hacked by p@3t_b@y for turks

by Kay Rice - Kleberg County, Texas (Oct 29th, 2009)

The third case of Equine piroplasmosis in the last 12 months has raised concerns that the disease may become endemic in the United States.

On October 19th, National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed equine piroplasmosis in 32 working Quarter Horses located on a ranch in Kleberg County, Texas. The USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) are conducting a comprehensive epidemiological investigation of the event. Since confirmation that more horses at the premises were infected, a further 96 horses are being tested, and as yet results have not yet been presented.

A report filed by John Clifford, DVM, deputy administrator of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to the World Organization for Animal Health has revealed further details of the outbreak. On October 2nd, a 7-year-old mare was presented to a local veterinary hospital where a blood-borne pathogen was subsequently suspected, and quarantine was not placed on the premises or it’s horses until 13th October. Measures imposed on the ranch include disinfection of the premises, but also prohibit any horses from being vaccinated or treated by veterinarians.

Equine piroplasmosis is an infectious disease spread by ticks which transmit the protozoan parasites Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. Equine piroplasmosis affects all horse species including horses, donkeys and zebras and only a few countries are not considered endemically infected, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland. An outbreak of piroplasmosis from imported horses resulted in 20% of horses on the Brighton Indian Reservation dying. The case fatality rate for piroplasmosis-infected horses can approach 50%, and the only treatment is a very stringent chemotherapy which can have serious side effects.

The United States has again been considered free of the disease since 1982, following an aggressive eradication program, but a case was reported in Florida in October 2008, leading to the quarantine of 20 premises and the euthanizing of 20 horses. And in June 2009, 5 more horses in Missouri were euthanized after testing positive for piroplasmosis, but 3 horses that tested positive and were removed from quarantine have been missing ever since.

http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/news/horses/alarm-over-new-equine-piroplasmosis-outbreak.htm

Wednesday 28th October, 2009

Mystery still surrounds the reason why a number of dogs fell ill or died shortly after visiting a part of local woodland.

Four dogs died and another fourteen were ill after they went to Haywood Oaks near Blidworth earlier this month.

Tests carried out by Natural England have ruled out chemical poisons such as strychnine and cyanide as the cause.

Further tests are now being carried out to identify any less commonly-occurring chemicals.

But, Natural England remain confident that the poison is naturally occurring, such as a disease carried by ticks or mites.

They’ve had no more reports of dogs falling ill or dying over the past week but still advise walkers to keep their dogs on a lead and in sight there.
 
http://www.mansfield103.co.uk/news.php?n=1546

Ulrich Schwantes (1) , Hans Dautel (2)  and Gerd Jung (1)
1Dr. R. Pfleger GmbH, 96045 Bamberg, Germany
2IS Insect Services GmbH, Haderslebener Strasse 9, 12163 Berlin, Germany
Parasites & Vectors 2008, 1:8doi:10.1186/1756-3305-1-8

Received: 28 February 2008
Accepted: 8 April 2008
Published: 8 April 2008

© 2008 Schwantes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Abstract
Background
Ticks of the species Ixodes ricinus are the main vectors of Lyme Borreliosis and Tick-borne Encephalitis – two rapidly emerging diseases in Europe. Repellents provide a practical means of protection against tick bites and can therefore minimize the transmission of tick-borne diseases. We developed and tested seven different dodecanoic acid (DDA)-formulations for their efficacy in repelling host-seeking nymphs of I. ricinus by laboratory screening. The ultimately selected formulation was then used for comparative investigations of commercially available tick repellents in humans.

Methods
Laboratory screening tests were performed using the Moving-object (MO) bioassay. All test formulations contained 10% of the naturally occurring active substance DDA and differed only in terms of the quantitative and qualitative composition of inactive ingredients and fragrances. The test procedure used in the human bioassays is a modification of an assay described by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and recommended for regulatory affairs. Repellency was computed using the equation: R = 100 - NR/N × 100, where NR is the number of non-repelled ticks, and N is the respective number of control ticks. All investigations were conducted in a controlled laboratory environment offering standardized test conditions.

