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Graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with posttransplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCY) has been established to reduce severe GVHD, and thereby potentially reducing nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). We evaluated the predictive capacity of established NRM-risk scores in patients receiving PTCY-based GVHD prophylaxis, and subsequently developed and validated a novel PTCY-specific NRM-risk model. Adult patients (n = 1861) with AML or ALL in first complete remission who received alloSCT with PTCY-based GVHD prophylaxis were included. The PTCY-risk score was developed using multivariable Fine and Gray regression, selecting parameters from the hematopoietic cell transplantation-comorbidity index (HCT-CI) and European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) score with a subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR) of >= 1.2 for 2-year NRM in the training set (70% split), which was validated in the test set (30%). The performance of the EBMT score, HCT-CI, and integrated EBMT score was relatively poor for discriminating 2-year NRM (c-statistic 51.7%, 56.6%, and 59.2%, respectively). The PTCY-risk score included 10 variables which were collapsed in 3 risk groups estimating 2-year NRM of 11% +/- 2%, 19% +/- 2%, and 36% +/- 3% (training set, c-sta-tistic 64%), and 11% +/- 2%, 18% +/- 3%, and 31% +/- 5% (test set, c-statistic 63%), which also translated into different overall survival. Collectively, we developed an NRM-risk score for acute leukemia patients receiving PTCY that better predicted 2-year NRM compared with existing models, which might be applicable to the specific toxicities of high-dose cyclophosphamide.

BACKGROUND: Invasive aspergillosis(IA) by a triazole resistant Aspergillus fumigatus is associated with a high mortality. Real-time resistance detection will result in earlier initiation of appropriate therapy. METHODS: In a prospective study in the Netherlands and Belgium, we evaluated the clinical value of the multiplex AsperGenius®PCR in hematology patients from 12 centers. This PCR detects the most frequent cyp51A mutations in A. fumigatus conferring azole-resistance. Patients were included when a CT-scan showed a pulmonary infiltrate and bronchoalveolar lavage(BALf) sampling was performed. The primary endpoint was antifungal treatment failure in patients with azole-resistant IA. Patients with mixed azole-susceptible/resistant infections were excluded. RESULTS: Of 323 patients enrolled, complete mycological and radiological information was available in 276/323(94%) and probable IA diagnosed in 99/276(36%). Sufficient BALf for PCR testing was available in 293/323(91%). Aspergillus DNA was detected in 116/293(40%) and A.fumigatus DNA in 89/293(30%). The resistance PCR was conclusive in 58/89(65%) and resistance detected in 8/58(14%). Two had a mixed azole-susceptible/resistant infection. In the 6 remaining patients, treatment failure was observed in one. Galactomannan positivity was associated with higher mortality(p=0.004). In contrast, mortality of patients with an isolated positive Aspergillus PCR was comparable to those with a negative PCR(p=0.83). CONCLUSIONS: Real-time PCR-based resistance testing may help to limit the clinical impact of triazole resistance. In contrast, the clinical impact of an isolated positive Aspergillus PCR on BALf seems limited. The interpretation of the EORTC/MSGERC PCR criterion for BALf may need further specification (e.g. minimum Ct-value and/or PCR positive on >1 BALf sample).

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Correction to: Bone Marrow Transplantation, published online 09 May 2023 In this article, the second affiliation of Claudia Sossa was missing. It should be Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga—UNAB, Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia. The original article has been corrected.

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International audience; The optimal conditioning for patients with acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission treated with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) has not been defined so far. In this retrospective study, we compared two "reduced-toxicity" regimens: intravenous busulfan at a total dose of 9.6 mg/kg (3 days) + fludarabine (Bu3/Flu) and total body irradiation at a dose of 8 Gy + fludarabine (TBI8Gy/Flu). In the entire study cohort (n = 518), the probabilities of overall survival (OS), leukemia-free survival (LFS), relapse and non-relapse mortality (NRM) at 2 years for Bu3/Flu and TBI8Gy/Flu were 62% vs. 72.5% (p = 0.051), 59.5% vs. 65% (p = 0.15), 30% vs. 20% (p = 0.01), and 10% vs. 14% (p = 0.18), respectively. In multivariate model for patients

