Effectiveness of a commercial leptospiral vaccine on urinary shedding in naturally exposed sheep in New Zealand

L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo and L. interrogans serovar Pomona are endemic in New Zealand sheep. An effective vaccine and vaccination strategy would protect both humans and livestock.Four to 12 lambs were selected from each of eight farms (total = 84, vaccinated group), while four to 16 lambs (total = 98) served as unvaccinated controls. A commercial Hardjo/Pomona vaccine was given at 1–6 weeks of age, 5–11 weeks later and 33–67 weeks later on seven farms and at 18 weeks of age and 5 weeks later on the eighth farm. Vaccinates and controls were grazed together. Blood was regularly collected from the control group to assess flock exposure. Urine was collected from both groups 26–82 weeks after the second vaccination and tested by quantitative PCR.Seroprevalence in controls at the time of urine sampling ranged from 2.7 to 98.2% for Hardjo and from 0 to 54.1% for Pomona with seroconversion occurring 13 to 67 weeks after the second vaccination in all but one farm where exposure had happened by the time of vaccination. The shedding prevalence adjusted for clustering in farms was 45.1% [95% CI 17.6–72.7] (for an observed number of 50/98) in the control animals and 1.8% [95% CI 0.0–10.1] (for an observed number of 5/84) in the vaccinated animals. The vaccine was 100% effective on five farms where animals were vaccinated before 12 weeks of age and before natural exposure occurred, but the effectiveness was 80% [0–97] on one farm where the lambs were exposed before vaccination and 65% [9–87] to 80% [0–97] on one farm where the animals were fully vaccinated by 24 weeks of age. The overall vaccine effectiveness was 86.3% [63.6–94.8%] despite maternal antibodies in some flocks at first vaccination. Vaccination timing seemed to be crucial in achieving optimum reduction in shedding in urine in vaccinated sheep.     

Predictability of blood pressure response to isometric stress

Isometric exercise causes transient systemic hypertension, but with individual differences. An attempt was made to delineate predictors of those differences by analyzing the blood pressure (BP) response in terms of variables readily measured in clinical practice. For each of 270 office patients, we determined blood pressure, heart rate (HR), electrocardiographic findings, and symptoms in response to maximal isometric and maximal dynamic exercise. For systolic BP response as the predicted measure, 4 predictor variables in combination, including age, sex, resting systolic BP, and maximal treadmill systolic BP, yielded 70% predictability. For diastolic BP, 5 predictors in combination, including handgrip strength, resting diastolic BP, treadmill HR, systolic BP, and diastolic BP, allowed 66% prediction. Not predictive of either were resting HR, abnormality of treadmill test, presence of heart disease, and certain other medical diagnoses.     

A forward-fading technique for increasing heterosexual responsiveness in male homosexuals

A forward-fading conditioning technique was successfully used with a 27-yr-old homosexual client in conditioning penile erection, as measured by a mechanical strain gauge, to a previously neutral female stimulus. The technique involved the incremental fading of a nude female slide into a nude male slide, a procedure which is just the reverse of that recently reported by Barlow and Agras. This technique has a major advantage over the Barlow—Agras technique in that its application is not precluded by S's initial failure to reach an erection of a given magnitude.     

山东省1964～2006年钩端螺旋体病流行病学分析

目的了解山东省1964～2006年钩端螺旋体病流行趋势,探讨钩体病流行规律。方法采取回顾性研究方法对山东省1964～2006年钩体病流行病学调查和监测点资料进行分析。结果1964～2006年钩体病共报告133 594例,死亡81例。除鲁北地区滨洲,其余16市均发生过钩体病,分布在89个县,占全省的66.92%（89/133）。发病时间为7,8,9月份,流行形式主要为雨水型,其次是洪水型,临床类型以流感伤寒型为主,主要流行菌群为波摩那群。带菌猪是山东钩体病的主要传染源,猪带菌率与雨水型、洪水型钩体病流行密切相关。结论20世纪80年代前钩体病在山东省流行较严重,年均发病率在13.50/10万,20世纪90年代后钩体病基本得到了控制,年均发病率在0.071/10万。     

Safety and efficacy of a new octavalent combined Erysipelas,Parvo and Leptospira vaccine in gilts against Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona associated disease and foetal death

