Breaking the chain of zoonoses through biosecurity in livestock

Increases in global travel, trade and urbanisation are leading to greater incidence of zoonotic disease, and livestock are often a key link in the spread of disease to humans. As such, livestock vaccination strategies, as a part of broader biosecurity solutions, are critical to both animal and human health. Importantly, approaches that restrict infectious agents in livestock, not only protects their economic value but should reduce the potential for spill over infections in humans. Biosecurity solutions to livestock health can take a number of different forms and are generally heavily weighted towards prevention of infection rather than treatment. Therefore, vaccination can provide an effective component of a strategic approach, particularly as production economics dictate the use of cost effective solutions. Furthermore, in an evolving global environment there is a need for vaccines that accommodate for lower socioeconomic and rapidly emerging zoonotics.     

Assessing biosecurity risk associated with the importation of non-indigenous microalgae

The importation and use of microalgae as live feeds for aquaculture and research poses significant marine biosecurity risks as it represents a poorly or unregulated mechanism for the introduction of non-native species. In many jurisdictions, the importation of a good is controlled by an Import Health Standard (IHS); however within New Zealand, no IHS explicitly exists for microalgae and no import risk assessments have occurred. This represents an unregulated pathway that requires urgent management attention. To address this problem, an 8-step decision-tree (based on non-probabilistic if/then statements) was developed. The decision-tree applies the same set of criteria to all species and strains, ensuring that future importation of microalgae could be assessed in a consistent, robust, transparent, and defensible manner. To assess the validity of the decision-tree, all New Zealand microalgae imports from 1998 to 2005 were assessed using the decision-tree and then compared against a derived risk assessment for the same dataset. Microalgae imports that pose a risk to New Zealand have been imported and released into the environment, indicating that this unregulated pathway needs improved biosecurity management. Both aquaculture and research agencies are responsible for releasing microalgae imports. The decision-tree was a more conservative method than a derived risk assessment process.     

Embryo transfer: a comparative biosecurity advantage in international movements of germplasm

This paper uses cattle as a model to provide an overview of the hazards involved in the transfer of in vivo-derived and in vitro-produced embryos. While scientific studies in recent decades have led to the identification of pathogens that may be associated with both in vivo- and in vitro-derived embryos, those studies have also been the basis of appropriate disease control measures to reduce the risks to a negligible level. These disease control measures have been identified and assessed by the International Embryo Transfer Society's (lETS) Health and Safety Advisory Committee, the expert body that advises the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on matters related to the safety of embryo transfer. Through the OIE's processes for developing and adopting international standards, the disease control measures identified by the IETS have been incorporated into the Terrestrial Animal Health Code. The basic principles rely on the crucial ethical roles of the embryo collection team and embryo transfer team, under the leadership of approved veterinarians. Decades of experience, with nearly 10 million embryos transferred, have demonstrated the very significant biosecurity advantage that embryo transfer technology has when moving germplasm internationally, provided that the international standards developed by the IETS and adopted by the OIE are strictly followed.     

Health impacts of climate change and biosecurity in the Asian Pacific region

Our climate is changing as a result of human activity, and such changes have the potential to have a significant impact on human health. The basic requirements for health--clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter--are all vulnerable to climate change. Low-income developing countries are especially vulnerable; no country, however, is totally immune. In Australia, we are already seeing evidence of the health effects of climate change with an increase in temperature-related food poisoning events and an increase in mosquito-borne infections, including Ross River virus and Dengue fever. In the Asian Pacific region the issues identified as most pressing vary from country to country, but a common theme is a lack of public understanding and education and lack of capacity for implementing mitigation strategies. Strategies addressing the health impacts of climate change must incorporate the principles of social justice and equity within the region.     

