Investigation on the occurrence and pathology of paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) in apparently healthy cattle in Jordan

Paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) is an infectious, incurable, chronically progressive granulomatous enteritis which affects domestic and exotic ruminants. The causative agent is Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (Mycobacterium johnei), a slow growing mycobactin-dependent acid-fast bacillus. We investigated the occurrence of Johne’s disease in apparently healthy cattle, using 263 ileum and corresponding mesenteric lymph nodes, by histopathological examination, and 170 ileum and 120 mesenteric lymph nodes by immunohistochemical examination. The occurrence of the disease was 65% and 66% using immunohistochemistry and histopathology techniques, respectively. When Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) and ELISA techniques were implemented, the occurrence was 1% (4/120) and 3% (8/278), respectively. Grading from I–IV of histopathological lesions based on type of cellular infiltrate and severity of lesions revealed that most of the positive cases were in grade I and II. Furthermore, staging I–III of immunohistochemistry results, has presented a high number of positive cases in stage I. ZN stain showed a very low occurrence; however, it is still used as a confirmatory test for clinical cases. On the other hand, ELISA technique showed a low occurrence of the disease (3%) in this study reflecting the low sensitivity of the technique in diagnosis of subclinical Johne’s disease (JD). These results showed that histopathology is a very good diagnostic method for subclinical paratuberculosis in cattle. From the present study, we conclude that the occurrence of JD in cattle is high in Jordan. It is interesting to note that this is the first study of JD in cattle in Jordan, and the results strongly suggest alarming fears of severity of the disease at the national level. The urgent need for national control strategies are well founded due to the economical importance of the disease.     

Reflection on the ‘ARS TERAPEUTICA’ – 3rd International Conference of Art Therapies in Olomouc,The Czech Republic,October 2013

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of rhythmic movement therapy (RMT) for increasing subjective well-being (SWB) in a healthy, non-clinical population. Methods: A total of 273 subjects seeking psychological counselling (coaching) were willing to participate in the study and assessed with the appropriate questionnaires. Two groups were formed: 1 (very low, low and medium SWB levels; n = 156) and 2 (high and very high SWB levels; n = 117). Subjects of Group 1 were randomly assigned to 10 RMT groups (n = 105) and 5 waiting-list control groups (n = 51). Results: The results demonstrated significant improvement in SWB level and several other personal variables in subjects of the RMT group compared with unimproved subjects of the control groups, except for personal standards and neuroticism. Conclusion: Substantial changes in SWB and psychological state were observed as a result of RMT intervention.     

Abstracts of the 1~(st) International Symposium on Immunodeficiency-Related Disorders

1. General Aspect Primary immunodeficiencies - an introduction Alain FIsher Department of Pediatric Immunology - Necker Hospital, INSERM U 768 and Universite Rene Descartes, Paris, France The immune system is a very complex and sophisticated tool that has evolved to provide efficient defenses against a myriad of environmental microorganisms. Many pieces of this system can be defective by gene mutations leading to primary immunodeficiency diseases. Today more than 130 conditions have been described to affect either innate and/or adaptive immunity. Molecular characterization of more than one hundred of them has been achieved. They are the basis of essential information for a series of reasons : i/ they provide as many clues to better understand how the human immune system is differentiating, exerts its effector functions to fight a given microorganism and is regulated; ii/ diagnostic tools are being developed which are useful both for a better characterization of individual cases sometimes helping to define a prognosis, and hence therapeutic strategy for genetic counselling; iii/ they provide the basis for the development of new therapeutics such as immunoglobulin substitution of B cell immunodeficiencies, or presently ADA substitution and tomorrow gene therapy. It is crucial to pursue these efforts and to make available worldwide these advances.     

3–6 octobre 2011. Barcelone,Espagne. 7<Superscript>th</Superscript> European Congress on Tropical Medicine &; International Health. Organisé par la Federation of European Societies for Tropical Medicine and International Health (FESTMIH)

Information / Information

3–6 octobre 2011. Barcelone, Espagne. 7^th European Congress on Tropical Medicine & International Health. Organisé par la Federation of European Societies for Tropical Medicine and International Health (FESTMIH)     

Online information on oncologists’ and non-medical practitioners’ websites in Germany: A critical comparison

ObjectiveTo survey websites of oncologists and non-medical practitioners (NMPs) in Germany regarding range of treated symptoms, diagnostic tools and therapies offered to cancer patients as well as the quality of websites.MethodsAnalysis of 98 websites of oncologists and NMPs was conducted between April and July 2018 with a standardized tool.ResultsRange of diagnostic and therapeutic methods was high and differed between both groups. Many NMPs (65.3%) intended to support conventional therapy rather than to treat cancer. Most oncologists (85.7%) did not mention the role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Texts on oncologists’ websites, showed high complexity according to readability analysis using LIX score as opposed to those on NMPs websites that showed medium complexity. Only small difference of quality of websites between both groups could be detected.ConclusionMethods not acknowledged by evidence-based medicine as well as methods at risk for interaction with conventional cancer therapy but also treatment offers with potential benefits for cancer patients were found on NMPs websites.Practice implicationsAs evidence-based CAM methods can be a useful support of cancer treatment, risk of herb drug interactions can be minimized by oncologists offering reasonable CAM.