Search

Abstract Background Salmonella is an important zoonotic pathogen and is one of the main causes of foodborne outbreaks and infections in the European Union. Pigs are a significant reservoir and are frequently subclinical carriers of this organism. Salmonella can be shed in the faeces allowing infection to spread to other pigs, the environment, transport vehicles, lairages and other areas. Inadvertent spillage of gut contents during the slaughter process also leads to contamination. A pig Salmonella control programme has operated in Ireland since 2002 but many local surveys and an EUMS baseline survey in 2008 continued to indicate high levels of the organism in the pig sector. The objectives of this study were to generate updated information on the prevalence of Salmonella spp, in slaughter pigs and carcasses in Irish abattoirs. Five pigs from each of 164 herds were randomly sampled over a 14-week period during 2016. One sample from each of the five pigs of; caecal content, ileo-caecal lymph nodes and carcass swabs (pre-chill) were collected. The five caeca and lymph node samples from each herd were processed as one pool of caecal samples and one pool of lymph node samples, respectively, while the five carcass swabs were tested as individual samples. All isolates were characterised by serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility. Results In total, 235 Salmonella spp. were isolated from 820 individual carcass swabs, 164 pooled lymph nodes and 164 caecal contents. Salmonella spp. were isolated from 54.3% of the caecal contents and from 31.7% of the ileo-caecal lymph node sample pools. A total of 11.5% of carcass-swab samples yielded Salmonella spp. S. Typhimurium 4,[5],12:i:1,2 or its monophasic variant 4,[5],12:i:-: predominated among isolates from all positive samples; accounting for 73% of lymph nodes, 68% of caecal contents and 56% of carcass swab isolates. S. London and S. Derby were the next most common isolated serotypes. Conclusions These results confirm continuing high levels of Salmonella in fattening pigs in Ireland although reductions in carcass contamination compared to previous surveys were noted. A high prevalence of Salmonella in lymph nodes suggests that it remains a significant problem pre slaughter and a challenge to abattoirs in adhering to process hygiene requirements. The high prevalence of monophasic S. Typhimurim 4,[5],12:i:-: is of serious concern. Therefore, it is important to identify contributing factors in the dissemination of this pathogen in the pork industry in order to minimise the risk of human salmonellosis cases.

Although the safety performance of the Australian commercial fishing industry has been the subject of multiple investigations, it has ultimately remained undefined. While most Australian industries notify industry regulators of significant workplace incidents and injuries in their operations, the majority of persons in the commercial fishing industry are contractors who are paid piecework and in some jurisdictions specifically excluded from the worker compensation legislation, meaning that most occupational injuries, including fatalities, are not captured in the centralized worker compensation data sets. This study presents the analysis of a systematic review of industry databases, published academic, and, Australian coroners reports to assist improve the definition of the nation's commercial fishing industry safety performance. The analysis shows occupational fatality rates are significantly higher than currently reported, and recurring factors contributing to deaths at sea remain unaddressed. The study is significant as it demonstrates how workplace injuries and deaths can be hidden within data sets applying broad industry classification and provides a foundation for future research in Australian fishing and other industries.

Abstract We report on the use of the faecal egg count reduction test to evaluate the performance of ivermectin in treating gastrointestinal nematode infections in first grazing season (FGS) calves on four dairy farms in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. On each farm, FGS calves were injected subcutaneously with ivermectin in accordance with their live weight (day 0). Calves were individually faecal sampled on both day 0 and day 14. Faecal egg counts were determined using the Mini-FLOTAC technique. Composite faecal cultures for each farm were performed on each sampling occasion. The faecal egg count reductions (mode) ranged from 17.3–80.2% with the lower 95% confidence limit ranging from 3.1–72.3% on the four farms, respectively. Ivermectin-resistant nematodes were detected on all farms, with evidence of Ostertagia resistance on one farm. This study highlights the urgent need for Irish producers to reappraise their parasite control practices.

Bovine tuberculosis remains a challenging endemic pathogen of cattle in many parts of the globe. Spatial clustering of Mycoacterium bovis molecular types in cattle suggests that local factors are the primary drivers of spread. Northern Ireland’s agricultural landscape is comprised of highly fragmented farms, distributed across spatially discontinuous land parcels, and these highly fragmented farms are thought to facilitate localised spread. We conducted a matched case control study to quantify the risks of bovine tuberculosis breakdown with farm area, farm fragmentation, fragment dispersal, and contact with neighbouring herds. Whilst our results show small but significant increases in breakdown risk associated with each factor, these relationships were strongly confounded with the number of contiguous neighbours with bovine tuberculosis. Our key finding was that every infected neighbour led to an increase in the odds of breakdown by 40% to 50%, and that highly fragmented farms were almost twice as likely to have a bTB positive neighbour compared to nonfragmented farms. Our results suggest that after controlling for herd size, herd type, spatial and temporal factors, farm fragmentation increasingly exposes herds to infection originating from first-order spatial neighbours. Given Northern Ireland’s particularly fragmented landscape, and reliance on short-term leases, our data support the hypothesis that between-herd contiguous spread is a particularly important component of the region’s bovine tuberculosis disease system.