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) mutational status is a pivotal prognosticator in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and significantly increases the risk of disease relapse. However, it remains unclear whether in FLT3-ITD patients referred for allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), baseline cytogenetics significantly impacts clinical outcome. Using the European Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry, we performed a retrospective analysis of 1631 FLT3-ITD AML patients who underwent allo-SCT with the aim of determining the influence of cytogenetic risk category on patient outcomes. Median patient age was 49 years and median follow-up duration was 36 months. Two-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) and incidence of relapse were 54% and 31.6%, respectively. Non-relapse mortality was experienced by 14.4% with a 2-year overall survival (OS) of 60.1%. On multivariate analysis, LFS was significantly lower in patients with intermediate and adverse risk cytogenetics compared with those with favorable risk cytogenetics, (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06–2.06; p =.02), and (HR = 01.65, 95% CI, 1.13–2.40; p =.009), respectively. OS was significantly lower in patients with adverse risk cytogenetics compared with patients with favorable risk cytogenetics (HR = 1.74, 95% CI, 1.16–2.61; p =.008) with a trend toward lower OS in patients with intermediate risk cytogenetics compared to those with favorable risk cytogenetics (HR = 1.43, 95% CI, 1.00–2.05; p =.052). In addition, adverse risk patients and intermediate risk patients experienced higher relapse rates compared with favorable risk patients (HR = 1.83, 95% CI, 1.13–2.94; p =.013 and HR = 1.82, 95% CI, 1.19–2.77; p =.005). Overall, cytogenetic studies aid in refinement of risk stratification in transplanted FLT3-ITD AML patients.

We aimed to validate the MYelofibrosis SECondary to PV and ET prognostic model (MYSEC-PM) in 159 patients with myelofibrosis secondary to polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry undergoing transplantation from matched siblings or unrelated donors. Furthermore, we aimed to test its prognostic performance in comparison with the Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System (DIPSS). Score performance was analyzed using the concordance index (C): the probability that a patient who experienced an event had a higher risk score than a patient who did not (C > .5 suggesting predictive ability). Median follow-up of the total cohort was 41 months (range, 34 to 54), 45 months in post-PV and 38 months in post-ET myelofibrosis. Survival at 1, 2, and 4 years was 70% (95% CI, 63% to 77%), 61% (95% CI, 53% to 69%), and 52% (95% CI, 43% to 61%) for the total cohort; 70% (95% CI, 59% to 80%), 61% (95% CI, 49% to 73%), and 51% (95% CI, 38% to 64%) for post-PV; and 71% (95% CI, 61% to 81%), 61% (95% CI, 50% to 72%), and 54% (95% CI, 42% to 66%) for post-ET myelofibrosis (P = .78). Overall, the DIPSS was not significantly predictive of outcome (P = .28). With respect to the MYSEC-PM, overall survival at 4 years was 69% for the low-risk, 55% for the intermediate 1-risk, 47% for the intermediate 2-risk, and 22% (0% to 45%) for the high-risk groups. The prognostic model was predictive of survival overall (P = .05), whereas groups with intermediate 2 and high risk showed no significant difference (P = .44). Assessment of prognostic utility yielded a C-index of .575 (95% CI, .502 to .648) for the DIPSS, whereas assessment of the MYSEC-PM resulted in a C-statistics of .636 (95% CI, .563 to .708), indicating improvement in prediction of post-transplant survival using the new MYSEC-PM. In addition, transplantations from an unrelated donor in comparison with an HLA-identical sibling showed worse outcome (P = .04), and transplant recipients seropositive for cytomegalovirus in comparison with seronegative recipients (P = .01) showed worse survival. In conclusion, incorporating transplant-specific and clinical and mutational information together with the MYSEC-PM may enhance risk stratification. ispartof: Biol Blood Marrow Transplant vol:25 issue:6 pages:e204-e208 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Additional file 1. Supplementary material.

The purpose of our study is to provide information on safety and efficacy of ibrutinib as salvage treatment after allo-HSCT for CLL. A total of 56 patients were included, 36 (64%) males ; median age at transplantation was 48 years (range: 35–64) and the median number of treatment lines prior to transplantation was 3 (1–10). The median time between allo-HSCT and Ibrutinib was 30 months (range: 1–140). Overall, 40 (71%) patients responded to Ibrutinib ; 23 (41%) PR, and 17 (30%) CR. At time of ibrutinib initiation, ten patients had active chronic GVHD that resolved under Ibrutinib, whilst a single patient developed limited de novo chronic GVHD on Ibrutinib. Fourteen patients discontinued ibrutinib, four because of toxicity and ten because of disease progression. Overall, 14 patients progressed (median PFS = 24 months) among them 10 died. Two- year OS and PFS probabilities were 72% (95% CI: 52–84) and 50% (95% CI: 32– 66), respectively. Patients with late relapse after allo-HSCT (≥24 months) had a better PFS after ibrutinib. Our study shows that ibrutinib can be safely administered for CLL relapse after allo-HSCT, with comparable efficacy to non-transplanted patients with high-risk disease.

