avian influenza in poultry....

Priming B cell-mediated anti-HIV envelope responses by vaccination allows for the long-term control of infection in macaques exposed to a R5-tropic SHIV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buckner, Clarisa; Gines, Leoned G.; Saunders, Cheryl J.; Vojtech, Lucia; Srivastava, Indresh; Gettie, Agegnehu; Bohm, Rudolph; Blanchard, James; Barnett, Susan W.; Safrit, Jeffrey T.; Stamatatos, Leonidas

2004-01-01

The potential of vaccine-elicited anti-HIV envelope antibodies to control HIV-infection was evaluated by immunizing macaques with the HIV envelope protein and transiently depleting them of their CD8+ cells before intravenous challenge with the pathogenic CCR5-tropic SIV/HIV chimeric virus, SHIV SF162P4 . Although sterilizing immunity was not achieved, all vaccinated animals effectively controlled infection and remained free of disease for the duration of observation (over 3 years). In contrast, during the same period, the control animals progressed to disease. Both the vaccinees and the controls developed robust cell-mediated antiviral and neutralizing antibody responses following infection. A comparative analysis of these responses suggests that the more effective long-term control of infection by the vaccinated animals is due to the more rapid development of anti-HIV envelope antibodies. These studies suggest that priming by vaccination of B cell anti-HIV envelope responses maybe crucial for the long-term control of HIV infection

SRTM-DEM AND LANDSAT ETM+ DATA FOR MAPPING TROPICAL DRY FOREST COVER AND BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT IN NICARAGUA

OpenAIRE

Brett G. Dickson; Carol L. Chambers; Sarah M. Otterstrom; Suzanne E. Hagell; Steven E. Sesnie

2008-01-01

Tropical dry and deciduous forest comprises as much as 42% of the world’s tropical forests, but hasreceived far less attention than forest in wet tropical areas. Land use change threatens to greatly reducethe extent of dry forest that is known to contain high levels of plant and animal diversity. Forest fragmentationmay further endanger arboreal mammals that play principal role in the dispersal of large seeded fruits, plantcommunity assembly and diversity in these systems. Data on the spatial...

Conditional dependence between tests affects the diagnosis and surveillance of animal diseases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gardner, I.A.; Stryhn, Henrik; Lind, Peter

2000-01-01

Dependence between the sensitivities or specificities of pairs of tests affects the sensitivity and specificity of tests when used in combination. Compared with values expected if tests are conditionally independent, a positive dependence in test sensitivity reduces the sensitivity of parallel te...... for toxoplasmosis and brucellosis in swine, and Johne's disease in cattle to illustrate calculation methods and to indicate the likely magnitude of the dependence between serologic tests used for diagnosis and surveillance of animal diseases....

Fetal programming of CVD and renal disease: animal models and mechanistic considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Langley-Evans, Simon C

2013-08-01

The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis postulates that exposure to a less than optimal maternal environment during fetal development programmes physiological function, and determines risk of disease in adult life. Much evidence of such programming comes from retrospective epidemiological cohorts, which demonstrate associations between birth anthropometry and non-communicable diseases of adulthood. The assertion that variation in maternal nutrition drives these associations is supported by studies using animal models, which demonstrate that maternal under- or over-nutrition during pregnancy can programme offspring development. Typically, the offspring of animals that are undernourished in pregnancy exhibit a relatively narrow range of physiological phenotypes that includes higher blood pressure, glucose intolerance, renal insufficiency and increased adiposity. The observation that common phenotypes arise from very diverse maternal nutritional insults has led to the proposal that programming is driven by a small number of mechanistic processes. The remodelling of tissues during development as a consequence of maternal nutritional status being signalled by endocrine imbalance or key nutrients limiting processes in the fetus may lead to organs having irreversibly altered structures that may limit their function with ageing. It has been proposed that the maternal diet may impact upon epigenetic marks that determine gene expression in fetal tissues, and this may be an important mechanism connecting maternal nutrient intakes to long-term programming of offspring phenotype. The objective for this review is to provide an overview of the mechanistic basis of fetal programming, demonstrating the critical role of animal models as tools for the investigation of programming phenomena.

Use of expert opinion for animal disease decisions: an example of foot-and-mouth disease status designation.

Science.gov (United States)

Garabed, R B; Perez, A M; Johnson, W O; Thurmond, M C

2009-11-01

When data representing a preferred measurement of risk cannot be obtained, as is often the case for global animal diseases, decisions that affect millions of people and their animals are typically made based on expert opinion. Expert opinion can be and has been used to address the critical lack of data existing for prevalence and incidence of many global diseases, including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). However, when a conclusion based on expert opinion applies to a topic as sensitive as FMD, which has tremendous economic, political, and social implications, care should be taken to understand the accuracy of and differences in the opinion data. The differences in experts' opinions and the relative accuracy of an expert opinion elicitation for "diagnosing" country-level FMD presence were examined for the years 1997-2003 using Bayesian methods. A formal survey of eight international FMD experts revealed that individual experts had different opinions as to the probability of finding FMD in a country. However, a weighted average of the experts' responses was relatively accurate (91% sensitivity and 85% specificity) at identifying the FMD status of a country, compared to using a method that employed information available from World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The most apparent disagreements between individual experts and available information were found for Indonesia, South Korea, and South America, and, in general, the experts seemed to believe that countries in South Asia were more likely to be positive than other countries that reported FMD cases to OIE. This study highlights new methodology that offers a standardized, quantitative, and systematic means by which expert opinion can be used and assessed.

Neglected tropical diseases in Brazil Doenças tropicais negligenciadas no Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Angelo L. Lindoso

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Poverty is intrinsically related to the incidence of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs. The main countries that have the lowest human development indices (HDI and the highest burdens of NTDs are located in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Among these countries is Brazil, which is ranked 70th in HDI. Nine out of the ten NTDs established by the World Health Organization (WHO are present in Brazil. Leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, dengue fever and leprosy are present over almost the entire Brazilian territory. More than 90% of malaria cases occur in the Northern region of the country, and lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis occur in outbreaks in a particular region. The North and Northeast regions of Brazil have the lowest HDIs and the highest rates of NTDs. These diseases are considered neglected because there is not important investment in projects for the development of new drugs and vaccines and existing programs to control these diseases are not sufficient. Another problem related to NTDs is co-infection with HIV, which favors the occurrence of severe clinical manifestations and therapeutic failure. In this article, we describe the status of the main NTDs currently occurring in Brazil and relate them to the HDI and poverty.A pobreza está intrinsicamente relacionada com a ocorrência de doenças tropicais negligenciadas (DTNs. Os principais países com os menores índices de desenvolvimento humano (IDH e a maior carga de DTNs estão nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais do globo terrestre. O Brasil é o 70º país no ranking do IDH e concentra nove das 10 principais doenças tropicais consideradas negligenciadas pela OMS. Leishmanioses, tuberculose, dengue e hanseníase ocorrem em quase todo o território do Brasil. Mais de 90% dos casos de malária ocorrem na região norte e há surtos de filariose linfática e oncocercose. As regiões norte e nordeste apresentam o menor IDH e concentram o maior número das DTNs. Essas doen

Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Constanze; Zimmermann, Fee; Biek, Roman; Kuehl, Hjalmar; Nowak, Kathrin; Mundry, Roger; Agbor, Anthony; Angedakin, Samuel; Arandjelovic, Mimi; Blankenburg, Anja; Brazolla, Gregory; Corogenes, Katherine; Couacy-Hymann, Emmanuel; Deschner, Tobias; Dieguez, Paula; Dierks, Karsten; Düx, Ariane; Dupke, Susann; Eshuis, Henk; Formenty, Pierre; Yuh, Yisa Ginath; Goedmakers, Annemarie; Gogarten, Jan F; Granjon, Anne-Céline; McGraw, Scott; Grunow, Roland; Hart, John; Jones, Sorrel; Junker, Jessica; Kiang, John; Langergraber, Kevin; Lapuente, Juan; Lee, Kevin; Leendertz, Siv Aina; Léguillon, Floraine; Leinert, Vera; Löhrich, Therese; Marrocoli, Sergio; Mätz-Rensing, Kerstin; Meier, Amelia; Merkel, Kevin; Metzger, Sonja; Murai, Mizuki; Niedorf, Svenja; De Nys, Hélène; Sachse, Andreas; van Schijndel, Joost; Thiesen, Ulla; Ton, Els; Wu, Doris; Wieler, Lothar H; Boesch, Christophe; Klee, Silke R; Wittig, Roman M; Calvignac-Spencer, Sébastien; Leendertz, Fabian H

2017-08-02

Anthrax is a globally important animal disease and zoonosis. Despite this, our current knowledge of anthrax ecology is largely limited to arid ecosystems, where outbreaks are most commonly reported. Here we show that the dynamics of an anthrax-causing agent, Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis, in a tropical rainforest have severe consequences for local wildlife communities. Using data and samples collected over three decades, we show that rainforest anthrax is a persistent and widespread cause of death for a broad range of mammalian hosts. We predict that this pathogen will accelerate the decline and possibly result in the extirpation of local chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations. We present the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen and show that its presence has important implications for conservation.

Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Constanze; Zimmermann, Fee; Biek, Roman; Kuehl, Hjalmar; Nowak, Kathrin; Mundry, Roger; Agbor, Anthony; Angedakin, Samuel; Arandjelovic, Mimi; Blankenburg, Anja; Brazolla, Gregory; Corogenes, Katherine; Couacy-Hymann, Emmanuel; Deschner, Tobias; Dieguez, Paula; Dierks, Karsten; Düx, Ariane; Dupke, Susann; Eshuis, Henk; Formenty, Pierre; Yuh, Yisa Ginath; Goedmakers, Annemarie; Gogarten, Jan F.; Granjon, Anne-Céline; McGraw, Scott; Grunow, Roland; Hart, John; Jones, Sorrel; Junker, Jessica; Kiang, John; Langergraber, Kevin; Lapuente, Juan; Lee, Kevin; Leendertz, Siv Aina; Léguillon, Floraine; Leinert, Vera; Löhrich, Therese; Marrocoli, Sergio; Mätz-Rensing, Kerstin; Meier, Amelia; Merkel, Kevin; Metzger, Sonja; Murai, Mizuki; Niedorf, Svenja; de Nys, Hélène; Sachse, Andreas; van Schijndel, Joost; Thiesen, Ulla; Ton, Els; Wu, Doris; Wieler, Lothar H.; Boesch, Christophe; Klee, Silke R.; Wittig, Roman M.; Calvignac-Spencer, Sébastien; Leendertz, Fabian H.

