Showing posts with label europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label europe. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Zika Could Spread in Southern Europe This Summer MedlinePlus
Zika Could Spread in Southern Europe This Summer MedlinePlus
Zika Could Spread in Southern Europe This Summer: MedlinePlus
Zika Could Spread in Southern Europe This Summer
Conditions will be ripe for transmission via Aedes aegypti mosquito, study warns
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
TUESDAY, June 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The Zika virus could spread in southern Europe this summer if its introduced to the region by infected travelers, researchers warn.
Zika is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is present in southern Europe. An analysis of a number of factors, including temperatures and air traveler patterns, suggests that parts of southern Europe may be at risk for Zika outbreaks between June and August.
"We know warm climates create the kind of conditions suitable for mosquito-borne illnesses to spread," said study author Joacim Rocklov. He is a researcher in the unit for epidemiology and global health at Umea University, in Sweden.
While most people only suffer mild symptoms after being infected with the Zika virus, infection during pregnancy can cause a devastating birth defect known as microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains.
The vast majority of Zika infections have occurred in Latin America, and Brazil has been the epicenter with an estimated 5,000 cases of microcephaly.
"The presence of established Aedes mosquito populations, the warmer climate and the coinciding peak flow of air travelers [from Zika-affected areas in the Americas] into Europe is a triage making southern Europe fertile ground for Zika," Rocklov explained in a university news release.
The study was published June 10 in the journal EBioMedicine.
While Zika is typically spread via the bite of the Aedes mosquito, there is increasing evidence that the virus can also be transmitted through sex, possibly even oral sex.
In light of that, the World Health Organization advises couples who are trying to have children and live in Zika-affected areas to consider delaying pregnancy to avoid having babies born with birth defects.
The new guideline replaces an earlier one that suggested women planning to become pregnant should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive if they or their partner live in -- or are returning from -- Zika-affected regions.
There have been no reports of Zika-induced microcephaly contracted in the United States. But two babies have been born in the United States with the birth defect after their mothers contracted the virus while traveling during pregnancy in countries where Zika is active.
U.S. health officials have said they expect to see Zika infections in Gulf Coast states such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas as the summer mosquito season picks up.
SOURCE: Umea University, news release, June 10, 2016
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Friday, December 23, 2016
Travel Associated Rabies in Pets and Residual Rabies Risk Western Europe Volume 22 Number 7—July 2016 Emerging Infectious Disease journal CDC
Travel Associated Rabies in Pets and Residual Rabies Risk Western Europe Volume 22 Number 7—July 2016 Emerging Infectious Disease journal CDC
Travel-Associated Rabies in Pets and Residual Rabies Risk, Western Europe - Volume 22, Number 7—July 2016 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC
Volume 22, Number 7—July 2016
Dispatch
Travel-Associated Rabies in Pets and Residual Rabies Risk, Western Europe
On This Page
- The Study
- Conclusions
- Suggested Citation
Florence Ribadeau-Dumas
, Florence Cliquet, Philippe Gautret, Emmanuelle Robardet, Claude Le Pen, and Hervé Bourhy
, Florence Cliquet, Philippe Gautret, Emmanuelle Robardet, Claude Le Pen, and Hervé BourhySuggested citation for this article
Abstract
In 2015, countries in western Europe were declared free of rabies in nonflying mammals. Surveillance data for 2001–2013 indicate that risk for residual rabies is not 0 because of pet importation from countries with enzootic rabies. However, the risk is so low (7.52 × 10?10) that it probably can be considered negligible.
Although western and northern Europe and most countries in central Europe have eliminated rabies in nonflying animals (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#) (1,2), alerts are regularly issued because of importation of rabid pets. Policy makers recommend postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) after exposure in Western Europe to bats or pet bites in areas with rabies alerts. However, the policy after exposure to these pets is unclear (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#).
Residual risk for rabies in pets in Western Europe is defined as no risk (no PEP necessary) or low risk (PEP recommended after exposure), depending on recommendations (e.g., no risk according to Public Health England and low risk according to the World Health Organization) (3). Thus, evaluation of residual rabies risk in western Europe caused by pet movement is needed. We evaluated residual rabies risk caused by pet movement in western Europe.
The Study
We calculated the risk that a given pet in western Europe is contagious for rabies on a given day by the equation
We describe factors associated with rabid pets (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#) and define pet transport as any noncommercial movement of a live cat, dog, or ferret and its owner or an authorized person across an administrative border.
During 2001–2013, a total of 21 animal rabies cases attributed to pets from rabies-enzootic countries were reported in western Europe (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#), which represented 1.6 pets/year and 23 days/year of potential contagiousness. Fifteen dogs and 1 kitten originated from rabies-endemic countries outside western Europe. Five dogs raised in western Europe acquired rabies outside this region. One dog subsequently infected 2 indigenous dogs in France (4). All pet owners were identified. All owners except 1 (a Spanish man living in a van) were official residents of western Europe. Circumstances that led to pet examination and rabies diagnosis were clinical suspicion (14 pets), bitten humans (3 pets), border quarantine (2 pets), and retrospective data (2 pets with indigenous secondary cases during the alert in France in 2008).