Allogeneic haemopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) may be curative in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in second complete remission (CR2) but the impact of reduced intensity (RIC) versus myeloablative conditioning (MAC) is uncertain. The Acute Leukaemia Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation Registry studied an AML CR2 cohort characterised by age ≥ 18 years, first allo-HCT 2007–2016, available cytogenetic profile at diagnosis, donors who were matched family, volunteer unrelated with HLA antigen match 10/10 or 9/10 or haplo-identical. The 1879 eligible patients included 1010 (54%) MAC allo-HCT recipients. In patients

HLA-mismatches in hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation are associated with an impaired overall survival (OS). The aim of this study is to explore whether the Predicted Indirectly ReCognizable HLA-Epitopes (PIRCHE) algorithm can be used to identify HLA-mismatches that are related to an impaired transplant outcome. PIRCHE are computationally predicted peptides derived from the patient's mismatched-HLA molecules that can be presented by donor-patient shared HLA. We retrospectively scored PIRCHE numbers either presented on HLA class-I (PIRCHE-I) or class-II (PIRCHE-II) for a Dutch multicenter cohort of 103 patients who received a single HLA-mismatched (9/10) unrelated donor transplant in an early phase of their disease. These patients were divided into low and high PIRCHE-I and PIRCHE-II groups, based on their PIRCHE scores, and compared using multivariate statistical analysis methods. The high PIRCHE-II group had a significantly impaired OS compared to the low PIRCHE-II group and the 10/10 reference group (HR: 1.86, 95%-CI: 1.02-3.40; and HR: 2.65, 95%-CI: 1.53-4.60, respectively). Overall, PIRCHE-II seem to have a more prominent effect on OS than PIRCHE- I. This impaired OS is probably due to an increased risk for severe acute graft-vs.-host disease. These data suggest that high PIRCHE-II scores may be used to identify non-permissible HLA mismatches within single HLA-mismatched hematopoietic stem-cell transplantations.

Farmers prefer fast, sensitive, and on-site tests for treatment decisions on mastitis. Due to the time to results of the currently available diagnostic tools, these are rarely used for that purpose. Genotypic tests that do not require a growth step may be suitable for on-site testing, for example loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), which has been described as a sensitive test that can be used on-site. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and evaluate LAMP assays for the detection of a subset of mastitis-causing pathogens, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus spp., in milk from cows with clinical mastitis. Furthermore, a generic nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay (NALFIA) was evaluated as a potential on-site readout of the LAMP assays. For each assay of LAMP and NALFIA, the limit of detection and analytical specificity were determined using isolates, and the diagnostic specificity was determined using selected samples with known etiology. In addition, the diagnostic specificity of LAMP was determined using field samples with unknown etiology at testing. Bacteriological culture with identification by mass spectrometry was used as a reference method. The 4 assays had a kappa ≥0.73 with the reference method when testing the selected samples, but ≥0.47 when testing field samples. After correcting for prevalence, kappa was ≥0.80 for the E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and Staph. aureus assays. The Streptococcus spp. assay had a kappa of 0.47 (0.48 after correction) with the reference method, probably caused by the assay broadly targeting a genus instead of a particular species. The NALFIA readout was found to have kappa ≥0.81 for the E. coli, Staph. aureus, and Streptococcus spp. assays at a generic runtime, but for the K. pneumoniae assay a shorter runtime could be used. In conclusion, LAMP is a promising method for fast on-site tests for mastitis-causing pathogens if the current elaborate method for sample preparation is replaced by a simplified protocol. The NALFIA is an easy and reliable readout for on-site use, with the observation that for the current assay designs a generic runtime is not yet possible for the chosen set of pathogens. If associated with a simple and fast sample preparation protocol, the combination of LAMP and NALFIA has the potential to enable fast and reliable on-site testing of clinical mastitis milk samples.