2017-08-01

Anthrax is a globally important animal disease and zoonosis. Despite this, our current knowledge of anthrax ecology is largely limited to arid ecosystems, where outbreaks are most commonly reported. Here we show that the dynamics of an anthrax-causing agent, Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis, in a tropical rainforest have severe consequences for local wildlife communities. Using data and samples collected over three decades, we show that rainforest anthrax is a persistent and widespread cause of death for a broad range of mammalian hosts. We predict that this pathogen will accelerate the decline and possibly result in the extirpation of local chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations. We present the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen and show that its presence has important implications for conservation.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Salmonella infection in poultry (Salmonella Pullorum, Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella arizonae) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Salmonella to be lis......Salmonella infection in poultry (Salmonella Pullorum, Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella arizonae) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Salmonella...... judgement on each criterion at individual and, if no consensus was reached before, also at collective level. The output is composed of the categorical answer, and for the questions where no consensus was reached, the different supporting views are reported. Details on the methodology used...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bicout, Dominique

2017-01-01

A specific concept of strain was developed in order to classify the BTV serotypes ever reported in Europe based on their properties of animal health impact: the genotype, morbidity, mortality, speed of spread, period and geographical area of occurrence were considered as classification parameters...... of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7, Article 5 on the eligibility of bluetongue to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation according to disease prevention and control rules as in Annex IV and Article 8 on the list of animal species related to bluetongue. The assessment has...

Best Practices for Preventing Vector-Borne Diseases in Dogs and Humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantas-Torres, Filipe; Otranto, Domenico

2016-01-01

Vector-borne diseases constitute a diversified group of illnesses, which are caused by a multitude of pathogens transmitted by arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and sand flies. Proper management of these diseases is important from both human and veterinary medicine standpoints, given that many of these pathogens are transmissible to humans and dogs, which often live in close contact. In this review, we summarize the most important vector-borne diseases of dogs and humans and the best practices for their prevention. The control of these diseases would ultimately improve animal and human health and wellbeing, particularly in developing countries in the tropics, where the risk of these diseases is high and access to health care is poor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exercise training on cardiovascular diseases: Role of animal models in the elucidation of the mechanisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Rodrigues

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Cardiovascular diseases, which include hypertension, coronary artery disease/myocardial infarction and heart failure, are one of the major causes of disability and death worldwide. On the other hand, physical exercise acts in the preventionand treatment of these conditions. In fact, several experiments performed in human beings have demonstrated the efficiency of physical exercise to alter clinical signals observed in these diseases, such as high blood pressure and exercise intolerance. However, even if human studies demonstrated the clinical efficiency of physical exercise, most extensive mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon still have to be elucidated. In this sense, studies using animal models seem to be a good option to demonstrate such mechanisms. Therefore, the aims of the present study are describing the main pathophysiological characteristics of the animal models used in the study of cardiovascular diseases, as well as the main mechanismsassociated with the benefits of physical exercise.

Studies on the effects of ionizing radiation on the normal and diseased liver in experimental animals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahmoud, S.A.

1981-01-01

The experiments carried out in the present study primarily concerned with the effects of ionizing radiations on the normal and diseased liver in experimental animals (mice). Different radiation intensities and different exposure schemes were used to irradiate both healthy and schistosoma mansoni infected animals. A group of uninfected and unirradiated animals were used as controls. Follow up studies were performed every 6 weeks for 30 weeks. These included histopathological studies of the liver damage at every observation periods for all animal groups

The application of biomedical engineering techniques to the diagnosis and management of tropical diseases: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Fatimah; Thio, Tzer Hwai Gilbert; Faisal, Tarig; Neuman, Michael

2015-03-23

This paper reviews a number of biomedical engineering approaches to help aid in the detection and treatment of tropical diseases such as dengue, malaria, cholera, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, ebola, leprosy, leishmaniasis, and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas). Many different forms of non-invasive approaches such as ultrasound, echocardiography and electrocardiography, bioelectrical impedance, optical detection, simplified and rapid serological tests such as lab-on-chip and micro-/nano-fluidic platforms and medical support systems such as artificial intelligence clinical support systems are discussed. The paper also reviewed the novel clinical diagnosis and management systems using artificial intelligence and bioelectrical impedance techniques for dengue clinical applications.

Diabetes Mellitus Induces Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology: Histopathological Evidence from Animal Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nobuyuki Kimura

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Alzheimer’s disease (AD is the major causative disease of dementia and is characterized pathologically by the accumulation of senile plaques (SPs and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs in the brain. Although genetic studies show that β-amyloid protein (Aβ, the major component of SPs, is the key factor underlying AD pathogenesis, it remains unclear why advanced age often leads to AD. Interestingly, several epidemiological and clinical studies show that type II diabetes mellitus (DM patients are more likely to exhibit increased susceptibility to AD. Moreover, growing evidence suggests that there are several connections between the neuropathology that underlies AD and DM, and there is evidence that the experimental induction of DM can cause cognitive dysfunction, even in rodent animal models. This mini-review summarizes histopathological evidence that DM induces AD pathology in animal models and discusses the possibility that aberrant insulin signaling is a key factor in the induction of AD pathology.

Intracellular, genetic or congenital immunisation--transgenic approaches to increase disease resistance of farm animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, M; Brem, G

1996-01-26

Novel approaches to modify disease resistance or susceptibility in livestock are justified not only by economical reasons and with respect to animal welfare but also by recent advancements in molecular genetics. The control or elimination of infectious pathogens in farm animals is historically achieved by the use of vaccines and drugs and by quarantine safeguards and eradication. Currently, research on the improvement of disease resistance based on nucleic acid technology focuses on two main issues: additive gene transfer and the development of nucleic acid vaccines. The strategies aim at the stable or transient expression of components known to influence non-specific or specific host defence mechanisms against infectious pathogens. Thus, candidates for gene transfer experiments include all genes inducing or conferring innate and acquired immunity as well as specific disease resistance genes. Referring to the site and mode of action and the source of the effective agent the strategies are termed 'intracellular', 'genetic' and 'congenital' immunisation. The targeted disruption (deletive gene transfer) of disease susceptibility genes awaits the establishment of totipotential embryonic cell lineages in farm animals. The cytokine network regulates cellular viability, growth and differentiation in physiological and pathophysiological states. The identification of the JAK-STAT pathway used by many cytokines for their intracellular signal propagation has provided not only new target molecules for modulating the immune response but will also permit the further elucidation of host-pathogen interactions and resistance mechanisms.

Tropical radioecology

CERN Document Server

Baxter, M

2012-01-01

Tropical Radioecology is a guide to the wide range of scientific practices and principles of this multidisciplinary field. It brings together past and present studies in the tropical and sub-tropical areas of the planet, highlighting the unique aspects of tropical systems. Until recently, radioecological models for tropical environments have depended upon data derived from temperate environments, despite the differences of these regions in terms of biota and abiotic conditions. Since radioactivity can be used to trace environmental processes in humans and other biota, this book offers examples of studies in which radiotracers have been used to assess biokinetics in tropical biota. Features chapters, co-authored by world experts, that explain the origins, inputs, distribution, behaviour, and consequences of radioactivity in tropical and subtropical systems. Provides comprehensive lists of relevant data and identifies current knowledge gaps to allow for targeted radioecological research in the future. Integrate...

Search for Antiprotozoal Activity in Herbal Medicinal Preparations; New Natural Leads against Neglected Tropical Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Núria Llurba Montesino

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, Leishmaniasis, and Malaria are infectious diseases caused by unicellular eukaryotic parasites (“protozoans”. The three first mentioned are classified as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs by the World Health Organization and together threaten more than one billion lives worldwide. Due to the lack of research interest and the high increase of resistance against the existing treatments, the search for effective and safe new therapies is urgently required. In view of the large tradition of natural products as sources against infectious diseases [1,2], the aim of the present study is to investigate the potential of legally approved and marketed herbal medicinal products (HMPs as antiprotozoal agents. Fifty-eight extracts from 53 HMPs on the German market were tested by a Multiple-Target-Screening (MTS against parasites of the genera Leishmania, Trypanosoma, and Plasmodium. Sixteen HMPs showed in vitro activity against at least one of the pathogens (IC50 < 10 µg/mL. Six extracts from preparations of Salvia, Valeriana, Hypericum, Silybum, Arnica, and Curcuma exhibited high activity (IC50 < 2.5 µg/mL. They were analytically characterized by UHPLC/ESI-QqTOF-MSMS and the activity-guided fractionation of the extracts with the aim to isolate and identify the active compounds is in progress.

Broad patterns in domestic vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission dynamics: synanthropic animals and vector control.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Jennifer K; Bartsch, Sarah M; Lee, Bruce Y; Dobson, Andrew P

2015-10-22

Chagas disease (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi) is the most important neglected tropical disease (NTD) in Latin America, infecting an estimated 5.7 million people in the 21 countries where it is endemic. It is one of the NTDs targeted for control and elimination by the 2020 London Declaration goals, with the first goal being to interrupt intra-domiciliary vector-borne T. cruzi transmission. A key question in domestic T. cruzi transmission is the role that synanthropic animals play in T. cruzi transmission to humans. Here, we ask, (1) do synanthropic animals need to be targeted in Chagas disease prevention policies?, and (2) how does the presence of animals affect the efficacy of vector control? We developed a simple mathematical model to simulate domestic vector-borne T. cruzi transmission and to specifically examine the interaction between the presence of synanthropic animals and effects of vector control. We used the model to explore how the interactions between triatomine bugs, humans and animals impact the number and proportion of T. cruzi-infected bugs and humans. We then examined how T. cruzi dynamics change when control measures targeting vector abundance are introduced into the system. We found that the presence of synanthropic animals slows the speed of T. cruzi transmission to humans, and increases the sensitivity of T. cruzi transmission dynamics to vector control measures at comparable triatomine carrying capacities. However, T. cruzi transmission is amplified when triatomine carrying capacity increases with the abundance of syntathoropic hosts. Our results suggest that in domestic T. cruzi transmission scenarios where no vector control measures are in place, a reduction in synanthropic animals may slow T. cruzi transmission to humans, but it would not completely eliminate transmission. To reach the 2020 goal of interrupting intra-domiciliary T. cruzi transmission, it is critical to target vector populations. Additionally, where vector control measures

Has frugivory influenced the macroecology and diversification of a tropical keystone plant family?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Daniel Kissling

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Seed dispersal by fruit-eating animals is a pivotal ecosystem function in tropical forests, but the role that frugivores have played in the biogeography and macroevolution of species-rich tropical plant families remains largely unexplored. This project investigates how frugivory-relevant plant traits (e.g. fruit size, fruit color, fruit shape etc. are distributed within the angiosperm family of palms (Arecaceae, how this relates to diversification rates, and whether and how it coincides with the global biogeographic distribution of vertebrate frugivores (birds, bats, primates, other frugivorous mammals and their ecological traits (e.g. diet specialization, body size, flight ability, color vision etc.. Palms are particularly suitable because they are well studied, species-rich, characteristic of tropical rainforests, and dispersed by all groups of vertebrate seed dispersers. Using newly compiled data on species distributions and ecological traits in combination with phylogenies we will test (1 how fruit trait variability relates to palm phylogeny and other aspects of plant morphology (e.g. leaf size, plant height, growth form, (2 whether geographic variability in fruit traits correlates with geographic distributions of animal consumers and their traits, and (3 to what extent interaction-relevant plant traits are related to palm diversification rates. This combined macroecological and macroevolutionary approach allows novel insights into the global ecology and the evolution of a tropical keystone plant family. This is important for the conservation and sustainable management of tropical rainforests because palms are often key components of subsistence economies, ecosystem dynamics and carbon storage and therefore help to enhance nature’s goods, benefits and services to humanity.

