Clair L. Firth

A systematic review of financial and economic assessments of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) prevention and mitigation activities worldwide.

Infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) results in major economic losses either directly through decreased productive performance in cattle herds or indirectly, such as through expenses for control programs. The aim of this systematic review was to review financial and/or economic assessment studies of prevention and/or mitigation activities of BVDV at national, regional and farm level worldwide. Once all predefined criteria had been met, 35 articles were included for this systematic review. Studies were analyzed with particular focus on the type of financially and/or economically-assessed prevention and/or mitigation activities. Due to the wide range of possible prevention and/or mitigation activities, these activities were grouped into five categories: i) control and/or eradication programs, ii) monitoring or surveillance, iii) prevention, iv) vaccination and v) individual culling, control and testing strategies. Additionally, the studies were analyzed according to economically-related variables such as efficiency, costs or benefits of prevention and/or mitigation activities, the applied financial and/or economic and statistical methods, the payers of prevention and/or mitigation activities, the assessed production systems, and the countries for which such evaluations are available. Financial and/or economic assessments performed in Europe were dominated by those from the United Kingdom, which assessed mostly vaccination strategies, and Norway which primarily carried out assessments in the area of control and eradication programs; whereas among non-European countries the United States carried out the majority of financial and/or economic assessments in the area of individual culling, control and testing. More than half of all studies provided an efficiency calculation of prevention and/or mitigation activities and demonstrated whether the inherent costs of implemented activities were or were not justified. The dairy sector was three times more likely to be assessed by the countries than beef production systems. In addition, the dairy sector was approximately eight times more likely to be assessed economically with respect to prevention and/or mitigation activities than calf and youngstock production systems. Furthermore, the private sector was identified as the primary payer of prevention and/or mitigation activities. This systematic review demonstrated a lack of studies relating to efficiency calculations, in particular at national and regional level, and the specific production systems. Thus, we confirmed the need for more well-designed studies in animal health economics in order to demonstrate that the implementation and inherent costs of BVDV prevention and/or mitigation activities are justified.

Influence of porcine circovirus type 2 vaccination on the level of antimicrobial consumption on 65 Austrian pig farms

The administration of antibiotics to farm animals is an important contemporary topic. Veterinarians, pig producers, politicians, retailers and consumers all have a vested interest in reducing antimicrobial use on farm, while ensuring adequate health and welfare of food-producing animals. Vaccination programmes may be used to reduce the overall level of clinical disease in a population, subsequently leading to a decline in antimicrobial use. In 2008, a vaccination programme against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) was initiated in Austria. In the retrospective observational study presented here, farm medication records (2008–2011) from 65 conventional pig farms were evaluated. As PCV-2 has been shown to lead to generalised immunosuppression, enabling secondary bacterial infections to occur, the authors hypothesised that PCV-2 vaccination would decrease antimicrobial consumption at farm level. Firstly, we focused on the annual antimicrobial consumption expressed as the number of administered animal daily doses per kg liveweight (nADDkg/kg/year). Secondly, a linear mixed effects model was applied to evaluate the influence of PCV-2 vaccination on the antimicrobial consumption at farm level. The interaction between farm type and PCV-2 vaccination was found to be a highly significant factor (P=0.0002) influencing antimicrobial use at farm level. The estimated impact of PCV-2 vaccination revealed a highly significant (P<0.001) decline in total antimicrobial drug use from 1.72 ADDkg/kg/year to 0.56 ADDkg/kg/year on finishing farms, whereas only a negligible decline was detectable on farrow-to-finish farms.

Cost distribution of bluetongue surveillance and vaccination programmes in Austria and Switzerland (2007–2016)

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an emerging transboundary disease in Europe, which can cause significant production losses among ruminants. The analysis presented here assessed the costs of BTV surveillance and vaccination programmes in Austria and Switzerland between 2007 and 2016. Costs were compared with respect to time, type of programme, geographical area and who was responsible for payment. The total costs of the BTV vaccination and surveillance programmes in Austria amounted to €23.6 million, whereas total costs in Switzerland were €18.3 million. Our analysis demonstrates that the costs differed between years and geographical areas, both within and between the two countries. Average surveillance costs per animal amounted to approximately €3.20 in Austria compared with €1.30 in Switzerland, whereas the average vaccination costs per animal were €6.20 in Austria and €7.40 in Switzerland. The comparability of the surveillance costs is somewhat limited, however, due to differences in each nation’s surveillance (and sampling) strategy. Given the importance of the export market for cattle production, investments in such programmes are more justified for Austria than for Switzerland. The aim of the retrospective assessment presented here is to assist veterinary authorities in planning and implementing cost-effective and efficient control strategies for emerging livestock diseases.

The relationship between clinical signs and microbiological species, spa type, and antimicrobial resistance in bovine mastitis cases in Austria

Bovine mastitis, an inflammation of the udder usually caused by bacteria, is the most common disease in dairy cattle worldwide with a negative economic impact on the dairy industry. In this study 3020 quarter milk samples from 647 dairy cows on 166 Austrian farms were collected and microbial species, spa type for Staphylococcus (S.) aureus and antimicrobial susceptibility were analysed. A multinomial logistic regression model was applied to investigate the effect of possible categorical influencing covariates on the microbiological findings. Additionally, a generalized linear model was used to analyse the effects of genotype and pathogen species on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance. Staphylococci were the most common (17% of samples) udder pathogens including 32 different S. aureus spa types. The occurrence of pathogen groups was significantly associated with the clinical mastitis score. Enterobacteriaceae isolates had a significantly higher probability of being present in severe mastitis cases compared to streptococci. Benzylpenicillin and tetracycline were the most common resistance in S. aureus including 14% and 11% resistant isolates. Whereas 16% and 13% of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) isolates were resistant to tetracycline and clindamycin. Overall the proportion of Enterobacteriaceae isolates resistant to at least one antibiotic agents was high (55% of isolates), whereas only 3% benzylpenicillin resistant streptococci were detected. Associations were detected between antimicrobial resistance and particular species of Enterobacteriaceae, CNS and specific S. aureus spa types. In conclusion we present in this study data on causative udder pathogen species and their antimicrobial resistance, which are of great importance for mastitis management and prevention.

