AnimalNet Dec. 6/07
CHINA denies
foreign media reports of African swine fever outbreak
UK:
Foot-and-mouth leak lab ‘should be rebuilt’
Scripps
scientists develop new tests that identify lethal prion
strains quickly and accurately
B.C.: Meat
packer gets government funding
FAO: Bird flu
continues to threaten humans, FAO Director-General warns
NEW YORK:
Cargill partners with Wildlife Conservation Society on
global animal health and food security
NORTH
CAROLINA: Woman spots monkey attacker from primate lineup
Washington,
D.C.: Electric shocks not painful? Nationally-known labs lie
to federal agencies about animal tests
Fate of
Escherichia coli O157:H7 during on-farm dairy manure-based
composting
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CHINA denies
foreign media reports of African swine fever outbreak
05.dec.07
Xinhua News Agency (China)
Beijing -- China on Wednesday denied foreign media reports
of African swine fever outbreaks in its north-eastern
province of Heilongjiang.
The story says that pigs at 76 swine farms and households in
14 towns of Heilongjiang's cities of Hulin and Mishan and
county of Jidong have been tested negative, according to the
Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).
The MOA said it tested the pigs' blood and tissue samples
with methods recommended by the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE). The tests indicated the pigs were
healthy and there were no outbreaks of any swine diseases.
Foreign media reported there were African swine fever
outbreaks in Hulin, Mishan and Jidong, the MOA stated.
African swine fever outbreaks have never occurred in China
and the country bans imports of live pigs and related
products from African countries hit by the disease.
UK:
Foot-and-mouth leak lab ‘should be rebuilt’
06.dec.07
The Times
Mark Henderson: Science Editor
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3006935.ece
The government laboratory that was the source of this
summer’s outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease should,
according to this story, be closed and rebuilt, Whitehall’s
chief scientist said yesterday.
Professor Sir David King, who retires as chief scientific
adviser to the Government at the end of the month, was cited
as saying the Institute of Animal Health (IAH) in Pirbright,
Surrey, was now so outdated that the lab needed to be
replaced.
He told the Commons Innovation, Universities and Skills
Select Committee, which oversees science, that though the
IAH had outstanding scientific staff, they needed better
facilities to do their jobs.
Sir David told the MPs that the IAH was a prime example of a
centre that had suffered because government departments too
often cut long-term research investment to meet day-to-day
needs.
Scripps
scientists develop new tests that identify lethal prion
strains quickly and accurately
05.dec.07
From a press release
Findings will significantly accelerate prion research
One of the new in vitro tests, called the Standard Scrapie
Cell Assay, measures prion infectivity levels in a highly
accurate and extremely rapid way, producing results in less
than two weeks. The second test, called the Cell Panel
Assay, allows researchers to quickly distinguish between
several prion strains in various cells lines. Using the new
assays, the scientists were able to show that four different
cell lines exhibited widely different responses to four
different strains of the infectious protein particles.
The research is being published in an advanced online
edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences the week of December 3, 2007.
“These new assays vastly accelerate the measurement of prion
infectivity and the determination of those cell lines that
are able to sustain high infection rates of some prion
strains,” said Sukhvir P. Mahal, an author of the study who
is a senior staff scientist in the laboratory of Charles
Weissmann, chair of the Scripps Florida Department of
Infectology. “The current test, which takes anywhere from
150 to 250 days and involves large numbers of laboratory
mice, is slow, imprecise, and expensive. Our new assays will
replace the current mouse brain-bioassays.”
The current method of measurement and identification
involves injecting a prion-containing sample into the brains
of mice and then waiting to see how long it takes for the
animals to succumb to disease; the higher the prion level,
the less time it takes for them to become lethally infected.
In contrast, the new Standard Scrapie Cell Assay is based on
prion-susceptible cell lines. In the test, cells are exposed
to prions and then the infected cells are identified and
counted using automated imaging equipment.
A Unique Pathogen
Prions (the name stands for proteinaceous infectious
particles) are unique infectious pathogens associated with
some 15 different diseases, including Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (“mad cow”) and its rare human form, variant
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. Infectious prions, which are
thought to consist mainly of an abnormally structured or
misfolded protein, have the ability to reproduce, despite
the fact that they contain no nucleic acid genome as do
viruses or bacteria.