Results
All test formulations strongly repelled nymphs of I. ricinus (100-81% protection) as shown by the MO-bioassay. The majority of ticks dropped off the treated surface of the heated rotating drum that served as the attractant (1 mg/cm2 repellent applied). The 10% DDA-based formulation, that produced the best results in laboratory screening, was as effective as the coconut oil-based reference product. The mean protection time of both preparations was generally similar and averaged 8 hours.

Repellency investigations in humans showed that the most effective 10% DDA-based formulation (~1.67 mg/cm2 applied) strongly avoided the attachment of I. ricinus nymphs and adults for at least 6 hours. The test repellent always provided protection (83-63%) against I. ricinus nymphs equivalent to the natural coconut oil based reference product and a better protection (88-75%) against adult ticks than the synthetic Icaridin-containing reference repellent.

Conclusion
We found that the 10% DDA-based formulation (ContraZeck®) is an easily applied and very effective natural repellent against I. ricinus ticks. By reducing the human-vector contact the product minimises the risk of transmission of tick-borne diseases in humans.

To read full article: CLICK HERE

Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in domestic ruminants is widespread in the coastal areas of southern Norway. The bacteria may persist in mammalian hosts.

Several genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum exist.

In the present study, we investigate whether superinfection occurs in the acute and persistent phase of the infection.

Methods: Five-month-old lambs of the Norwegian Dala breed were experimentally infected with two 16S rRNA gene variants of A. phagocytophilum, i.e.

A. phagocytophilum variant 1 (GenBank accession number M73220) and variant 2 (GenBank acc.no. AF336220).

Eighteen lambs were used, two lambs in each group. Eight groups were experimentally inoculated with either variant 1 or 2 on day 0.

Six of these groups were then challenged with the other variant on either days 7, 42 or 84, respectively. One group was left uninfected.

The occurrence of A. phagocytophilum in blood samples was determined using semi-nested PCR analysis and gene sequencing.

Specific antibodies were measured by an indirect immunofluorescence antibody assay (IFA).

Results: A. phagocytophilum variant 1 and 2 differed significantly with regards to clinical reaction and cross-immunity in infected lambs.

Both variants were found in the blood after challenge. However, variant 1 was detected most frequently.

Conclusion: The present experiment indicates that superinfection of different genotypes occurs during the acute as well as the persistent phase of an A.phagocytophilum infection, even in lambs protected against the challenged infection.

Author: Snorre StuenWenche TorsteinboKarin BergstromKjetil Bardsen
Credits/Source: Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2009, 51:41

http://7thspace.com/headlines/323522/superinfection_occurs_in_anaplasma_phagocytophilum_infected_sheep_irrespective_of_infection_phase_and_protection_status.html

By David A. Fahrenthold
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Advocates’ report links climate change to worsening of diseases

Climate change will make Americans more vulnerable to diseases, disasters and heat waves, but governments have done little to plan for the added burden on the health system, according to a new study by a nonprofit group.

The study, released Monday by the Trust for America’s Health, an advocacy group focused on disease prevention, examines the public-health implications of climate change. In addition to pushing up sea levels and shrinking Arctic ice, the report says, a warming planet is likely to leave more people sick, short of breath or underfed.

Experts involved with the study said that these threats might be reduced if the federal government adopts a cap on greenhouse-gas emissions. But no legislation could stop them altogether, they said. Emissions already in the atmosphere are expected to increase warming — and the problems that come with it — for years to come.

“That [a cap on greenhouse gases] really is not enough,” said Phyllis Cuttino of the Pew Environment Group, which funded the study. “We can see all these problems coming, but as a country, we haven’t done enough to prepare for them.”

The idea that climate change will be bad for people as well as polar bears is not new: It was explained in detail by a United Nations panel that won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work on climate in 2007.

Monday’s report summarized some of the biggest worries for Americans in particular. They included:

– Heat waves, which the report says are expected to increase. The danger is expected to be worst, the report said, in concrete-clad cities, where the lack of greenery creates an “urban heat island.” Under climate change, the experts said, summer heat could also sneak up on people in cities where air conditioning hasn’t been needed in the past.

– More “extreme weather events,” such as hurricanes, floods and wildfire-breeding droughts. Drought could also create crop failures, the report said, leading to malnutrition.