The safety and protective efficacy of a new octavalent combination vaccine containing inactivated Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Parvovirus, and Leptospira interrogans (sensu lato) serogroups Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Australis (Bratislava), Grippotyphosa, Pomona and Tarassovi – Porcilis^® Ery + Parvo + Lepto – was evaluated in laboratory studies and under field conditions.The safety (2× overdose and repeated dose) was tested in 26 gilts. In this study, neither vaccine related temperature increase nor other systemic reactions were observed after intramuscular vaccination. No local reactions were observed except for one animal that had a small local reaction (2 cm diameter) that lasted for 5 days after the third vaccination.Efficacy was tested in 40 gilts. A group of 20 gilts was vaccinated at 20 and 24 weeks of age with Porcilis^® Ery + Parvo + Lepto and a group of 20 age- and source-matched animals served as the control group. The gilts were inseminated at 41 weeks or 66 weeks of age and were challenged with serovar Pomona 10 weeks after insemination, corresponding to 6 months (n = 2 × 10) and 12 months (n = 2 × 10) after the last vaccination. After both the 6- and 12-month challenges the control animals developed clinical signs (fever, lethargy and anorexia) and leptospiraemia as determined by positive blood culture. In addition, both the 6- and 12-month challenges resulted in death of 21% and 27% of the total number of foetuses in the control groups, respectively. Clinical signs and leptospiraemia were statistically significantly lower in vaccinated gilts after both the 6- and 12-month challenges. In addition, foetal death was statistically significantly lower (3% and 2%, respectively) in vaccinated gilts after both the 6- and 12 month challenges.The vaccine was tested further under field conditions on a Portuguese farm with a history of an increasing abortion rate associated with a Leptospira serovar Pomona infection (confirmed by PCR and serology). This study was designed as an observational-longitudinal field study. At the start of the study, all breeding sows and replacement gilts on the farm were vaccinated twice with Porcilis^® Ery + Parvo + Lepto at an interval of 4 weeks. Starting six months after the primary vaccination schedule, the animals were re-vaccinated during the second week of every subsequent lactation. New replacement gilts were vaccinated using the same schedule. After vaccination, the abortion rate reduced rapidly from 12.6% in winter months of 2012 (December 2011 to March 2012) to 0.5% in winter months of 2013, a statistical significant decrease of 96%. The total number of abortions on the farm decreased from 55 in 2012 to 6 in 2013. Thereafter, the abortion rate remained stable and in the period December 2013 to April 2014 was still low (0.6%).In conclusion, the present studies demonstrate that the octavalent Porcilis^® Ery + Parvo + Lepto vaccine can be safely used in gilts and sows and induces significant protection, for the duration of at least one year, against serovar Pomona induced clinical signs, leptospiraemia and foetal death. Protection against Pomona associated reproductive failure was confirmed under field conditions where a significant reduction in abortion rate was observed.     

波摩那沙门菌耐药及分子流行病学特征研究

目的 研究波摩那沙门菌的耐药分子流行病学特征。方法 基于上海市网络实验室连续性监测腹泻病例和环境食品及广西地区爬行动物监测的波摩那沙门菌进行抗菌药物耐药和脉冲场凝胶电泳（PFGE）分析。结果 2005－2012 年上海市网络实验室诊断临床病例分离沙门菌4 553 株, 居前10 位的20 个血清型均为A～F 群, 波摩那沙门菌在少见的非A～F 群中仅次于旺兹沃思沙门菌排第2 位, 并对低年龄组人群普遍易感, 症状有血样便和二次感染现象。确认食源环境沙门菌1 805 株, 前10 位血清型明显比人源株更具多样性, 波摩那沙门菌在少见型中列第3位, 多源自甲鱼、海水贝壳类和爬行动物。波摩那沙门菌非人源分离株耐药性显著高于人源株, PFGE结果分属A和B不同克隆簇。克隆A为非流行株的多重耐药株, 菌株多源自淡水养殖鱼类;克隆B为不耐药的流行株, 分为B-Ⅰ（分离自低年龄组）和B-Ⅱ（分离自成年组）2 个亚簇, 前者与海水贝壳类动物、陆龟、蜥蜴分离株同源, 后者与海水贝壳类动物分离株同源, 其中1 例人源株对8种抗生素呈多重耐药。结论 波摩那沙门菌属少见菌型, 但对婴幼儿有较高致病性。上海市近期分离的波摩那沙门菌与2005 年病例菌株存在遗传进化关系, 需要对致病克隆加强监测并预警进食海鲜和爬行动物的感染风险。     

Inability to cope with environmental stress: peptic ulcers in mentally retarded persons

Mentally retarded persons in the protective environment of an institution developed more peptic ulcers than the general population. We sought to determine whether their physical and mental handicaps may have a relationship to this disease. Thirty seven mentally retarded institutionalized ulcer patients were compared to 37 non-ulcer controls matched for age and sex, who were also similar in IQ and mental retardation diagnoses. A stepwise discriminant analysis demonstrated that the ulcer group was more limited by chronic diseases and inability to ambulate. Also differentiating the groups were ulcer patients having more cerebral palsy, more visual deficit, and more limited motor and sphincter control than non-ulcer subjects. We conclude that helplessness in responding to environmental demands produces stress sufficient to induce peptic ulcers, even in severely mentally retarded persons.