Intermediate-risk cytogenetic acute myeloid leukemia with an internal tandem duplication of (-ITD) is associated with a high risk of relapse, and is now a standard indication for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Nevertheless, most studies supporting this strategy have been performed in young patients. To address the benefit of allogeneic transplantation in the elderly, we made a selection from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry of intermediate-risk cytogenetic acute myeloid leukemia harboring -ITD in patients aged 60 or over and transplanted from a related or unrelated donor between January 2000 and December 2015. Two hundred and ninety-one patients were identified. Most patients received a reduced-intensity conditioning (82%), while donors consisted of an unrelated donor in 161 (55%) patients. Two hundred and twelve patients received their transplantation in first remission, 37 in second remission and 42 in a more advanced stage of the disease. The 2-year leukemia-free survival rate was 56% in patients in first remission, 22% in those in second remission and 10% in patients with active disease, respectively (

ispartof: Beleid & Management in Sport Studies vol:47 status: published

Table S1. (DOCX 13 kb)

Supplemental figures 1–3 and Tables 1–2. (DOCX 670 kb)

Listing all EBMT members. (DOCX 17 kb)

Ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) is a promising approach to improve insufficient engraftment after umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation (UCB-SCT). Although culturing HSPC with hematopoietic cytokines results in robust proliferation, it is accompanied with extensive differentiation and loss of self-renewal capacity. Wnt signaling has been implicated in regulating HSPC fate decisions in vivo and in promoting HSPC self-renewal by inhibition of differentiation, but the effects of Wnt on the ex vivo expansion of HSPC are controversial. Here, we demonstrate that exogenous Wnt3a protein suppresses rather than promotes the expansion of UCB-derived CD34(+) cells in serum free expansion cultures. The reduced expansion was also observed in cultures initiated with Lin(-)CD34(+)CD38(low)CD45RA(-)CD90(+) cells which are highly enriched in HSC and was also observed in response to activation of beta-catenin signaling by GSK3 inhibition. The presence of Wnt3a protein during the culture reduced the frequency of multilineage CFU-GEMM and the long-term repopulation ability of the expanded HSPC. These data suggest that Wnt signaling reduces expansion of human HSPC in growth factor-driven expansion cultures by promoting differentiation of HSPC.

Patients with cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML) can be subdivided by molecular mutations. However, data on the influence of combinations of different aberrations on outcome after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is limited. Therefore, we performed a retrospective registry analysis on 702 adults with CN-AML undergoing HSCT in first complete remission (CR). Patients were grouped according to presence or absence of NPM1 mutations (NPM1(mut)) and FLT3 internal tandem duplications (FLT3-ITD). Double negative patients were evaluated for mutations of the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α gene (CEBPα). The influence of genotypes on relapse, non-relapse mortality, leukemia-free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS), and a prognostic classification combining NPM1/FLT3-ITD profile and classical risk factors were calculated. 2y-OS from HSCT was 81±5% in NPM1(mut)/FLT3(wt) (n=68), 75±3% in NPM1(wt)/FLT3(wt) (n=290), 66±3% in NPM1(mut)/FLT3-ITD (n=269) and 54±7% in NPM1(wt)/FLT3-ITD (n=75; p=0.003). Analysis of CEBPα among patients with NPM1(wt)/FLT3(wt) revealed excellent results both in patients with CEBPα(mut) (n=13, 2y-OS:100%), and with a triple negative genotype (n=138, 2y-OS:77±3%). In a Cox-model of predefined factors, older age, presence of FLT3-ITD and >1 course of chemotherapy to reach CR were associated with inferior outcome. 2y-OS/LFS were 88±3%/79±4% in patients without any, 77±2%/73±3% with one, and 53±4%/50±4 with>=2 risk factors (p=0.002 for LFS, p=0.003 for OS). Hence, FLT3-ITD proofed to be the decisive molecular marker for outcome after HSCT for CN-AML in CR1, regardless of NPM1 mutational status, variations of transplant protocols, or development of GvHD. Age, FLT3-ITD and response to induction chemotherapy allow for a prognostic risk classification. (Less)