– More widespread diseases carried by mosquitoes, ticks and other pests. If warmer temperatures allow these animals to expand their ranges northward, the result could be more cases of West Nile virus, Lyme disease and hantavirus.

– Increased air pollution, caused because heat contributes to the formation of smog. This, the report said, could increase the incidence of severe asthma or pulmonary disease.

The experts who worked on the study said they could not provide a timetable for when and where these effects will appear. But they said it is already time to get ready for them, but many governments are not doing so.

“Some of the most personal effects of climate change are going to be health-related ones,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health. “We should want the government doing as much as possible now to prevent these effects, or minimize them when they occur.”

Officials involved in the study said that preparations might include planting more trees in cities, to clean and cool urban air. Levi said they might also include laying in supplies of medicine for diseases that might appear in an area for the first time.

– More “extreme weather events,” such as hurricanes, floods and wildfire-breeding droughts. Drought could also create crop failures, the report said, leading to malnutrition.

– More widespread diseases carried by mosquitoes, ticks and other pests. If warmer temperatures allow these animals to expand their ranges northward, the result could be more cases of West Nile virus, Lyme disease and hantavirus.

– Increased air pollution, caused because heat contributes to the formation of smog. This, the report said, could increase the incidence of severe asthma or pulmonary disease.

The experts who worked on the study said they could not provide a timetable for when and where these effects will appear. But they said it is already time to get ready for them, but many governments are not doing so.

“Some of the most personal effects of climate change are going to be health-related ones,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health. “We should want the government doing as much as possible now to prevent these effects, or minimize them when they occur.”

Officials involved in the study said that preparations might include planting more trees in cities, to clean and cool urban air. Levi said they might also include laying in supplies of medicine for diseases that might appear in an area for the first time.

© 2009 The Washington Post Company

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102602402.html

Public release date: 27-Oct-2009
Contact: Randi Triant
617-636-9845
Tufts University, Health Sciences

The Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Tufts University today announced they are the recipients of four supplemental grant awards from the National Institutes of Health. These new awards, totaling approximately $1.73 million, are supplements to the original Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) grant, UL1 RR025752 that Tufts University received in 2008 from the National Center for Research Resources.

“Community Engagement Research” is a two-year project that will expand the scope of Tufts CTSI’s current community engagement program by enhancing the ability of community partners to participate more effectively in the development of research plans and outcomes. Begun in September 2009, the project has already established an alliance between the Tufts CTSI, the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center, and two pivotal community partners, the Center for Community Health Education, Research, and Service (CCHERS) and the Immigrant Service Providers Group/Health (ISG/H). This alliance is creating a curriculum and evaluation for a self-study and face-to-face program entitled “Fostering Community Partners in Translational Research (FCPTR)” that will target community agencies and health centers. The Program Director is Laurel Leslie, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.

“Improving BPD Predictors and Outcomes for Clinical Trials” builds on prior landmark research that identified a constellation of signs and symptoms in high risk newborns to accurately define bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and predict the subsequent development of chronic respiratory morbidity (CRM) later in childhood and adolescence. While treatment with recombinant human superoxide dismutase to premature newborns has been proven to have a 55% reduction in CRM compared to placebo controls, current definitions of BPD may be unreliable predictors of CRM and a more robust reduction in CRM is needed. Superoxide dismutase is an enzyme that converts superoxide radicals (highly reactive oxygen molecules produced during metabolism and capable of damaging body tissues) into less toxic agents. This one-year study is a prospective, longitudinal, observational study in 85 preterm infants 24-29 weeks gestation. The Program Director is Jonathan Davis, MD, Chief of Newborn Medicine, The Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, Program Director at the Clinical and Translational Research Center, and Professor of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine. Partners in this study include Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Harvard University), Beth Israel Hospital (Harvard University), Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Ohio State), and King’s College in London.