Health,hygiene and biosecurity: Tribal knowledge claims in the UK poultry industry

Since 1997 the world has been facing the threat of a human influenza pandemic that may be caused by an avian virus and the poultry industry around the globe has been grappling with the highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza H5N1, or in more informal terms bird flu. The UK poultry industry has lived with and through this threat and its consequences since 2005. This study investigates knowledge claims about health, hygiene and biosecurity as tools to ward off the threat from this virus. It takes a semi-ethnographic and discourse analytic approach to analyse a small corpus of semi-structured interviews carried out in the wake of one of the most publicised outbreaks of H5N1 in Suffolk in 2007. It reveals that claims about what best to do to protect flocks against the risk of disease are divided along lines imposed on the one hand by the structure of the industry and on the other by more ‘tribal’ lines drawn by knowledge and belief systems about purity and dirt, health and hygiene.     

Food Insecurity,Neighborhood Food Access,and Food Assistance in Philadelphia

An estimated 17.6 million American households were food insecure in 2012, meaning they were unable to obtain enough food for an active and healthy life. Programs to augment local access to healthy foods are increasingly widespread, with unclear effects on food security. At the same time, the US government has recently enacted major cuts to federal food assistance programs. In this study, we examined the association between food insecurity (skipping or reducing meal size because of budget), neighborhood food access (self-reported access to fruits and vegetables and quality of grocery stores), and receipt of food assistance using the 2008, 2010, and 2012 waves of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey. Of 11,599 respondents, 16.7 % reported food insecurity; 79.4 % of the food insecure found it easy or very easy to find fruits and vegetables, and 60.6 % reported excellent or good quality neighborhood grocery stores. In our regression models adjusting for individual- and neighborhood-level covariates, compared to those who reported very difficult access to fruits and vegetables, those who reported difficult, easy or very easy access were less likely to report food insecurity (OR 0.62: 95 % CI 0.43–0.90, 0.33: 95 % CI 0.23–0.47, and 0.28: 95 % CI 0.20–0.40). Compared to those who reported poor stores, those who reported fair, good, and excellent quality stores were also less likely to report food insecurity (OR 0.81: 95 % CI 0.60–1.08, 0.58: 95 % CI 0.43–0.78, and 0.43: 95 % CI 0.31–0.59). Compared to individuals not receiving food assistance, those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were significantly more likely to be food insecure (OR 1.36: 95 % CI 1.11–1.67), while those receiving benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (OR 1.17: 95 % CI 0.77–1.78) and those receiving both SNAP and WIC (OR 0.84: 95 % CI 0.61–1.17) did not have significantly different odds of food insecurity. In conclusion, better neighborhood food access is associated with lower risk of food insecurity. However, most food insecure individuals reported good access. Improving diet in communities with high rates of food insecurity likely requires not only improved access but also greater affordability.     

Biosafety and biosecurity as essential pillars of international health security and cross-cutting elements of biological nonproliferation

The critical aspects of biosafety, biosecurity, and biocontainment have been in the spotlight in recent years. There have also been increased international efforts to improve awareness of modern practices and concerns with regard to the safe pursuit of life sciences research, and to optimize current oversight frameworks, thereby resulting in decreased risk of terrorist/malevolent acquisition of deadly pathogens or accidental release of a biological agent, and increased safety of laboratory workers. Our purpose is to highlight how the World Health Organization's (WHO) revised International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 overlap in their requirements with regard to biosafety and biosecurity in order to improve the understanding of practitioners and policymakers and maximize the use of national resources employed to comply with internationally-mandated requirements. The broad range of goals of these international instruments, which are linked by the common thread of biosafety and biosecurity, highlight their significance as essential pillars of international health security and cross-cutting elements of biological nonproliferation. The current efforts of the Republic of Georgia to enhance biosafety and biosecurity in accordance with these international instruments are summarized.     

时尚饮食一族大聚会专家过来插插嘴

“我最爱吃炸薯条了,虽然身体渐渐发胖,但是还是不能抑制自己啊！” “我是爱喝茶的,怎么也离不开它,我还很讲究呢,非新茶不喝。” “呵呵,我爱喝咖啡,所以希望大家都喝咖啡。” “烧烤多棒啊,大家一起吧。” “我身体不好,要天天吃保健品,不吃不行呀。” “我们就是时尚饮食一族,我们有我们的饮食主义。” “这人谁呀?” “说是专家。” “听他说什么。”……