The success of a Toxoplasma gondii surveillance program in European pig production systems depends partly on the quality of the test to detect infection in the population. The test accuracy of a recently developed serological bead-based assay (BBA) was investigated earlier using sera from experimentally infected animals. In this study, the accuracy of the BBA was determined by the use of sera from animals from two field subpopulations. As no T. gondii infection information of these animals was available, test accuracy was determined through a Bayesian approach allowing for conditional dependency between BBA and an ELISA test. The priors for prevalence were based on available information from literature, whereas for specificity vague non-informative priors were used. Priors for sensitivity were based either on available information or specified as non-informative. Posterior estimates for BBA sensitivity and specificity were (mode) 0.855 (Bayesian 95% credibility interval (bCI) 0.702-0.960) and 0.913 (bCI 0.893-0.931), respectively. Comparing the results of BBA and ELISA, sensitivity was higher for the BBA while specificity was higher for ELISA. Alternative priors for the sensitivity affected posterior estimates for sensitivity of both BBA and ELISA, but not for specificity. Because the difference in prevalence between the two subpopulations is small, and the number of infected animals is small as well, the precision of the posterior estimates for sensitivity may be less accurate in comparison to the estimates for specificity. The estimated value for specificity of BBA is at least optimally defined for testing pigs from conventional and organic Dutch farms.

BACKGROUNDThe objective of the current study was to investigate the role of postremission consolidation chemotherapy before reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission (CR1). METHODSOf the 789 consecutive patients with AML in CR1 who underwent RIC alloSCT from a human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling or matched unrelated donor peripheral stem cell grafts between 2001 and 2010, 591 patients received at least 1 cycle of consolidation chemotherapy and 198 patients did not receive any consolidation chemotherapy before alloSCT. To minimize inherent survival bias in favor of patients who underwent transplant long after achieving CR1, the study focused on 373 patients who underwent transplant within the median time frame between achievement of CR1 and alloSCT (3 months for patients who underwent alloSCT from matched siblings and 4 months for patients who underwent alloSCT from matched unrelated donors). In this subgroup, 151 patients did not receive any consolidation chemotherapy and 222 patients received 1 consolidation chemotherapy cycle. RESULTSWith a median follow-up of 36 months (range, 2 months-135 months), the 3-year cumulative recurrence incidence (RI) was not significantly different between the groups (36%4% for the group treated without consolidation chemotherapy vs 38%3% for patients who received consolidation chemotherapy; P=.89). In addition, leukemia-free survival was similar between the groups (45%+/- 4% and 47%+/- 3%, respectively; P=.41). Dose intensity of cytarabine given during consolidation chemotherapy appeared to have no influence on RI. On multivariate analysis, pretransplant consolidation (1 cycle vs 0 cycles) was found to have no significant impact on RI (hazards ratio, 1.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-1.97 [P=.24]) or leukemia-free survival (hazards ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.71-1.42 [P=.99]). CONCLUSIONSThe data from the current study suggest no apparent advantage for postremission consolidation chemotherapy before RIC alloSCT, provided a donor is readily available. Cancer 2014;120:855-863. (c) 2013 American Cancer Society. There is no apparent advantage for postremission consolidation chemotherapy before reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation for patients with acute myeloid leukemia in first complete response. Provided a suitable donor is readily available, transplantation should be offered promptly at the time the first complete response is achieved, without undue delay.

Background: Availability of immunophenotypic reference values for the various leukocyte populations distributed in bone marrow may be helpful to recognize abnormal bone marrow development and, therefore, useful as first screening of individuals with suspected hematological malignancies or other hematopoietic disorders. Methods: A single tube four-color staining panel (CD66abce/CD14/CD45/CD34) together with a predefined gating strategy was utilized to immunologically differentiate the distribution of the major leukocyte populations in bone marrow aspirates of healthy donors. The sample-blood erythrocyte ratio was applied to assess the amount of blood contamination of marrow and account for this in the marrow value estimates. Results: The frequency of the major leukocyte populations in bone marrow of 134 normal donors were for granulocytes: mean, 69.4%; SD, 10.3%; monocytes: mean, 4.7%; SD, 2.3%; lymphocytes: mean, 18.3%; SD, 8.7%. The frequency of the immature cell population that included precursor cells of each of the cell lineages among other cell types were mean 5.0%; Sd 2.2%. The mean percentage of CD34 positive cells was 1.5%; SD 0.7%. Our results showed further that the frequency of cell populations, of which the presence is restricted to the bone marrow (e.g., CD34+ progenitor cells), is influenced by the degree of peripheral blood admixture. Between the total immature cells and purity of the bone marrow, there was a significant positive correlation demonstrated, whereas a negative correlation was found between the percentages of both lymphocytes as monocytes and the purity of the bone marrow. Conclusions: With a single tube-staining panel, we obtained reference values for flow cytometric assessment of all relevant leukocyte populations present in bone marrow that can be used as a frame of reference for better recognition of individuals with abnormal hematopoiesis. In addition, we have demonstrated the influence of the degree of peripheral blood admixture in the bone marrow aspirates on those reference values.(C) 2008 Clinical Cytometry Society