“Searching for Persistence of Infection in Lyme Disease” is a highly innovative Bench-to- Bedside research project that could have an extraordinarily significant impact on the field of Lyme disease. Although antibiotic therapy is clinically effective in treating the symptoms of Lyme disease for most patients early in the course of disease, a significant number of patients who receive therapy report persistent symptoms. A range of theories have been proposed for why this occurs. Moreover, commonly available tests for human Lyme disease are not able to determine persistent infection after antibiotic therapy. Program Director, Linden Hu, MD (Associate Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine and Associate Professor of Microbiology, Sackler School of Biomedical Graduate Sciences) has begun an unconventional study examining whether xenodiagnosis (the feeding of uninfected Ixodes ticks on infected animals) can be used to determine when persistent infection occurs in humans. Xenodiagnosis has been used for other difficult to diagnose diseases such as Chagas disease and can sometimes definitively identify the presence of an organism in animals where other techniques cannot. Whether xenodiagnosis is effective in humans is unknown. This two-year project seeks to test the utility of xenodiagnosis for identifying persistence of B. burgdorferi, the spirochetal bacteria that cause Lyme disease, after antibiotic treatment of the disease. Dr. Linden’s team will test subjects with elevated C6 antibody levels or persistent symptoms after antibiotic therapy and patients with Lyme arthritis. Evidence that B. burgdorferi can be identified by xenodiagnosis after antibiotic therapy in subjects with continued symptoms would significantly change the current paradigm for potential mechanisms of disease and provide researchers and clinicians with a novel tool for identifying patients with persistent infection.

Tufts CTSI currently has a Pilot Studies Program that funds new interdisciplinary research teams, seeds novel ideas, and provides the means to acquire necessary preliminary data for larger, multi-year grant applications. A new supplemental project, The Pilot Project Mechanism, is led by Susan K. Parsons, MD, MRP, Director, The Health Institute, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Amy Yee, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry, Sackler School of Biomedical Graduate Sciences. This two-year project expands the current program to influence research not just within the Tufts enterprise, but also throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and into New England via Tufts CTSI’s forty-three collaborating partners by soliciting interinstitutional and multidisciplinary applications. Many of the identified programs will hire and support undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, thereby creating jobs throughout New England and also increasing the pipeline for translational researchers.
###

About Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)

Tufts CTSI was established in August 2008 with Grant Number UL1 RR025752 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), National Institutes of Health (NIH). A collaboration of organizations, founded by Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University, Tufts CTSI accelerates the translation of laboratory research into clinical use, medical practice and health policy. It connects people to research resources, consultation, and education, and fosters collaboration with scholars of all disciplines and with community members, with the ultimate goal of improving the health of the public. Website: www.tuftsctsi.org.

About NCRR and the CTSA Consortium

The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the tools and training they need to understand, detect, treat, and prevent a wide range of diseases. NCRR supports all aspects of clinical and translational research, connecting researchers, patients, and communities across the nation. Through programs such as the Clinical and Translational Science Awards, NCRR brings together innovative research teams and equips them with essential tools and critical resources needed to tackle the nation’s complex health problems.

About the NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Helping to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people’s health and save lives, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease as well as the causes, treatments, and even cures for common and rare diseases. Composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, the NIH provides leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/tuhs-tca102709.php

By Matthew Taylor: 10:20am Monday 26th October 2009
A FATHER-of-two is seriously ill with the potentially life-threatening Lyme Disease after being bitten by a blood-sucking parasite while in the Lake District.

Father of two, Kevin Slater, 48, was walking in Grisedale Valley, Patterdale, when he was bitten by a tick.

A tick is an arachnid that cuts through flesh with barbed teeth before inserting a needle-like feeding tube.

The disease has now developed into encephalitis – inflammation of the brain that can cause brain damage, blindness and even death.

Now, after receiving conflicting medical advice, Mr Slater is calling for a greater recognition of Lyme Disease among the UK medical profession, and that landowners erect warning signs in places known to house ticks carrying Lyme Disease.

Mr Slater noticed the parasite clinging to his calf while in the shower the day after the walk in August.

“It looked like a blood clot. I brushed it and it fell off.

“I picked it up and could see it had small legs. It was fully engorged – very round and filled with blood,” he said.

Aware not all ticks carry Lyme Disease, Mr Slater carried on as normal.

“Three days later I began to feel very odd. The first feeling was like motion sickness; light headed and giddy. Then there was a feeling of nausea,” he said.

Mr Slater, a self-employed engineering consultant from York, was in Germany and rang NHS Direct.

Back in the UK, he visited various doctors, becoming frustrated with their advice, which he felt was contradictory.