Animal models of dementia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsson, I. Anna S.; Sandøe, Peter

2011-01-01

This chapter aims to encourage scientists and others interested in the use of animal models of disease – specifically, in the study of dementia – to engage in ethical reflection. It opens with a general discussion of the moral acceptability of animal use in research. Three ethical approaches...... are here distinguished. These serve as points of orientation in the following discussion of four more specific ethical questions: Does animal species matter? How effective is disease modelling in delivering the benefits claimed for it? What can be done to minimize potential harm to animals in research? Who...... bears responsibility for the use of animals in disease models?...

Effects of peptidyl-prolyl isomerase 1 depletion in animal models of prion diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Legname, Giuseppe; Virgilio, Tommaso; Bistaffa, Edoardo; De Luca, Chiara Maria Giulia; Catania, Marcella; Zago, Paola; Isopi, Elisa; Campagnani, Ilaria; Tagliavini, Fabrizio; Giaccone, Giorgio; Moda, Fabio

2018-04-20

Pin1 is a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase that induces the cis-trans conversion of specific Ser/Thr-Pro peptide bonds in phosphorylated proteins, leading to conformational changes through which Pin1 regulates protein stability and activity. Since down-regulation of Pin1 has been described in several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Huntington's Disease (HD), we investigated its potential role in prion diseases. Animals generated on wild-type (Pin1 +/+ ), hemizygous (Pin1 +/- ) or knock-out (Pin1 -/- ) background for Pin1 were experimentally infected with RML prions. The study indicates that, neither the total depletion nor reduced levels of Pin1 significantly altered the clinical and neuropathological features of the disease.

Glycemic index and glycemic load of tropical fruits and the potential risk for chronic diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Uchôa Passos

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The objective was to determine the glycemic index and glycemic load of tropical fruits and the potential risk for chronic diseases. Nine fruits were investigated: coconut water (for the purpose of this study, coconut water was classified as a “fruit”, guava, tamarind, passion fruit, custard apple, hog plum, cashew, sapodilla, and soursop. The GI and GL were determined according to the Food and Agriculture Organization protocol. The GL was calculated taking into consideration intake recommendation guidelines; 77.8% of the fruits had low GI although significant oscillations were observed in some graphs, which may indicate potential risks of disease. Coconut water and custard apple had a moderate GI, and all fruits had low GL. The fruits evaluated are healthy and can be consumed following the daily recommended amount. However, caution is recommended with fruits causing early glycemic peak and the fruits with moderated GI (coconut water and custard apple.

Travel to tropical areas: Zika virus disease

CERN Multimedia

CERN Medical Service

2016-01-01

Transmitted by the bite of a certain species of mosquitoes (Aedes), the Zika virus is spreading quickly in tropical areas of Central America, the Caribbean and South America.   Although no specific treatment nor vaccine is currently available, the most effective preventive measures are those focused on avoiding mosquito bites. There are no travel restrictions in place at present. However it is recommended that pregnant women defer travel plans to countries affected by the Zika virus. For further information on symptoms and prevention measures, please click on the Zika virus link or contact the Medical Service.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

Trypanosoma evansi infections (including Surra) have been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of T. evansi infections (including Surra) to be listed, Article 9...

Development of livestock production in the tropics: farm and farmers’ perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosting, S.J.; Udo, H.M.J.; Viets, T.C.

2014-01-01

Because of an increasing demand for animal-source foods, an increasing desire to reduce poverty and an increasing need to reduce the environmental impact of livestock production, tropical farming systems with livestock must increase their productivity. An important share of the global human and

Fumonisin exposure in women linked to inhibition of an enzyme that is a key event in farm and laboratory animal diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a toxic chemical produced by molds. The molds that produce fumonisin are common in corn. Consumption of contaminated corn by farm animals has been shown to be the cause of animal disease. The proximate cause (key event) in the induction of diseases in animals is inhibition of t...

Animal models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gøtze, Jens Peter; Krentz, Andrew

2014-01-01

In this issue of Cardiovascular Endocrinology, we are proud to present a broad and dedicated spectrum of reviews on animal models in cardiovascular disease. The reviews cover most aspects of animal models in science from basic differences and similarities between small animals and the human...

International standards: the World Organisation for Animal Health Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiermann, A B

2015-04-01

This paper provides a description of the international standards contained in the TerrestrialAnimal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) that relate to the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases. It identifies the rights and obligations of OIE Member Countries regarding the notification of animal disease occurrences, as well as the recommendations to be followed for a safe and efficient international trade of animals and their products.

Adverse event management in mass drug administration for neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Caplan, Arthur; Zink, Amanda

2014-03-01

The ethical challenges of reporting and managing adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs) in the context of mass drug administration (MDA) for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) require reassessment of domestic and international policies on a global scale. Although the World Health Organization has set forth AE/SAE guidelines specifically for NTD MDA that incorporate suspected causality, and recommends that only SAEs get reported in this setting, most regulatory agencies continue to require the reporting of all SAEs exhibiting even a merely temporal relationship to activities associated with an MDA program. This greatly increases the potential for excess "noise" and undue risk aversion and is not only impractical but arguably unethical where huge proportions of populations are being treated for devastating diseases, and no good baseline exists against which to compare possible AE/SAE reports. Other population-specific variables that might change the way drug safety ought to be assessed include differing efficacy rates of a drug, background morbidity/mortality rates of the target disease in question, the growth rate of the incidence of disease, the availability of rescue or salvage therapies, and the willingness of local populations to take risks that other populations might not. The fact that NTDs are controllable and potentially eradicable with well-tolerated, effective, existing drugs might further alter our assessment of MDA safety and AE/SAE tolerability. At the same time, diffuseness of population, communication barriers, lack of resources, and other difficult surveillance challenges may present in NTD-affected settings. These limitations could impair the ability to monitor an MDA program's success, as well as hinder efforts to obtain informed consent or provide rescue therapy. Denying beneficial research interventions and MDA programs intended to benefit millions requires sound ethical justification based on more than the identification of

Disease ecology, health and the environment: a framework to account for ecological and socio-economic drivers in the control of neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Garchitorena, A; Sokolow, S H; Roche, B; Ngonghala, C N; Jocque, M; Lund, A; Barry, M; Mordecai, E A; Daily, G C; Jones, J H; Andrews, J R; Bendavid, E; Luby, S P; LaBeaud, A D; Seetah, K; Guégan, J F; Bonds, M H; De Leo, G A

2017-06-05

Reducing the burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is one of the key strategic targets advanced by the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the unprecedented effort deployed for NTD elimination in the past decade, their control, mainly through drug administration, remains particularly challenging: persistent poverty and repeated exposure to pathogens embedded in the environment limit the efficacy of strategies focused exclusively on human treatment or medical care. Here, we present a simple modelling framework to illustrate the relative role of ecological and socio-economic drivers of environmentally transmitted parasites and pathogens. Through the analysis of system dynamics, we show that periodic drug treatments that lead to the elimination of directly transmitted diseases may fail to do so in the case of human pathogens with an environmental reservoir. Control of environmentally transmitted diseases can be more effective when human treatment is complemented with interventions targeting the environmental reservoir of the pathogen. We present mechanisms through which the environment can influence the dynamics of poverty via disease feedbacks. For illustration, we present the case studies of Buruli ulcer and schistosomiasis, two devastating waterborne NTDs for which control is particularly challenging.This article is part of the themed issue 'Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette; Butterworth, Andrew

2017-01-01

The infection with Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis and Brucella suis has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of the infection with B. abortus, B. melitensis...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Japanese encephalitis (JE) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of Japanese encephalitis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of Japanese encephalitis...

An overview of the roles and structure of international high-security veterinary laboratories for infectious animal diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, P K

1998-08-01

The unique structure, role and operations of government high-security (HS) laboratories which work on animal diseases are described, with particular reference to the laboratories of nine countries. High-security laboratories provide cost-effective insurance against catastrophic losses which could occur following exotic disease outbreaks. The importance of these laboratories is reflected in the fact that several new laboratories have recently been constructed at considerable expense and older facilities have undergone major renovations. Biosecurity is fundamental to the operation of high-security laboratories, so good facility design and microbiological security practices are very important. High-security laboratories conduct exotic disease diagnosis, certification and surveillance, and also perform research into virology, disease pathogenesis and improvements to diagnostic tests and vaccines. The mandate of these laboratories includes the training of veterinarians in the recognition of exotic diseases. One extremely important role is the provision of expert advice on exotic diseases and participation (both nationally and internationally) in policy decisions regarding animal disease issues.

Zoonoses and marginalised infectious diseases of poverty: Where do we stand?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaignat Claire L

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Despite growing awareness of the importance of controlling neglected tropical diseases as a contribution to poverty alleviation and achieving the Millennium Development Goals, there is a need to up-scale programmes to achieve wider public health benefits. This implementation deficit is attributable to several factors but one often overlooked is the specific difficulty in tackling diseases that involve both people and animals - the zoonoses. A Disease Reference Group on Zoonoses and Marginalised Infectious Diseases (DRG6 was convened by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR, a programme executed by the World Health Organization and co-sponsored by UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and WHO. The key considerations included: (a the general lack of reliable quantitative data on their public health burden; (b the need to evaluate livestock production losses and their additional impacts on health and poverty; (c the relevance of cross-sectoral issues essential to designing and implementing public health interventions for zoonotic diseases; and (d identifying priority areas for research and interventions to harness resources most effectively. Beyond disease specific research issues, a set of common macro-priorities and interventions were identified which, if implemented through a more integrated approach by countries, would have a significant impact on human health of the most marginalised populations characteristically dependent on livestock.