Mammalian cells normally produce what is known as cellular
prion protein; during infection, the abnormal protein
converts production of normal host prion protein to its
infectious form. The full details of this process are still
not understood.
Prions develop in distinct strains, initially characterized
by incubation time and the pattern of brain damage that
develops during infection. It is currently thought that
strain-specific properties of prions are determined by the
three-dimensional structure of the misfolded protein,
although the amino acid sequence remains the same. During
infection with a single type of prion, several different
prion strains can be propagated indefinitely in a single
host.
“Some cell lines can be persistently infected by prions and
show preference for certain strains,” Mahal said. “One
intriguing finding of our new study is that a cell line’s
ability to replicate a particular prion strain is a trait
that varies significantly among the members of the cell
population-even sibling cell lines may show different
relative susceptibilities to various prion strains.”
This suggests that the capacity of a cell line to replicate
a particular prion strain is controlled epigenetically
without any changes to the DNA sequence, she said.
Another fascinating question raised by the study is how
cells come to distinguish between prion strains; that is,
between the various proteins that differ only in the way
they are folded. The exact nature of that recognition
process is now the target of a new Scripps Research study
using the Cell Panel Assay.
###
Other authors of the study, Prion Strain Discrimination In
Cell Culture: The Cell Panel Assay, include Christopher A.
Baker, Cheryl A. Demczyk, Emery W. Smith, and Charles
Weissmann of the Department of Infectology, Scripps Florida;
and Christian Julius of the Institute of Neuropathology,
University Hospital of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
The study was supported by The Scripps Research Institute
and the Alafi Family Foundation.
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest
independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations,
at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to
comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps
Research is internationally recognized for its discoveries
in immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry,
neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious
diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. Established in
its current configuration in 1961, it employs approximately
3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other
technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and
administrative and technical support personnel. Scripps
Research is headquartered in La Jolla, California. It also
includes Scripps Florida, whose researchers focus on basic
biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology
development. Currently operating from temporary facilities
in Jupiter, Scripps Florida will move to its permanent
campus in 2009.
B.C.: Meat
packer gets government funding
05.dec.07
Prince George Citizen
The provincial and federal governments have, according to
this story, provided $43,000 to the Country Locker meat
packing plant to assist the Vanderhoof business in dealing
with specified risk material, Prince George-Omineca MLA John
Rustad said.
Federal regulations banned most proteins, including SRM --
certain cattle tissues capable of transmitting bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) -- from cattle feed in 1997.
This summer, SRM was banned from all animal feed, pet food
and fertilizers. The funding was directed to the
construction of a small refrigerated storage building that
will be used to separate and store SRM until it can be
hauled to a Canadian Food Inspection Agency landfill site.
The refrigeration system is already in use. The money --
drawn from a $12.5-million fund to help B.C.'s beef industry
-- also allowed Country Locker to purchase a trailer to haul
SRM.
FAO: Bird flu
continues to threaten humans, FAO Director-General warns
04.dec.07
From a Food and Agriculture Organization press release
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000720/index.html
New Delhi/Rome -- Avian influenza could still cause a global
pandemic and requires continued vigilance and control
efforts particularly in animals, the Director-General of the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Dr. Jacques
Diouf, told the New Delhi International Ministerial
Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.
The FAO Director-General warned in a speech that “the spread
of avian influenza typifies the potential emergence of major
health crises with an increased risk of pathogens travelling
over large distances in very short time periods, favoured by
globalization and climate change.”
With avian influenza prevention and control programmes being
in place for almost four years, many countries have been
able to contain or even eradicate the disease. Almost all
countries have implemented emergency programmes and have
reinforced their health and veterinary services. Despite the
immense efforts undertaken by countries and the
international community to prevent and control the H5N1
virus, countries are still facing major challenges.
Remaining risks
“The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus continues to circulate in
some regions of the world, causing the introduction or
reintroduction of the disease in other countries. Extensive
outbreak areas remain, particularly in countries where the
virus is endemic, with the attendant risk of the emergence
of a pandemic virus,” Dr. Diouf said.
“We are still uncertain as to the precise role played by
wild birds. There are real risks of viruses emerging against
which current vaccines provide no protection. Another major
problem is the cost of long-term control programmes and how
to finance them. Finally, there is still the difficulty of
controlling the illegal movement of products and live
animals.”