A meta-analysis of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) prevalences in the global cattle population

A random effect meta-analysis was performed to estimate the worldwide pooled bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) prevalences of persistently infected (PI), viraemic (VI) and antibody-positive (AB) animals and herds. The meta-analysis covered 325 studies in 73 countries that determined the presence or absence of BVDV infections in cattle from 1961 to 2016. In total, 6.5 million animals and 310,548 herds were tested for BVDV infections in the global cattle population. The worldwide pooled PI prevalences at animal level ranged from low (≤0.8% Europe, North America, Australia), medium (>0.8% to 1.6% East Asia) to high (>1.6% West Asia). The PI and AB prevalences in Europe decreased over time, while BVDV prevalence increased in North America. The highest mean pooled PI prevalences at animal level were identified in countries that had failed to implement any BVDV control and/or eradication programmes (including vaccination). Our analysis emphasizes the need for more standardised epidemiological studies to support decision-makers implementing animal health policies for non-globally-regulated animal diseases.

The economics of bovine viral diarrhoea eradication

We read with interest the systematic review of the economic impact of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) recently published in Veterinary Record .1 In February this year, our independent research team at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna published a similar systematic review in which we described the costs and benefits of worldwide BVD prevention and eradication activities at national, regional and farm level from 1986 to 2015.2 Due to the international nature of our research, we did not limit …

Antimicrobial consumption on Austrian dairy farms: an observational study of udder disease treatments based on veterinary medication records

Background Antimicrobial use in livestock production is an important contemporary issue, which is of public interest worldwide. Antimicrobials are not freely available to Austrian farmers and can only be administered to livestock by veterinarians, or by farmers who are trained members of the Animal Health Service. Since 2015, veterinarians have been required by law to report antimicrobials dispensed to farmers for use in food-producing animals. The study presented here went further than the statutory framework, and collected data on antimicrobials dispensed to farmers and those administered by veterinarians. Methods Seventeen veterinary practices were enrolled in the study via convenience sampling. These veterinarians were asked to contact interested dairy farmers regarding participation in the study (respondent-driven sampling). Data were collected from veterinary practice software between 1st October 2015 and 30th September 2016. Electronic data (89.4%) were transferred via an online interface and paper records (10.6%) were entered by the authors. Antimicrobial treatments with respect to udder disease were analysed by number of defined daily doses per cow and year (nDDDvet/cow/year), based on the European Medicines Agency technical unit, Defined Daily Dose for animals (DDDvet). Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to analyse the results. Results Antimicrobial use data from a total of 248 dairy farms were collected during the study, 232 of these farms treated cows with antibiotics; dry cow therapy was excluded from the current analysis. The mean number of DDDvet/cow/year for the antimicrobial treatment of all udder disease was 1.33 DDDvet/cow/year. Of these treatments, 0.73 DDDvet/cow/year were classed as highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs), according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition. The Wilcoxon rank sum test determined a statistically significant difference between the median number of DDDvet/cow/year for acute and chronic mastitis treatment (W = 10,734, p < 0.001). The most commonly administered antimicrobial class for the treatment of acute mastitis was beta-lactams. Intramammary penicillin was used at a mean of 0.63 DDDvet/cow/year, followed by the third generation cephalosporin, cefoperazone, (a HPCIA) at 0.60 DDDvet/cow/year. Systemic antimicrobial treatments were used at a lower overall level than intramammary treatments for acute mastitis. Discussion This study demonstrated that Austrian dairy cows in the study population were treated with antimicrobial substances for udder diseases at a relatively low frequency, however, a substantial proportion of these treatments were with substances considered critically important for human health. While it is vital that sick cows are treated, reductions in the overall use of antimicrobials, and critically important substances in particular, are still possible.

A survey of feline leukaemia virus antigenaemia among cats in eastern Austria: a retrospective analysis of serum samples routinely tested between 1996 and 2011

Objectives The aim of this retrospective analysis was to determine the seroprevalence of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) antigenaemia among owned cats in Vienna and the surrounding area. Methods Samples were tested between 1996 and 2011 by the Department of Clinical Virology at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. All samples were sent to the university as part of routine diagnostic procedures, either to determine infection in clinically symptomatic individuals or to rule out infection prior to vaccination. To allow for statistical comparison, samples analysed between 2008 and 2011 were pooled into one population (n = 444) and evaluated against samples tested in 1996 (n = 840). Furthermore, analyses of subgroups were undertaken to determine the effect of sex and age on the prevalence of FeLV antigenaemia. Results With respect to the samples tested at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, it was determined that the level of FeLV antigenaemia in eastern Austria between 1996 and 2011 was 5.6%. The proportion of FeLV antigenaemic cats was highly variable and has not fallen significantly over this period, despite advances in vaccination, and the education of pet owners and animal welfare charities. Conclusions and relevance This study confirms the importance of continued and regular vaccination against FeLV among Austrian cats, particularly those allowed access to the outdoors. Within the remit of this retrospective study, it was not possible to follow-up results of repeat testing or of other assays (PCR) of individual cats. As a result of this, no conclusions can be drawn as to the possibility of transient antigenaemic cats or false-positive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results.