NHS director of public health for the North West, Professor John Ashton, said the UK was behind America in recognising Lyme Disease, but steps were now being taken to make people more aware of the dangers.

Mr Slater has been unable to work for eight weeks and is currently receiving antibiotic treatment from his specialist in Newcastle.

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/4701533.Dad_battles_deadly_tick_bite_illness_after_Lake_District_trip/

A photographer has captured the moment a bird fed on ticks inside a giraffe’s mouth in Ndutu, in Tanzania.
The yellow-billed Oxpecker can eat more than 100 ticks or 13,000 larvae every day. They also feed on blood and have been known to peck at the wounds of large mammals.

The extraordinary scene in the Serengeti was captured by Billy Dodson, from Williamsburg, Virginia, who travels to Africa twice a year to capture the wildlife in the country’s major game reserves.

“I was busy taking a picture of the giraffe’s profile and didn’t spot the bird straight away,” he said. “I have never seen one perched on the lip of an animal like that before. It was extraordinary.

“Usually they ride on the backs of Africa’s big mammals and eat the ticks and other insects that make a home in the fur and skin.

“But this one was cleaning around the mouth for some reason. It was only balanced there for about 10 seconds or so but the giraffe seemed to be cool with the whole thing.

“I think it appreciated the bird’s efforts to get rid of the annoying insects.”

The Yellow-billed Oxpecker measures up to seven inches long and is most commonly found across the Savannah areas of West Africa.

The bird is a co-operative breeder - which means only one pair within a large group will breed, the other members help to make the nest.

Nests are usually found in tree holes and are lined with hair plucked from large mammals like buffalo, giraffe and warthog.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6437147/Bird-captured-on-camera-eating-ticks-from-giraffes-mouth.html

Friday, 23/10/2009

An earlier than usual infestation of cattle ticks has been detected on the NSW North Coast.

The ticks were detected on six cattle during a routine check at the Casino abattoirs.

Industry and Investment NSW regional veterinarian Paul Freeman says it’s the furthest south they’ve seen tick infesations in two years.

“The first one for the new season turns up to be in a clean country outbreak, outside the area where we normally see the ticks. So it is a surprise, yeah,” he says.

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200910/s2722208.htm

By Amy Joi O’Donoghue, Deseret News

Published: Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 11:34 p.m. MDT

A coalition of Utah physicians and medical professionals are calling climate change the single biggest global threat to public health and stress its dire impacts will have far-reaching consequences for the state.

In a panel discussion Thursday at the University of Utah School of Medicine, physicians warned of increased dust storms with greater intensity, longer fire seasons, decreased air quality and periods of drought followed by torrential rainstorms.

All that combines to create greater incidence of health problems caused by dirty air, reduced food supplies and an increase in vector-borne diseases such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease.

“We think this has become as much a moral imperative for the protection of future generations as it is to prevent all-out nuclear war,” said Dr. Brian Moench, president of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

That organization joined the Utah Climate Center and several doctors who describe their event as a bottom-up, grass-roots call for change.

Moench said copies of the presentation, which explores climate change impacts such as dust, ozone, food supply and the spread of disease, will be e-mailed to all 104 state legislators in an effort to abandon humility and urge policy reform.

“Utah is one of the few states actively fighting the future, looking in the rearview mirror,” said Dr. Howie Garber, an emergency room physician.

Garber said climate change should be thought of in this way:

“The Earth is our home, it has developed a heavy smoking habit and we have been lighting the cigarettes. We must open the windows, put away the ashtrays, hide the matches and stop supplying the cigarettes.”

Among the group’s requests for action are:

• For the governor to develop a statewide plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020

• That the plan would include adoption of the 55, 65,75, program: drive 55 mph, turn thermostats down to 65 in winter, up to 75 or higher in summer;

• Implement serious water conservation efforts;

• Incorporation of greenhouse gas science into core curriculum of junior high and high schools;

• Statewide adoption of a strategy to save farmland from housing development and water diversion schemes that threaten agriculture.

The coalition of medical professionals also detailed a number of “lifestyle” changes Utah residents should rapidly adopt, including buying local, reducing consumption of meat and replacing grass where possible with gardens, fruit trees and certain species of shade trees such as linden, red maple and ponderosa pine.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705338655/Climate-change-a-health-threat.html