High-throughput screening platform for natural product-based drug discovery against 3 neglected tropical diseases: human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Annang, F; Pérez-Moreno, G; García-Hernández, R; Cordon-Obras, C; Martín, J; Tormo, J R; Rodríguez, L; de Pedro, N; Gómez-Pérez, V; Valente, M; Reyes, F; Genilloud, O; Vicente, F; Castanys, S; Ruiz-Pérez, L M; Navarro, M; Gamarro, F; González-Pacanowska, D

2015-01-01

African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease are 3 neglected tropical diseases for which current therapeutic interventions are inadequate or toxic. There is an urgent need to find new lead compounds against these diseases. Most drug discovery strategies rely on high-throughput screening (HTS) of synthetic chemical libraries using phenotypic and target-based approaches. Combinatorial chemistry libraries contain hundreds of thousands of compounds; however, they lack the structural diversity required to find entirely novel chemotypes. Natural products, in contrast, are a highly underexplored pool of unique chemical diversity that can serve as excellent templates for the synthesis of novel, biologically active molecules. We report here a validated HTS platform for the screening of microbial extracts against the 3 diseases. We have used this platform in a pilot project to screen a subset (5976) of microbial extracts from the MEDINA Natural Products library. Tandem liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that 48 extracts contain potentially new compounds that are currently undergoing de-replication for future isolation and characterization. Known active components included actinomycin D, bafilomycin B1, chromomycin A3, echinomycin, hygrolidin, and nonactins, among others. The report here is, to our knowledge, the first HTS of microbial natural product extracts against the above-mentioned kinetoplastid parasites. © 2014 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Anthrax has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of anthrax to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of anthrax according to disease prevention and control rul...... species to be listed for anthrax according to Article 8(3) are several species of mammals, birds and reptiles, and susceptible herbivores and pigs as reservoir....

Road-networks, a practical indicator of human impacts on biodiversity in Tropical forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosaka, T; Yamada, T; Okuda, T

2014-01-01

Tropical forests sustain the most diverse plants and animals in the world, but are also being lost most rapidly. Rapid assessment and monitoring using remote sensing on biodiversity of tropical forests is needed to predict and evaluate biodiversity loss by human activities. Identification of reliable indicators of forest biodiversity and/or its loss is an urgent issue. In the present paper, we propose the density of road networks in tropical forests can be a good and practical indicator of human impacts on biodiversity in tropical forests through reviewing papers and introducing our preliminary survey in peninsular Malaysia. Many previous studies suggest a strong negative impact of forest roads on biodiversity in tropical rainforests since they changes microclimate, soil properties, drainage patterns, canopy openness and forest accessibility. Moreover, our preliminary survey also showed that even a narrow logging road (6 m wide) significantly lowered abundance of dung beetles (well-known bio-indicator in biodiversity survey in tropical forests) near the road. Since these road networks are readily to be detected with remote sensing approach such as aerial photographs and Lider, regulation and monitoring of the road networks using remote sensing techniques is a key to slow down the rate of biodiversity loss due to forest degradation in tropical forests

Road-networks, a practical indicator of human impacts on biodiversity in Tropical forests

Science.gov (United States)

Hosaka, T.; Yamada, T.; Okuda, T.

2014-02-01

Tropical forests sustain the most diverse plants and animals in the world, but are also being lost most rapidly. Rapid assessment and monitoring using remote sensing on biodiversity of tropical forests is needed to predict and evaluate biodiversity loss by human activities. Identification of reliable indicators of forest biodiversity and/or its loss is an urgent issue. In the present paper, we propose the density of road networks in tropical forests can be a good and practical indicator of human impacts on biodiversity in tropical forests through reviewing papers and introducing our preliminary survey in peninsular Malaysia. Many previous studies suggest a strong negative impact of forest roads on biodiversity in tropical rainforests since they changes microclimate, soil properties, drainage patterns, canopy openness and forest accessibility. Moreover, our preliminary survey also showed that even a narrow logging road (6 m wide) significantly lowered abundance of dung beetles (well-known bio-indicator in biodiversity survey in tropical forests) near the road. Since these road networks are readily to be detected with remote sensing approach such as aerial photographs and Lider, regulation and monitoring of the road networks using remote sensing techniques is a key to slow down the rate of biodiversity loss due to forest degradation in tropical forests.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW); More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of PRRS to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of PRRS according...

Currently important animal disease management issues in sub-Saharan Africa : policy and trade issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.R. Thomson

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The present international approach to management of transboundary animal diseases (TADs is based on the assumption that most can be eradicated ; consequently, that is the usual objective adopted by international organizations concerned with animal health. However, for sub-Saharan Africa and southern Africa more particularly, eradication of most TADs is impossible for the foreseeable future for a variety of technical, financial and logistical reasons. Compounding this, the present basis for access to international markets for products derived from animals requires that the area of origin (country or zone is free from trade-influencing TADs. The ongoing development of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs, extending across huge areas of southern Africa, therefore presents a development conundrum because it makes creation of geographic areas free from TADs more difficult and brings development based on wildlife conservation on the one hand and that based on livestock production on the other into sharp conflict. Sub-Saharan Africa is consequently confronted by a complex problem that contributes significantly to retarded rural development which, in turn, impedes poverty alleviation. In southern Africa specifically, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD presents the greatest problem in relation to access to international markets for animal products. However, it is argued that this problem could be overcome by a combination between (1 implementation of a commodity-based approach to trade in products derived from animals and (2 amendment of the international standards for FMD specifically (i.e. the FMD chapter in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health [OIE] so that occurrence of SAT serotype viruses in free-living African buffalo need not necessarily mean exclusion of areas where buffalo occur from international markets for animal products. This would overcome a presently intractable constraint to market access for

[A text-book case of tropical facial elephantiasis].

Science.gov (United States)

Dilu, N-J; Sokolo, R

2007-02-01

Tropical facial elephantiasis is a nosological entity which can arise from various underlying causes: von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis, lymphatic and cutaneodermal filarioses, deep mycosis. We report an exceptional case of tropical facial elephantiasis caused by onchocercosis and entomophtoromycosis (rhinophycomycosis). The patient's facial morphology was noted "hippopotamus-face" or "dog-face". Onchocercosis and entomophtoromycosis are two diseases known to cause facial elephantiasis. We have not however been able to find any case report in the literature of co-morbidity nor any information on factors predictive of concomitant occurrence.

Correlated Inflammatory Responses and Neurodegeneration in Peptide-Injected Animal Models of Alzheimer’s Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James G. McLarnon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD which emphasize activation of microglia may have particular utility in correlating proinflammatory activity with neurodegeneration. This paper reviews injection of amyloid-β (Aβ into rat brain as an alternative AD animal model to the use of transgenic animals. In particular, intrahippocampal injection of Aβ1-42 peptide demonstrates prominent microglial mobilization and activation accompanied by a significant loss of granule cell neurons. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of inflammatory reactivity is demonstrated by a broad spectrum of drugs with a common endpoint in conferring neuroprotection in peptide-injected animals. Peptide-injection models provide a focus on glial cell responses to direct peptide injection in rat brain and offer advantages in the study of the mechanisms underlying neuroinflammation in AD brain.

Recombinant Newcastle disease virus-vectored vaccines against human and animal infectious diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Zhiqiang; Xu, Houqiang; Ji, Xinqin; Zhao, Jiafu

2015-01-01

Recent advances in recombinant genetic engineering techniques have brought forward a leap in designing new vaccines in modern medicine. One attractive strategy is the application of reverse genetics technology to make recombinant Newcastle disease virus (rNDV) deliver protective antigens of pathogens. In recent years, numerous studies have demonstrated that rNDV-vectored vaccines can induce quicker and better humoral and mucosal immune responses than conventional vaccines and are protective against pathogen challenges. With deeper understanding of NDV molecular biology, it is feasible to develop gene-modified rNDV vaccines accompanied by good safety, high efficacy, low toxicity and better immunogenicity. This review summarizes the development of reverse genetics technology in using NDV as a promising vaccine vector to design new vaccines for human and animal use.

The Application of Biomedical Engineering Techniques to the Diagnosis and Management of Tropical Diseases: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatimah Ibrahim

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews a number of biomedical engineering approaches to help aid in the detection and treatment of tropical diseases such as dengue, malaria, cholera, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, ebola, leprosy, leishmaniasis, and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas. Many different forms of non-invasive approaches such as ultrasound, echocardiography and electrocardiography, bioelectrical impedance, optical detection, simplified and rapid serological tests such as lab-on-chip and micro-/nano-fluidic platforms and medical support systems such as artificial intelligence clinical support systems are discussed. The paper also reviewed the novel clinical diagnosis and management systems using artificial intelligence and bioelectrical impedance techniques for dengue clinical applications.

Stargardt disease: clinical features, molecular genetics, animal models and therapeutic options.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanna, Preena; Strauss, Rupert W; Fujinami, Kaoru; Michaelides, Michel

2017-01-01

Stargardt disease (STGD1; MIM 248200) is the most prevalent inherited macular dystrophy and is associated with disease-causing sequence variants in the gene ABCA4 Significant advances have been made over the last 10 years in our understanding of both the clinical and molecular features of STGD1, and also the underlying pathophysiology, which has culminated in ongoing and planned human clinical trials of novel therapies. The aims of this review are to describe the detailed phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the disease, conventional and novel imaging findings, current knowledge of animal models and pathogenesis, and the multiple avenues of intervention being explored. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

A. Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, and murder by tropical infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrenkranz, N J

1987-01-01

The scientific insights with which A. Conan Doyle endowed his creation, the master detective Sherlock Holmes, continue to attract scholarly interest. Indeed, the clinical and/or scientific aspects of Doyle's fiction hold appeal for those interested in the epidemiology of tropical infectious diseases. The origins and routes of transmission of tropical infections were subjects of fruitful investigation in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In "The Adventure of the Dying Detective," Sherlock Holmes investigates a murder that he suspects to have resulted from a fatal Asiatic disease associated with a short incubation period: the indications point to primary septicemic plague as the murder weapon.

Interpretations of education about gene-environment influences on health in rural Ethiopia: the context of a neglected tropical disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Tora, Abebayehu; Ayode, Desta; Tadele, Getnet; Farrell, David; Davey, Gail; McBride, Colleen M

2016-07-01

Misunderstandings of the role of genetics in disease development are associated with stigmatizing behaviors and fatalistic attitudes about prevention. This report describes an evaluation of community understanding of an educational module about genetic and environmental influences on the development of podoconiosis, a neglected tropical disease endemic in highland Ethiopia. A qualitative process assessment was conducted as part of a large prospective intervention trial in August 2013, in Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia. Sixty five participants were purposively selected from 600 households randomized to receive the inherited susceptibility module. The educational module used pictorial representations and oral explanations of the interaction of inherited sensitivity and soil exposure and was delivered by lay health educators in participants' homes. Data were collected using semi-structured individual interviews (IDIs) or focus group discussions (FGDs). Qualitative analyses showed that most participants improved their understanding of inherited soil sensitivity and susceptibility to podoconiosis. Participants linked their new understanding to decreased stigma-related attitudes. The module also corrected misconceptions that the condition was contagious, again diminishing stigmatizing attitudes. Lastly, these improvements in understanding increased the perceived value of foot protection. Taken together, these improvements support the acceptability, feasibility and potential benefits of implementing gene-environment education in low and middle income countries. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW); More, Simon; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Bovine genital campylobacteriosis has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of bovine genital campylobacteriosis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Avian mycoplasmosis (Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma meleagridis) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of avian mycoplasmosis to be listed, Article 9...