Inadequate rodent control is considered to play a role in Toxoplasma gondii infection of pigs. This issue was addressed in the current study by combining a 4-month rodent control campaign and a 7-month longitudinal analysis of T. gondii seroprevalence in slaughter pigs. Three organic pig farms with known rodent infestation were included in the study. On these farms, presence of T. gondii in trapped rodents was evaluated by real-time PCR. All rodent species and shrews investigated had T. gondii DNA in brain or heart tissue. Prevalence was 10.3% in Rattus norvegicus, 6.5% in Mus musculus, 14.3% in Apodemus sylvaticus and 13.6% in Crocidura russula. Initial T. gondii seroprevalence in the slaughter pigs ranged between 8% and 17% and dropped on the three farms during the rodent control campaign to 0–10%, respectively. After 4 months of rodent control, T. gondii infection was absent from pigs from two of the three farms investigated and appeared again in one of those two farms after the rodent control campaign had stopped. This study emphasizes the role of rodents and shrews in the transmission of T. gondii to pigs and the importance of rodent control towards production of T. gondii-free pig meat.

Livestock farming can be prone to rodent infestations as it provides unlimited amounts of shelter, water and food to commensal rodents. Besides economic losses and structural damages, these rodents may transmit pathogens directly to farmers or via livestock to consumers of livestock products. Hygienic standards in intensive pig production systems have largely eliminated the contact between rodents and livestock. The introduction of animal-friendly production sytems may however lead to an increased contact between livestock and small mammals (both rodents & insectivores). This has led to a demand for rodent control methods that are in line with ecologic principles. To underline the necessity of appropriate rodent control in animal-friendly farming systems we used the tranfer of an important food-borne pathogen, Toxoplasma gondii, as an example. Using lightcycler PCR methods we showed that rodents on animal-friendly farms indeed harbored Toxoplasma gondii. Subsequently three farms with a rodent problem were chosen to investigate the effect of an intense rodent control campaign on the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma infection of slaughtered pigs. During the time period July 2006 to January 2007 rodent control campaigns were started on these three farms and all consecutive slaughtered pigs were tested for the presence of Toxoplasma antibodies. Toxoplasma seroprevalence on all three farms dropped during the rodent control campaign. Further research is needed to exactly find out which rodent or insectivore species form the largest risk for transfer of Toxoplasma infection and which control method is most appropriate to target these species. This project thus shows that rodent control needs extensive attention in animal friendly farming systems. Although extermination of rodents is possible using methods that are in line with organic principles we would like to stress the importance of prevention. Rodent prevention includes measures such as making the direct environment of the barns unattractive for rodents, closing cracks and openings of the barn to limit access of rodents, closing feed storage and using natural predators in the vicinity of the farm (predatory birds). Inappropriate rodent control is not only a problem that concerns organic farming, but should be addressed in any livestock system where increased contact between wildlife and farm animals is possible.

PURPOSE. Consumption of undercooked pork meat products has been considered a major risk factor for contracting toxoplasmosis in humans. Indoor farming and improved hygiene have drastically reduced Toxoplasma infections in pigs over the past decades. Whether introduction of animal-friendly production systems will lead to a reemergence of Toxoplasma infections in pigs is not yet known. Investigating this possibility was the purpose of this study. METHODS. Blood was obtained from pigs raised for slaughter and tested for Toxoplasma antibodies by using latex agglutination and indirect immunofluorescence testing, with confirmation by immunoblotting. RESULTS. None of the slaughter pigs (n = 621) from conventional farms (n = 30) were positive, whereas 38 (2.9%) of 1295 animals from animal-friendly systems tested positive (n = 33 farms; 13 [39%] farms positive). CONCLUSIONS. The following conclusions may be derived from this study: Conventionally (indoors) raised pigs are free from Toxoplasma infection, and (2) animal-friendly production systems may lead to a reemergence of Toxoplasma infections, although many of these farms remain Toxoplasma free. Slaughterhouse monitoring of pigs from animal-friendly production systems combined with on-farm prevention strategies should be applied to ensure safety for consumers of the meat products obtained from these animals.