Robust animal health systems directed by well-equipped
veterinary services and supported by a clear political
commitment are the key elements for successful avian
influenza control campaigns, the FAO Director-General
stressed.
Poultry production systems will have to improve biosecurity
and hygiene measures in order to prevent virus spread
throughout the production chain. “We need a global framework
of action that carefully considers the possible adverse
social and economic consequences that those changes might
bring, especially on the poorest populations and on the
livelihoods of backyard poultry keepers,” Dr. Diouf said.
More health crises
The FAO Director-General warned that the international
community will have to prepare for other major health crises
coming from the animal kingdom.
“The acceleration of international trade will continue, as
will climate change, and their impact on ecosystems is
already causing the spread of vector-borne diseases into
hitherto untouched regions,” he said. “Rift Valley Fever,
Bluetongue virus and West Nile Fever are instances of this
for insect-borne diseases. But the spread of other epizootic
diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth and African Swine Fever are,
like avian influenza, other examples that are linked to the
intensification of production systems and to the increase in
commercial movements, whether controlled or not.”
“Most of the health crises that have occurred in the last
ten years have been related to diseases that are
transmittable to humans and that have originated in
developing countries. Clearly, therefore, the investments
that are required to improve health systems need to focus on
prevention at source - in animals - and in the countries of
the South.”
A total of 60 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa have been
affected by bird flu since 2003, of which 26 countries have
experienced outbreaks in 2007. Except for a few outbreaks in
wild birds, most of the confirmed outbreaks have been in
domestic poultry, including chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks
and quails.
In partnership with national veterinary services, the World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health
Organization (WHO), FAO has played a lead role in combating
avian influenza. With FAO’s assistance, more than 130
countries have been able to adopt appropriate prevention and
control measures.
NEW YORK:
Cargill partners with Wildlife Conservation Society on
global animal health and food security
04.dec.07
From a press release
New York, New York -- Cargill and the Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) have formed a partnership to support global
efforts to examine health links among humans, livestock, and
wildlife, and to monitor for avian influenza and other
diseases shared between people and animals.
Cargill is committing $1.5 million for two initiatives
spearheaded by WCS: expanding a global surveillance network
for avian influenza in Indonesia and Vietnam, and
introducing a grants program for animal health projects in
Brazil.
“Food security begins with healthy animals,” said Mike
Robach, Vice President of Global Food Safety for Cargill.
“We believe that the health of wildlife and livestock are
interconnected, and will require a multi-disciplinary
approach in order to develop safe and effective food
systems.
"WCS is a logical partner for Cargill given their experience
and science-based approach with integrating animal health
and wildlife conservation programs.”
In Brazil, Cargill will fund a new WCS initiative to support
innovative projects that examine the health linkages among
humans, domestic animals, and wildlife.
The projects will be selected after a stringent assessment
by a cross-sectoral committee of Brazilian experts.
With support from Cargill, WCS held a ground-breaking ‘One
World-One Health’ Symposium in Brazil in October this year.
Brazilian science and policy experts from the government,
universities and non-profits collaborated with the livestock
and poultry sectors of business to address shared issues on
animal health and monitoring.
The One World-One Health paradigm takes into account the
complex ecological interactions among humans, domestic
animals, and wildlife, and recognizes the interconnectivity
of the well-being of each of these groups
(www.OneWorldOneHealth.org).
“The meeting provided a collaborative forum for the
participants and helped spark the grants program that will
lead to a more integrated system of improving health across
the various sectors of the country,” said Dr. William
Karesh, Director of the Field Veterinary Program for WCS.
“We’re hoping Brazil will take a leadership role in
promoting the ‘One World-One Health’ model for other
countries to emulate.”
In Vietnam and Indonesia where many serious outbreaks of
avian influenza have occurred, the Cargill-WCS partnership
will help expand the Global Avian Influenza Network for
Surveillance (GAINS) program.
In partnership with local government bodies, Cargill and WCS
will train local teams to survey and monitor animals in
market trade centers, allowing for the comparison of
virulence in pathogens between market and wild bird
populations.
GAINS is a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder program for
the collection and sharing of data on avian influenza to
combat and control this and other diseases shared among
wildlife, domestic animals and people.