The role of infectious disease impact in informing decision-making for animal health management in aquaculture systems in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Garza, Maria; Mohan, Chadag Vishnumurthy; Rahman, Meezanur; Wieland, Barbara; Häsler, Barbara

2018-03-20

The aquaculture sector in Bangladesh is an important employer and a significant source of foreign exchange. In addition, it contributes significantly to food security due to the role of fish in peoples' diets, the most important source of protein and micronutrients. However, infectious diseases represent an important barrier to sector development due to economic losses and vulnerability of smallholders. The aim of this study was to gain an overview of the impact of infectious diseases in the aquaculture sector, and to assess the usefulness and use of impact studies in decision making for animal health management and biosecurity governance in Bangladesh. A review of scientific and grey literature on infectious disease impact in different aquaculture systems was conducted and their methodologies and findings summarised. Subsequently, interviews with 28 stakeholders from the private and public sector were conducted to enquire about decision-making structures in animal health management. The data were analysed using the framework method to allow the development of themes, by using the information, experiences and opinions inductively obtained from interviewees, deductively through the reviewed literature. Results showed a substantial socio-economic impact of infectious diseases. The numerous stakeholders involved in the decision-making process explained that key barriers to effective aquaculture health management were insufficient resources to investigate and tackle infectious aquatic animal diseases, a dearth of legislation and capacity for disease surveillance, a reliance on reactive response, and a lack of impact and evidence-based approaches for prioritising problem-solving, commonly based on anecdotal evidence. Furthermore, communication among the multiple stakeholders involved was reported to be weak. This complex situation requires a multi-level response, which should span from strengthening the knowledge of farmers and professionals in the field to the

Consistent patterns of high alpha and low beta diversity in tropical parasitic and free-living protists.

Science.gov (United States)

Lentendu, Guillaume; Mahé, Frédéric; Bass, David; Rueckert, Sonja; Stoeck, Thorsten; Dunthorn, Micah

2018-05-30

Tropical animals and plants are known to have high alpha diversity within forests, but low beta diversity between forests. By contrast, it is unknown whether microbes inhabiting the same ecosystems exhibit similar biogeographic patterns. To evaluate the biogeographies of tropical protists, we used metabarcoding data of species sampled in the soils of three lowland Neotropical rainforests. Taxa-area and distance-decay relationships for three of the dominant protist taxa and their subtaxa were estimated at both the OTU and phylogenetic levels, with presence-absence and abundance-based measures. These estimates were compared to null models. High local alpha and low regional beta diversity patterns were consistently found for both the parasitic Apicomplexa and the largely free-living Cercozoa and Ciliophora. Similar to animals and plants, the protists showed spatial structures between forests at the OTU and phylogenetic levels, and only at the phylogenetic level within forests. These results suggest that the biogeographies of macro- and micro-organismal eukaryotes in lowland Neotropical rainforests are partially structured by the same general processes. However, and unlike the animals and plants, the protist OTUs did not exhibit spatial structures within forests, which hinders our ability to estimate the local and regional diversity of protists in tropical forests. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Reversal of Increasing Tropical Ocean Hypoxia Trends With Sustained Climate Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Weiwei; Primeau, Francois; Keith Moore, J.; Lindsay, Keith; Randerson, James T.

2018-04-01

Dissolved oxygen (O2) is essential for the survival of marine animals. Climate change impacts on future oxygen distributions could modify species biogeography, trophic interactions, biodiversity, and biogeochemistry. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 models predict a decreasing trend in marine O2 over the 21st century. Here we show that this increasing hypoxia trend reverses in the tropics after 2100 in the Community Earth System Model forced by atmospheric CO2 from the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and Extended Concentration Pathway 8.5. In tropical intermediate waters between 200 and 1,000 m, the model predicts a steady decline of O2 and an expansion of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) during the 21st century. By 2150, however, the trend reverses with oxygen concentration increasing and OMZ volume shrinking through 2300. A novel five-box model approach in conjunction with output from the full Earth system model is used to separate the contributions of biological and physical processes to the trends in tropical oxygen. The tropical O2 recovery is caused mainly by reductions in tropical biological export, coupled with a modest increase in ventilation after 2200. The time-evolving oxygen distribution impacts marine nitrogen cycling, with potentially important climate feedbacks.

Economic principles for resource allocation decisions at national level to mitigate the effects of disease in farm animal populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, K S; Häsler, B; Stärk, K D C

2013-01-01

This paper originated in a project to develop a practical, generic tool for the economic evaluation of surveillance for farm animal diseases at national level by a state veterinary service. Fundamental to that process is integration of epidemiological and economic perspectives. Using a generalized example of epidemic disease, we show that an epidemic curve maps into its economic equivalent, a disease mitigation function, that traces the relationship between value losses avoided and mitigation resources expended. Crucially, elementary economic principles show that mitigation, defined as loss reduction achieved by surveillance and intervention, must be explicitly conceptualized as a three-variable process, and the relative contributions of surveillance and intervention resources investigated with regard to the substitution possibilities between them. Modelling the resultant mitigation surfaces for different diseases should become a standard approach to animal health policy analysis for economic efficiency, a contribution to the evolving agenda for animal health economics research.

The Potential Use of Natural and Structural Analogues of Antimicrobial Peptides in the Fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lewies Angélique

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Recently, research into the development of new antimicrobial agents has been driven by the increase in resistance to traditional antibiotics and Emerging Infectious Diseases. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs are promising candidates as alternatives to current antibiotics in the treatment and prevention of microbial infections. AMPs are produced by all known living species, displaying direct antimicrobial killing activity and playing an important role in innate immunity. To date, more than 2000 AMPs have been discovered and many of these exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral and anti-parasitic activity. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs are caused by a variety of pathogens and are particularly wide-spread in low-income and developing regions of the world. Alternative, cost effective treatments are desperately needed to effectively battle these medically diverse diseases. AMPs have been shown to be effective against a variety of NTDs, including African trypanosomes, leishmaniosis and Chagas disease, trachoma and leprosy. In this review, the potential of selected AMPs to successfully treat a variety of NTD infections will be critically evaluated.

The multifactorial role of the 3Rs in shifting the harm-benefit analysis in animal models of disease

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Melanie L.; Prescott, Mark J.

2015-01-01

Ethics on animal use in science in Western society is based on utilitarianism, weighing the harms and benefits to the animals involved against those of the intended human beneficiaries. The 3Rs concept (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) is both a robust framework for minimizing animal use and suffering (addressing the harms to animals) and a means of supporting high quality science and translation (addressing the benefits). The ambiguity of basic research performed early in the research continuum can sometimes make harm-benefit analysis more difficult since anticipated benefit is often an incremental contribution to a field of knowledge. On the other hand, benefit is much more evident in translational research aimed at developing treatments for direct application in humans or animals suffering from disease. Though benefit may be easier to define, it should certainly not be considered automatic. Issues related to model validity seriously compromise experiments and have been implicated as a major impediment in translation, especially in complex disease models where harms to animals can be intensified. Increased investment and activity in the 3Rs is delivering new research models, tools and approaches with reduced reliance on animal use, improved animal welfare, and improved scientific and predictive value. PMID:25823812

The economic and poverty impacts of animal diseases in developing countries: new roles, new demands for economics and epidemiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rich, Karl M; Perry, Brian D

2011-09-01

Animal disease outbreaks pose significant threats to livestock sectors throughout the world, both from the standpoint of the economic impacts of the disease itself and the measures taken to mitigate the risk of disease introduction. These impacts are multidimensional and not always well understood, complicating effective policy response. In the developing world, livestock diseases have broader, more nuanced effects on markets, poverty, and livelihoods, given the diversity of uses of livestock and complexity of livestock value chains. In both settings, disease control strategies, particularly those informed by ex ante modeling platforms, often fail to recognize the constraints inherent among farmers, veterinary services, and other value chain actors. In short, context matters. Correspondingly, an important gap in the animal health economics literature is the explicit incorporation of behavior and incentives in impact analyses that highlight the interactions of disease with its socio-economic and institutional setting. In this paper, we examine new approaches and frameworks for the analysis of economic and poverty impacts of animal diseases. We propose greater utilization of "bottom-up" analyses, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of value chain and information economics approaches in impact analyses and stressing the importance of improved integration between the epidemiology of disease and its relationships with economic behavior. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW); More, Simon; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Infestation with Varroa spp. (varroosis) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of varroosis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of varroosis according...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Bovine tuberculosis has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of bovine tuberculosis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of bovine tuberculosis according...

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW); More, Simon; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Ovine epididymitis (Brucella ovis) has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of ovine epididymitis to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of ovine epididymitis...

Neglected tropical diseases in Brazilian children and adolescents: data analysis from 2009 to 2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandão, Eduardo; Romero, Sebastián; da Silva, Maria Almerice Lopes; Santos, Fred Luciano Neves

2017-11-03

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) prevail in conditions of poverty and contribute to the maintenance of social inequality. Out of the NTDs prioritized by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, four parasitic infections require mandatory notification: acute Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, malaria, and schistosomiasis. Data on the behaviour of these NTDs in the young population are currently limited. This study seeks to analyse the epidemiological aspects of these parasitic infections in children and adolescents in Brazil. A retrospective exploratory ecological study was conducted. A spatial analysis of the cases reported between 2009 and 2013 in individuals aged between 0 and 19 years that were notified through the Health Notification Aggravation Information System (SINAN) was performed. In total, 64,567 cases of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, and acute Chagas disease were recorded in the SINAN database, representing a rate of 20.15 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The average age of the cases was 12.2 years and 62.32% were male. Four hundred and three deaths related to these obligatorily reported parasites were recorded, indicating a case fatality rate of 0.62%. Visceral leishmaniasis and acute Chagas disease had the highest rates of lethality. A heterogeneous spatial distribution of the studied parasites was observed. The number of cases and the lethality rate described in this study show that these diseases still represent a serious problem for public health in Brazil. This points to the need to encourage new research and the reformulation of social, economic, and public health policies aimed at ensuring better health and living conditions for all individuals, especially those among the populations considered vulnerable, as is the case of the young.

The role and importance of veterinary laboratories in the prevention and control of infectious diseases of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Truszczyński, M J

1998-08-01

Veterinary laboratories which deal with infectious diseases form three groups according to the tasks for which they are responsible. The first group includes central or national veterinary laboratories, national or international reference laboratories, high-security laboratories, district regional or state veterinary diagnostic laboratories. The major role of these laboratories is to assist national Veterinary Services in diagnosing infectious animal diseases. The second group comprises laboratories that produce veterinary diagnostic kits and those that produce veterinary vaccines. The third group is composed of veterinary research laboratories, which generally concentrate on basic research and do not contribute directly to the diagnosis and control of infectious animal diseases. The author describes the objectives of each of the three groups of laboratories.

Journal of Medicine in the Tropics

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Journal of Medicine in the Tropics is primarily a medium for the publication of research in the areas of medicine and related sciences. Specifically, the journal is interested in environmental and disease epidemiology, basic sciences as well as inter-disciplinary studies that enhance and improve the health status of man ...

Increased expression of OX40 is associated with progressive disease in patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Mineki; Tanaka, Reiko; Arishima, Shiho; Matsuzaki, Toshio; Ishihara, Satoshi; Tokashiki, Takashi; Ohya, Yusuke; Takashima, Hiroshi; Umehara, Fujio; Izumo, Shuji; Tanaka, Yuetsu

2013-05-07

OX40 is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family that is expressed primarily on activated CD4+ T cells and promotes the development of effector and memory T cells. Although OX40 has been reported to be a target gene of human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) viral transactivator Tax and is overexpressed in vivo in adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) cells, an association between OX40 and HTLV-1-associated inflammatory disorders, such as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), has not yet been established. Moreover, because abrogation of OX40 signals ameliorates chronic inflammation in animal models of autoimmune disease, novel monoclonal antibodies against OX40 may offer a potential treatment for HTLV-1-associated diseases such as ATL and HAM/TSP. In this study, we showed that OX40 was specifically expressed in CD4+ T cells naturally infected with HTLV-1 that have the potential to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines along with Tax expression. We also showed that OX40 was overexpressed in spinal cord infiltrating mononuclear cells in a clinically progressive HAM/TSP patient with a short duration of illness. The levels of the soluble form of OX40 (sOX40) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from chronic progressive HAM/TSP patients or from patients with other inflammatory neurological diseases (OINDs) were not different. In contrast, sOX40 levels in the CSF of rapidly progressing HAM/TSP patients were higher than those in the CSF from patients with OINDs, and these patients showed higher sOX40 levels in the CSF than in the plasma. When our newly produced monoclonal antibody against OX40 was added to peripheral blood mononuclear cells in culture, HTLV-1-infected T cells were specifically removed by a mechanism that depends on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Our study identified OX40 as a key molecule and biomarker for rapid progression of HAM/TSP. Furthermore, blocking OX40 may have potential in therapeutic intervention for

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): anthrax

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare; More, Simon J.; Bøtner, Anette

2017-01-01

Anthrax has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on the eligibility of anthrax to be listed, Article 9 for the categorisation of anthrax according to disease prevention and control rul...... species to be listed for anthrax according to Article 8(3) are several species of mammals, birds and reptiles, and susceptible herbivores and pigs as reservoir....

9 CFR 55.6 - Mortgage against animals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mortgage against animals. 55.6 Section 55.6 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF... DISEASE Chronic Wasting Disease Indemnification Program § 55.6 Mortgage against animals. When cervids have...

Optimizing surveillance for livestock disease spreading through animal movements

Science.gov (United States)

Bajardi, Paolo; Barrat, Alain; Savini, Lara; Colizza, Vittoria

2012-01-01

The spatial propagation of many livestock infectious diseases critically depends on the animal movements among premises; so the knowledge of movement data may help us to detect, manage and control an outbreak. The identification of robust spreading features of the system is however hampered by the temporal dimension characterizing population interactions through movements. Traditional centrality measures do not provide relevant information as results strongly fluctuate in time and outbreak properties heavily depend on geotemporal initial conditions. By focusing on the case study of cattle displacements in Italy, we aim at characterizing livestock epidemics in terms of robust features useful for planning and control, to deal with temporal fluctuations, sensitivity to initial conditions and missing information during an outbreak. Through spatial disease simulations, we detect spreading paths that are stable across different initial conditions, allowing the clustering of the seeds and reducing the epidemic variability. Paths also allow us to identify premises, called sentinels, having a large probability of being infected and providing critical information on the outbreak origin, as encoded in the clusters. This novel procedure provides a general framework that can be applied to specific diseases, for aiding risk assessment analysis and informing the design of optimal surveillance systems. PMID:22728387

Effect of high ambient temperature on behavior of sheep under semi-arid tropical environment.

Science.gov (United States)

De, Kalyan; Kumar, Davendra; Saxena, Vijay Kumar; Thirumurugan, Palanisamy; Naqvi, Syed Mohammed Khursheed

2017-07-01

High environmental temperature is a major constraint in sheep production under semi-arid tropical environment. Behavior is the earliest indicator of animal's adaptation and responses to the environmental alteration. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of high ambient temperature on the behavior of sheep under a semi-arid tropical environment. The experiment was conducted for 6 weeks on 16 Malpura cross (Garole × Malpura × Malpura (GMM)) rams. The rams were divided equally into two groups, designated as C and T. The rams of C were kept in comfortable environmental conditions served as control. The rams of T were exposed to a different temperature at different hours of the day in a climatic chamber, to simulate a high environmental temperature of summer in semi-arid tropic. The behavioral observations were taken by direct instantaneous observation at 15-min intervals for each animal individually. The feeding, ruminating, standing, and lying behaviors were recorded twice a week from morning (0800 hours) to afternoon (1700 hours) for 6 weeks. Exposure of rams to high temperature (T) significantly (P behavior of sheep which is directed to circumvent the effect of the stressor.

Marine envenomations in returning French travellers seen in a tropical diseases unit, 2008-13.

Science.gov (United States)

Henn, Aurélia; Pérignon, Alice; Monsel, Gentiane; Larréché, Sébastien; Caumes, Eric

2016-02-01

Travel and aquatic activities are increasing in tropical regions. The risk and the spectrum of marine envenomation are unknown in travellers. This work aims to evaluate the prevalence and the characteristics of marine envenomations in returning travellers. We retrospectively studied the medical charts of all returning travellers presenting with a health problem in a French tropical disease unit between 2008 and 2013, with focus on travellers complaining of marine envenomation. Characteristics of each type of envenomation are described. Of the 3315 travellers seen during the study period, 43 consulted for a presumed marine envenomation. Six patients were excluded, leaving 37 cases of confirmed marine envenomation. It corresponds to a prevalence of 1.1%. Sex ratio was balanced with 18 men and 19 women. Median age was 42 years (range 25-68 years). Median travel duration was 14 days (range: 6-62 days). The main travel destination was Southeast Asia in 10 cases, followed by islands of East Africa in seven cases. Median elapsed time between envenomation and consultation was 14 days (range: 2-130 days). The purpose of travel was tourism in all cases. The main clinical aspects were oedema, sting marks, cellulitis and flagellations. Eleven cases were presumably caused by corals, 10 by stonefish, 8 by jellyfish, 2 by weever fish, 2 by starfish, 2 by stingray, 1 by lionfish and 1 by sea anemone. Prevalence of marine envenomation is low in returning travellers. They are mostly caused by corals, stonefish and jellyfish. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of the tropical rain forest

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chave, J. [CEN Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France). Service de Physique de l' Etat Condense

2000-07-01

Mechanisms which drive the dynamics of forest ecosystems are complex, from seedling establishment to pollination, and seed dispersal by animals, running water or wind. These processes are more complex when the ecosystem shelters a large number of species and of vegetative forms, as it is the case in the tropical rainforest. To take them into account, we must develop and use models. I present a review of the fundamental mechanisms for the of a natural forest dynamics - photosynthesis, tree growth, recruitment and mortality - as well as a description of the past and of the present of tropical rainforests. This information is used to develop a spatially-explicit and individual-based forest model. Simplified models are deduced from it, and they serve to address more specific issues, such as the resilience of the forest to climate disturbances, or savanna-forest dynamics. The last topic is related to the spatio-temporal description of tropical plant biodiversity. A detailed introduction to the problem is provided, and models accounting for the maintenance of diversity are compared. These models include non spatial as well a spatial approaches (branching anihilating random walks and voter model with mutation). (orig.)

Some aspects of socio-economic determinants of mortality in tropical Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaisie, S K

1980-01-01

Measurements of mortality levels and trends continue to be inadequate in Africa, largely because of the lack of reliable and adequate information on deaths. A series of estimates depicting mortality levels and trends has been prepared by demographers, different kinds of data and employing different estimation procedures, but knowledge of the "true" structure of mortality in tropical Africa is virtually nonexistent. Because of these problems only a "bird's eye view" of the prevailing situation in tropical Africa is presented. The discussion -- directed to mortality by sex and age, by residence, and by cause -- is based on secondary and fragmentary data. Socioeconomic and cultural determinants of mortality are also examined. Available information on male and female mortality indicates that the death rates for males are higher than they are for females. Early childhood mortality (1-4 years) in tropical Africa is relatively high compared with the other age groups, including infants. Mortality differentials have been noted among geographical and administrative units and subdivisions of populations within the various countries of tropical Africa. Also, urban dwellers enjoy a higher expectation of life at birth than do rural dwellers. Communicable diseases are the main killers in tropical Africa. Persistent poverty and malnutrition, poor housing, unhealthy conditions in the growing cities, nonexistence of health facilities in the rural areas, rapid population expansion, and low levels of education are among the factors impeding progress in reducing mortality in tropical Africa. The need exists to express development goals in terms of the progressive reduction and eventual elimination of malnutrition, disease, illiteracy, squalor, and inequalities. Future trends in mortality in tropical Africa may depend more than they have in the recent past on economic and social development.

Acute toxicity tests and meta-analysis identify gaps in tropical ecotoxicology for amphibians.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghose, Sonia L; Donnelly, Maureen A; Kerby, Jacob; Whitfield, Steven M

2014-09-01

Amphibian populations are declining worldwide, particularly in tropical regions where amphibian diversity is highest. Pollutants, including agricultural pesticides, have been identified as a potential contributor to decline, yet toxicological studies of tropical amphibians are very rare. The present study assesses toxic effects on amphibians of 10 commonly used commercial pesticides in tropical agriculture using 2 approaches. First, the authors conducted 8-d toxicity assays with formulations of each pesticide using individually reared red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) tadpoles. Second, they conducted a review of available data for the lethal concentration to kill 50% of test animals from the US Environmental Protection Agency's ECOTOX database to allow comparison with their findings. Lethal concentration estimates from the assays ranged over several orders of magnitude. The nematicides terbufos and ethoprophos and the fungicide chlorothalonil were very highly toxic, with evident effects within an order of magnitude of environmental concentrations. Acute toxicity assays and meta-analysis show that nematicides and fungicides are generally more toxic than herbicides yet receive far less research attention than less toxic herbicides. Given that the tropics have a high diversity of amphibians, the findings emphasize the need for research into the effects of commonly used pesticides in tropical countries and should help guide future ecotoxicological research in tropical regions. © 2014 SETAC.

DNA-repair and mutations in immuncompetent cells from patients with rheumatic diseases and corresponding animal models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altmann, H.