NORTH
CAROLINA: Woman spots monkey attacker from primate lineup
04.dec.07
KCRA.com
http://www.kcra.com/news/14774490/detail.html
Rutherford College, NC -- Brooke Ross was, according to this
story, working at the Family Food Mart in Rutherford
College, N.C., on Sunday when a man walked up to the counter
with a monkey on his shoulder. It hopped down onto the
counter and Ross, who said she thought the 18-inch-tall
animal was cute, reached to pet him.
In the blink of an eye the monkey attacked, biting her cheek
just below her right eye.
"It bit the top of my eyelid and it just kind of latched
onto my cheek," she said.
She was further cited as saying the monkey's owner helped
her put a Band-Aid on her bleeding face, hastily said the
animal was up-to-date on its shots and then left. He didn't
leave his name.
The story goes on to say that Burke County Animal Control
officers spent several hours early Tuesday trying to track
down the monkey. They showed Ross photographs of pets in the
county and she was able to pick out the offender.
Animal Control confirmed that the monkey had been given all
its required shots. It had not received a rabies shot, but
officers told her they don't think that's a problem because
the animal never really went outdoors.
Washington,
D.C.: Electric shocks not painful? Nationally-known labs lie
to federal agencies about animal tests
04.dec.07
Los Angeles Chronicle
http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=44718
Washington, D.C. -- When is an electric shock not painful?
Apparently, this story says, when testing labs and the
government say it's not, according to a national research
watchdog group that charges a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
report on animal lab testing is "fraught with errors" and
hides horrific abuse – and even the existence – of thousands
of primate research animals.
According to Ohio-based SAEN, the recently-posted USDA
Animal Welfare Enforcement Report (AWER) on animals used in
painful experimentation is seriously flawed. Even the
numbers are false, says SAEN, noting a 2005 AWER lists 740
primates used in tests for the state of North Carolina. But,
Wake Forest University alone uses 1,318 primates.
It's all part of a growing trend of deceptive reporting,
SAEN was cited as saying. Violations of the Animal Welfare
Act (AWA) by laboratories increased by 18.4 percent in one
year, and a whopping 90 percent in the last five years –
even though AWER documents that overall animal
experimentation decreased 14 percent in 2006.
Michael A. Budkie, A.H.T., Executive Director of SAEN was
cited as saying that labs in 16 states that experiment on
approximately 34,000 primates supposedly only subjected 99
of them – or, less than one-half of one percent – to any
unrelieved pain. The labs would include nationally known
facilities at Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Tulane, University
of Texas, University of Wisconsin, University of Washington,
University of Alabama, University of Minnesota, Vanderbilt,
University of Oklahoma (Health Sciences Center), Washington
University and Wake Forest.
Fate of
Escherichia coli O157:H7 during on-farm dairy manure-based
composting
04.dec.07
Journal of Food Protection
Shepherd, Marion W.; Liang, Pingfang; Jiang, Xiuping; Doyle,
Michael P.; Erickson, Marilyn C.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2007/00000070/00000012/art00001
Abstract:
Studies were conducted to determine the fate of Escherichia
coli O157:H7 in dairy manure-based compost in a field
setting. Two trials were performed involving duplicate
compost heaps constructed at an outdoor fenced site. The
compost heaps were composed of dairy manure, old hay, feed
waste, a mixture of sawdust and calf feces, and fresh hay.
Samples of the composting mixture were inoculated with
stx-negative E. coli O157:H7 B6914 at initial concentrations
of 107 and 105 CFU/g for trial 1 and trial 2, respectively.
Individual sample bags were placed on the surface and at
three locations (top, center, and bottom) within each heap.
Although the compost heaps achieved temperatures of 50°C or
above at all internal locations for at least 7 days,
temperature stratification was observed. In trial 1, E. coli
O157:H7 was detected by enrichment through 14 days within
the heaps. When inoculated with 105 CFU/g in trial 2, E.
coli O157:H7 was detected only through days 2, 2, and 5 at
the top, center, and bottom locations, respectively. For
both trials, the pathogen survived at the heap's surface for
up to 4 months. The indicator commensal E. coli and
coliforms were inactivated at a rate similar to that for E.
coli O157:H7. Results indicate that composting, with
periodic heap turning, can be a practical approach to
inactivating E. coli O157:H7 in cattle wastes on the farm.
Our data also suggest when compost heaps are not turned, E.
coli O157:H7 may survive for months at the heap surface.
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