1977-01-01

Unscheduled DNA synthesis was investigated in lymphocytes of patients with different inflammatory rheumatic diseases. After γ-irradiation H 3 -thymidin incorporation in DNA and DNA rejoining was reduced. After UV-irradiation the first step (90 min) of unscheduled DNA synthesis was above the controls. Some animal models for human diseases showed the same trend. An infectious ethiology was discussed for some of these diseases. (author)

Determinants for the development of visceral leishmaniasis disease.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura-Isobel McCall

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease associated with a spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from self-healing cutaneous lesions to fatal visceral infections. Among the most important questions in Leishmania research is why some species like L. donovani infect visceral organs, whereas other species like L. major remain in the skin. The determinants of visceral leishmaniasis are still poorly understood, although genomic, immunologic, and animal models are beginning to provide important insight into this disease. In this review, we discuss the vector, host, and pathogen factors that mediate the development of visceral leishmaniasis. We examine the progression of the parasite from the initial site of sand fly bite to the visceral organs and its ability to survive there. The identification of visceral disease determinants is required to understand disease evolution, to understand visceral organ survival mechanisms, and potentially to develop better interventions for this largely neglected disease.

[The Pharo School: a century of teaching in tropical medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Buisson, Yves

2007-01-01

1907-2007: one hundred years separate this year's intake from the first students to enroll at the Pharo School. 1907: in February, the first class, called the "Marseillaise", entered the new School of Colonial Medicine (Ecole d'application du Service de santé des troupes coloniales), where they received theoretical and practical training in tropical medicine. 2007: the latest class, recruited through a national examination, will join the Tropical Medicine Institute of the Army health service in May, for the first autonomous training program in supervised ambulatory primary care. The past hundred years have seen many upheavals. After the colonial period and the two world wars, followed by decolonization and technical assistance for young independent nations, globalization has brought the continents together, shrunk distances, and led to an intermingling of populations. Pharo students are still posted overseas, but no longer on the same types of mission. The lengthy postings to the Sahara, sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and Oceania have been supplanted by shorter stays and overseas operations in a variety of theaters (not just the intertropical regions), to provide healthcare support for French military forces and medical assistance to local populations. The teaching of tropical medicine has had to adapt to these changes. The concept itself has evolved too: from exotic diseases to colonial medicine, from major endemics to public health, and from humanitarian medicine to international healthcare. The increase in migratory fluxes and cultural exchanges means that tropical medicine is now a global discipline. This teaching activity potentially caters for all physicians, as malaria, dengue or cholera could strike at any time in the very heart of our provinces, or invite themselves into the general practitioner's office. Although mainly confronted by imported diseases, physicians specializing in travel medicine and infectious diseases, along with

The cross-cutting contribution of the end of neglected tropical diseases to the sustainable development goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Bangert, Mathieu; Molyneux, David H; Lindsay, Steve W; Fitzpatrick, Christopher; Engels, Dirk

2017-04-04

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for an integrated response, the kind that has defined Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) efforts in the past decade.NTD interventions have the greatest relevance for SDG3, the health goal, where the focus on equity, and its commitment to reaching people in need of health services, wherever they may live and whatever their circumstances, is fundamentally aligned with the target of Universal Health Coverage. NTD interventions, however, also affect and are affected by many of the other development areas covered under the 2030 Agenda. Strategies such as mass drug administration or the programmatic integration of NTD and WASH activities (SDG6) are driven by effective global partnerships (SDG17). Intervention against the NTDs can also have an impact on poverty (SDG1) and hunger (SDG2), can improve education (SDG4), work and economic growth (SDG8), thereby reducing inequalities (SDG10). The community-led distribution of donated medicines to more than 1 billion people reinforces women's empowerment (SDG5), logistics infrastructure (SDG9) and non-discrimination against disability (SDG16). Interventions to curb mosquito-borne NTDs contribute to the goals of urban sustainability (SDG11) and resilience to climate change (SDG13), while the safe use of insecticides supports the goal of sustainable ecosystems (SDG15). Although indirectly, interventions to control water- and animal-related NTDs can facilitate the goals of small-scale fishing (SDG14) and sustainable hydroelectricity and biofuels (SDG7).NTDs proliferate in less developed areas in countries across the income spectrum, areas where large numbers of people have little or no access to adequate health care, clean water, sanitation, housing, education, transport and information. This scoping review assesses how in this context, ending the epidemic of the NTDs can impact and improve our prospects of attaining the SDGs.

Plant protein and animal proteins: do they differentially affect cardiovascular disease risk?

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Chesney K; Skulas-Ray, Ann C; Champagne, Catherine M; Kris-Etherton, Penny M

2015-11-01

Proteins from plant-based compared with animal-based food sources may have different effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Numerous epidemiologic and intervention studies have evaluated their respective health benefits; however, it is difficult to isolate the role of plant or animal protein on CVD risk. This review evaluates the current evidence from observational and intervention studies, focusing on the specific protein-providing foods and populations studied. Dietary protein is derived from many food sources, and each provides a different composite of nonprotein compounds that can also affect CVD risk factors. Increasing the consumption of protein-rich foods also typically results in lower intakes of other nutrients, which may simultaneously influence outcomes. Given these complexities, blanket statements about plant or animal protein may be too general, and greater consideration of the specific protein food sources and the background diet is required. The potential mechanisms responsible for any specific effects of plant and animal protein are similarly multifaceted and include the amino acid content of particular foods, contributions from other nonprotein compounds provided concomitantly by the whole food, and interactions with the gut microbiome. Evidence to date is inconclusive, and additional studies are needed to further advance our understanding of the complexity of plant protein vs. animal protein comparisons. Nonetheless, current evidence supports the idea that CVD risk can be reduced by a dietary pattern that provides more plant sources of protein compared with the typical American diet and also includes animal-based protein foods that are unprocessed and low in saturated fat. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Animal models of gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Animal models of acute and chronic pancreatitis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Xianbao; Wang, Fan; Bi, Yan

2016-01-01

Animal models of pancreatitis are useful for elucidating the pathogenesis of pancreatitis and developing and testing novel interventions. In this review, we aim to summarize the most commonly used animal models, overview their pathophysiology, and discuss their strengths and limitations. We will also briefly describe common animal study procedures and refer readers to more detailed protocols in the literature. Although animal models include pigs, dogs, opossums, and other animals, we will mainly focus on rodent models because of their popularity. Autoimmune pancreatitis and genetically engineered animal models will be reviewed elsewhere. PMID:27418683

The neglected tropical diseases of Latin America and the Caribbean: a review of disease burden and distribution and a roadmap for control and elimination.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J Hotez

Full Text Available The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs represent some of the most common infections of the poorest people living in the Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC. Because they primarily afflict the disenfranchised poor as well as selected indigenous populations and people of African descent, the NTDs in LAC are largely forgotten diseases even though their collective disease burden may exceed better known conditions such as of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria. Based on their prevalence and healthy life years lost from disability, hookworm infection, other soil-transmitted helminth infections, and Chagas disease are the most important NTDs in LAC, followed by dengue, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, trachoma, leprosy, and lymphatic filariasis. On the other hand, for some important NTDs, such as leptospirosis and cysticercosis, complete disease burden estimates are not available. The NTDs in LAC geographically concentrate in 11 different sub-regions, each with a distinctive human and environmental ecology. In the coming years, schistosomiasis could be eliminated in the Caribbean and transmission of lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis could be eliminated in Latin America. However, the highest disease burden NTDs, such as Chagas disease, soil-transmitted helminth infections, and hookworm and schistosomiasis co-infections, may first require scale-up of existing resources or the development of new control tools in order to achieve control or elimination. Ultimately, the roadmap for the control and elimination of the more widespread NTDs will require an inter-sectoral approach that bridges public health, social services, and environmental interventions.

Grunting in genetically modified minipig animal model for Huntington ´s disease - a pilot experiment

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Tykalová, T.; Hlavnička, J.; Mačáková, Monika; Baxa, Monika; Cmejla, R.; Motlík, Jan; Klempíř, J.; Rusz, J.

2015-01-01

Roč. 78, Suppl 2 (2015), s. 12-13 ISSN 1210-7859. [Conference on Animal Models for neurodegenerative Diseases /3./. 08.11.2015-10.11.2015, Liblice] R&D Projects: GA MŠk ED2.1.00/03.0124; GA MŠk(CZ) 7F14308 Institutional support: RVO:67985904 Keywords : Huntington ´s disease * mitochondria * DNA damage Subject RIV: FH - Neurology

Integrated Management of Stem Rot Disease (Sclerotium rolfsii) of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Using Rhizobium and Trichoderma harzianum (ITCC - 4572)

OpenAIRE

GANESAN, S.; KUPPUSAMY, R. GANESH; SEKAR, R.

2014-01-01

Soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi cause heavy crop losses all over the world. With variable climate from region to region, most crops grown in India are susceptible to diseases caused by soil-borne fungal pathogens. Among tropical and subtropical land crops, groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important oil seed crop, providing vegetable oil as human food and oil cake meal as animal poultry feed. A large number of diseases attack groundnut plants in India; of these, stem rot (collar rot) ca...

Microbial disease and the coral holobiont

Science.gov (United States)

Bourne, David G.; Garren, Melissa; Work, Thierry M.; Rosenberg, Eugene; Smith, Garriet W.; Harvell, C. Drew

2009-01-01

Tropical coral reefs harbour a reservoir of enormous biodiversity that is increasingly threatened by direct human activities and indirect global climate shifts. Emerging coral diseases are one serious threat implicated in extensive reef deterioration through disruption of the integrity of the coral holobiont – a complex symbiosis between the coral animal, endobiotic alga and an array of microorganisms. In this article, we review our current understanding of the role of microorganisms in coral health and disease, and highlight the pressing interdisciplinary research priorities required to elucidate the mechanisms of disease. We advocate an approach that applies knowledge gained from experiences in human and veterinary medicine, integrated into multidisciplinary studies that investigate the interactions between host, agent and environment of a given coral disease. These approaches include robust and precise disease diagnosis, standardised ecological methods and application of rapidly developing DNA, RNA and protein technologies, alongside established histological, microbial ecology and ecological expertise. Such approaches will allow a better understanding of the causes of coral mortality and coral reef declines and help assess potential management options to mitigate their effects in the longer term.

Loop mediated isothermal amplification: An innovative gene amplification technique for animal diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pravas Ranjan Sahoo

2016-05-01

Full Text Available India being a developing country mainly depends on livestock sector for its economy. However, nowadays, there is emergence and reemergence of more transboundary animal diseases. The existing diagnostic techniques are not so quick and with less specificity. To reduce the economy loss, there should be a development of rapid, reliable, robust diagnostic technique, which can work with high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Loop mediated isothermal amplification assay is a rapid gene amplification technique that amplifies nucleic acid under an isothermal condition with a set of designed primers spanning eight distinct sequences of the target. This assay can be used as an emerging powerful, innovative gene amplification diagnostic tool against various pathogens of livestock diseases. This review is to highlight the basic concept and methodology of this assay in livestock disease.

Loop mediated isothermal amplification: An innovative gene amplification technique for animal diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo, Pravas Ranjan; Sethy, Kamadev; Mohapatra, Swagat; Panda, Debasis

2016-05-01

India being a developing country mainly depends on livestock sector for its economy. However, nowadays, there is emergence and reemergence of more transboundary animal diseases. The existing diagnostic techniques are not so quick and with less specificity. To reduce the economy loss, there should be a development of rapid, reliable, robust diagnostic technique, which can work with high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Loop mediated isothermal amplification assay is a rapid gene amplification technique that amplifies nucleic acid under an isothermal condition with a set of designed primers spanning eight distinct sequences of the target. This assay can be used as an emerging powerful, innovative gene amplification diagnostic tool against various pathogens of livestock diseases. This review is to highlight the basic concept and methodology of this assay in livestock disease.

Agricultural production - Phase 2. Indonesia. National training course on ELISA for seradiagnosis of animal diseases (5)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobson, R.H.

1992-01-01

This report describes the content of a three-week national training course for 16 participants from regional Disease Investigation Centres and other agencies in Indonesia. The subject of the course was the use of ELISA for the diagnosis of animal diseases in Indonesia, with particular emphasis placed on bovine brucellosis

Treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria with mefloquine alone or in combination with i.v. quinine at the Department of Communicable and Tropical Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen 1982-1988

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Magnussen, P; Bygbjerg, Ib Christian

1990-01-01

At the Department of Communicable and Tropical Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Denmark, mefloquine has been used since 1982 for the treatment of patients with suspected or verified chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine resistant P. falciparum malaria. Eighty-one patients treated with mefloquine...

Socio-ecological dynamics and challenges to the governance of Neglected Tropical Disease control.

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Michael, Edwin; Madon, Shirin

2017-02-06

The current global attempts to control the so-called "Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)" have the potential to significantly reduce the morbidity suffered by some of the world's poorest communities. However, the governance of these control programmes is driven by a managerial rationality that assumes predictability of proposed interventions, and which thus primarily seeks to improve the cost-effectiveness of implementation by measuring performance in terms of pre-determined outputs. Here, we argue that this approach has reinforced the narrow normal-science model for controlling parasitic diseases, and in doing so fails to address the complex dynamics, uncertainty and socio-ecological context-specificity that invariably underlie parasite transmission. We suggest that a new governance approach is required that draws on a combination of non-equilibrium thinking about the operation of complex, adaptive, systems from the natural sciences and constructivist social science perspectives that view the accumulation of scientific knowledge as contingent on historical interests and norms, if more effective control approaches sufficiently sensitive to local disease contexts are to be devised, applied and managed. At the core of this approach is an emphasis on the need for a process that assists with the inclusion of diverse perspectives, social learning and deliberation, and a reflexive approach to addressing system complexity and incertitude, while balancing this flexibility with stability-focused structures. We derive and discuss a possible governance framework and outline an organizational structure that could be used to effectively deal with the complexity of accomplishing global NTD control. We also point to examples of complexity-based management structures that have been used in parasite control previously, which could serve as practical templates for developing similar governance structures to better manage global NTD control. Our results hold important wider

The field-testing of a novel integrated mapping protocol for neglected tropical diseases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonia Pelletreau

2011-11-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Vertical control and elimination programs focused on specific neglected tropical diseases (NTDs can achieve notable success by reducing the prevalence and intensity of infection. However, many NTD-endemic countries have not been able to launch or scale-up programs because they lack the necessary baseline data for planning and advocacy. Each NTD program has its own mapping guidelines to collect missing data. Where geographic overlap among NTDs exists, an integrated mapping approach could result in significant resource savings. We developed and field-tested an innovative integrated NTD mapping protocol (Integrated Threshold Mapping (ITM Methodology for lymphatic filariasis (LF, trachoma, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths (STH. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The protocol is designed to be resource-efficient, and its specific purpose is to determine whether a threshold to trigger public health interventions in an implementation unit has been attained. The protocol relies on World Health Organization (WHO recommended indicators in the disease-specific age groups. For each disease, the sampling frame was the district, but for schistosomiasis, the sub-district rather than the ecological zone was used. We tested the protocol by comparing it to current WHO mapping methodologies for each of the targeted diseases in one district each in Mali and Senegal. Results were compared in terms of public health intervention, and feasibility, including cost. In this study, the ITM methodology reached the same conclusions as the WHO methodologies regarding the initiation of public health interventions for trachoma, LF and STH, but resulted in more targeted intervention recommendations for schistosomiasis. ITM was practical, feasible and demonstrated an overall cost saving compared with the standard, non-integrated, WHO methodologies. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This integrated mapping tool could facilitate the implementation of much

Toward an open-access global database for mapping, control, and surveillance of neglected tropical diseases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eveline Hürlimann

2011-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: After many years of general neglect, interest has grown and efforts came under way for the mapping, control, surveillance, and eventual elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs. Disease risk estimates are a key feature to target control interventions, and serve as a benchmark for monitoring and evaluation. What is currently missing is a georeferenced global database for NTDs providing open-access to the available survey data that is constantly updated and can be utilized by researchers and disease control managers to support other relevant stakeholders. We describe the steps taken toward the development of such a database that can be employed for spatial disease risk modeling and control of NTDs. METHODOLOGY: With an emphasis on schistosomiasis in Africa, we systematically searched the literature (peer-reviewed journals and 'grey literature', contacted Ministries of Health and research institutions in schistosomiasis-endemic countries for location-specific prevalence data and survey details (e.g., study population, year of survey and diagnostic techniques. The data were extracted, georeferenced, and stored in a MySQL database with a web interface allowing free database access and data management. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: At the beginning of 2011, our database contained more than 12,000 georeferenced schistosomiasis survey locations from 35 African countries available under http://www.gntd.org. Currently, the database is expanded to a global repository, including a host of other NTDs, e.g. soil-transmitted helminthiasis and leishmaniasis. CONCLUSIONS: An open-access, spatially explicit NTD database offers unique opportunities for disease risk modeling, targeting control interventions, disease monitoring, and surveillance. Moreover, it allows for detailed geostatistical analyses of disease distribution in space and time. With an initial focus on schistosomiasis in Africa, we demonstrate the proof-of-concept that the establishment

Toward an Open-Access Global Database for Mapping, Control, and Surveillance of Neglected Tropical Diseases

Science.gov (United States)

Hürlimann, Eveline; Schur, Nadine; Boutsika, Konstantina; Stensgaard, Anna-Sofie; Laserna de Himpsl, Maiti; Ziegelbauer, Kathrin; Laizer, Nassor; Camenzind, Lukas; Di Pasquale, Aurelio; Ekpo, Uwem F.; Simoonga, Christopher; Mushinge, Gabriel; Saarnak, Christopher F. L.; Utzinger, Jürg; Kristensen, Thomas K.; Vounatsou, Penelope

2011-01-01

Background After many years of general neglect, interest has grown and efforts came under way for the mapping, control, surveillance, and eventual elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Disease risk estimates are a key feature to target control interventions, and serve as a benchmark for monitoring and evaluation. What is currently missing is a georeferenced global database for NTDs providing open-access to the available survey data that is constantly updated and can be utilized by researchers and disease control managers to support other relevant stakeholders. We describe the steps taken toward the development of such a database that can be employed for spatial disease risk modeling and control of NTDs. Methodology With an emphasis on schistosomiasis in Africa, we systematically searched the literature (peer-reviewed journals and ‘grey literature’), contacted Ministries of Health and research institutions in schistosomiasis-endemic countries for location-specific prevalence data and survey details (e.g., study population, year of survey and diagnostic techniques). The data were extracted, georeferenced, and stored in a MySQL database with a web interface allowing free database access and data management. Principal Findings At the beginning of 2011, our database contained more than 12,000 georeferenced schistosomiasis survey locations from 35 African countries available under http://www.gntd.org. Currently, the database is expanded to a global repository, including a host of other NTDs, e.g. soil-transmitted helminthiasis and leishmaniasis. Conclusions An open-access, spatially explicit NTD database offers unique opportunities for disease risk modeling, targeting control interventions, disease monitoring, and surveillance. Moreover, it allows for detailed geostatistical analyses of disease distribution in space and time. With an initial focus on schistosomiasis in Africa, we demonstrate the proof-of-concept that the establishment and running of a

Animal models of gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Animal models of acute and chronic pancreatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Xianbao; Wang, Fan; Bi, Yan; Ji, Baoan

2016-09-01

Animal models of pancreatitis are useful for elucidating the pathogenesis of pancreatitis and developing and testing novel interventions. In this review, we aim to summarize the most commonly used animal models, overview their pathophysiology, and discuss their strengths and limitations. We will also briefly describe common animal study procedures and refer readers to more detailed protocols in the literature. Although animal models include pigs, dogs, opossums, and other animals, we will mainly focus on rodent models because of their popularity. Autoimmune pancreatitis and genetically engineered animal models will be reviewed elsewhere. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Animal models of gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Animal models of acute and chronic pancreatitis

OpenAIRE

Zhan, Xianbao; Wang, Fan; Bi, Yan; Ji, Baoan

2016-01-01

Animal models of pancreatitis are useful for elucidating the pathogenesis of pancreatitis and developing and testing novel interventions. In this review, we aim to summarize the most commonly used animal models, overview their pathophysiology, and discuss their strengths and limitations. We will also briefly describe common animal study procedures and refer readers to more detailed protocols in the literature. Although animal models include pigs, dogs, opossums, and other animals, we will mai...

Approach to Clinical Syndrome of Jaundice and Encephalopathy in Tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Anil C.; Garg, Hitendra K.

2015-01-01

A large number of patients present with jaundice and encephalopathy in tropical country like India and acute liver failure is the usual cause. Clinical presentation like ALF is also a complication of many tropical infections, and these conditions may mimic ALF but may have subtle differences from ALF. Moreover, what hepatologists see as acute liver failure in tropics is different from what is commonly described in Western Textbooks. Paracetamol overdose, which is possibly the commonest cause of ALF in UK and USA, is hardly ever seen in India. Most common etiology here is viral hepatitis (hepatitis E > hepatitis B> hepatitis A). Apart from ALF, one may also come across subacute hepatic failure (SAHF) as well as acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) due to viral hepatitis. Interestingly, a host of other conditions can mimic ALF because clinical presentation in these conditions can be dominated by jaundice and encephalopathy. Malarial hepatopathy is possibly the best-known condition out of these and is not an uncommon manifestation of severe malaria. A similar presentation can also be seen in other common infections in tropics such as dengue fever, typhoid fever, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, amoebic liver abscesses, tuberculosis and other bacterial and fungal infections with or without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related disease. In many of these conditions, liver failure may not be underlying pathophysiology. Some pregnancy related liver diseases could also present with jaundice and encephalopathy. This review summarizes the commonly seen presentations in tropical country like India, where jaundice and encephalopathy dominate the clinical picture. PMID:26041951