Average contagious period was 16 days/pet: 14 days in western Europe (8 days without signs of rabies and 6 days with signs of rabies) and 2 days before arriving in western Europe. For 1 dog, signs of rabies appeared before the animal entered western Europe. For each rabid animal, an average of 34 (range 0–187) persons and other animals received PEPs. The maximum value of this range corresponds to an alert in France in 2004. After this alert, 1,200 animals were tested and 759 were observed for 1 year. Human and pet vaccinations led to vaccine shortages that required importing of vaccines not authorized for use in France (5).
We identified animal origin and mode of entry into western Europe (Table 1). Most rabies cases originated in Morocco and were recorded in France. Three cases were imported from eastern Europe to Germany, 1 from The Gambia to France, and 1 from Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom. Customs officials could not identify any of 11 cases in animals transported mainly by road (e.g., after a ferry trip from Morocco to Spain, Portugal, or France). Seven pets were transported through other countries in western Europe before arriving in the country of diagnosis (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#). Six puppies and 1 kitten were transported by air, of which only 2 were identified by customs officials (in the United Kingdom and Germany).
Figure. European Union (EU) regulations (no. 998/2003 and no. 576/2013, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32013R0576) on movement of cats, dogs, and ferrets, 2003–2013. Before 2003, national rules applied (e.g., animal checked at destinations, rabies vaccination,...
Of 19 transported rabid pets, 8 (42%) had no rabies vaccination, pet passport, or health certificate. Only 6 were vaccinated (0/2 infected in France, 3/3 imported but raised in western Europe, 3/7 imported by air, and 0/8 imported by road). Most vaccinated pets did not comply with recommended age for vaccination (>12 weeks of age) or time between vaccination, serologic analysis, and transport. No reports mentioned valid rabies serologic analysis included in European Pet Movement Policy (Figure) for unlisted third countries (e.g., Morocco, the Gambia, Sri Lanka, or Azerbaijan) (6). Using data for 2001–2013, we calculated that, for contact on a given day with a pet in western Europe, the probability of the pet being contagious for rabies attributed to pet transport was 7.52 × 10?10 (Table 2).
We observed a significant correlation between number of contagious days for dogs in a country and number of tourists traveling from this country to Morocco (? = 0.73, p = 0.017). We found no correlation with other variables tested (total dog population, dog population density, number of dogs per inhabitant).
Conclusions
Risk for indigenous rabies has decreased in western Europe. During 2001–2013, because of appropriate control of imported rabid pets, only 4 indigenous cases of human rabies were reported (3 in recipients of organs from a donor infected in India and 1 from a rabid bat in Scotland) (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#). Since 2011, no indigenous rabies cases have been reported in terrestrial mammals in western Europe. Because of increased travel (7), rabies imported by trips to rabies-enzootic countries has increased, and travel became the main source of rabies in humans (1.46 patients/year) (8) and pets (1.6 rabid pets/year) in 2001–2013. However, because of improved surveillance, although the number of imported rabies cases increased, the number of secondary cases decreased (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#).
Illegal importation of rabid animals is not limited to western Europe (9) or dogs and cats (10). This finding highlights the need for a global approach for regulation of animal movement worldwide and strengthening real-time reporting for animal and human rabies.
Risk for dog rabies being reintroduced into the European Union from Morocco was estimated as 0.21 cases/year (11). However, we estimate that 1.1 pets/year are entering western Europe after being infected in Morocco. Morocco has become the main source of pet rabies in western Europe, often through Ceuta and Melilla (Spanish enclaves in northern Morocco). Because no prophylaxis or specific vaccinations are needed for travel to northern Africa, few travelers seek pretravel advice and most have little knowledge of pet rabies (12,13).
Lack of awareness also increases importation of human rabies. Despite an efficient policy for preventing entry of rabid pets, the United Kingdom reported the highest number of patients with imported rabies during the study period (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#). Patients returning to this country did not believe that a correct PEP was needed after exposure abroad. None of the transported rabid pets fully satisfied European Pet Movement Policy, which raised questions about how to improve the current regulation application. Increasing international travel, expansion of the Schengen area (26 countries in Europe that have a common visa policy) into rabies-enzootic countries in eastern Europe, and development of internet animal trade (source of illegal importation) (14) are new challenges for ensuring compliance.
Because bat rabies is more difficult to control than dog rabies, and some developing countries still have difficulties controlling rabies, eradication of rabies is not a realistic objective. Awareness should be increased, and current regulations for pet transport should be applied to reduce rabies importation and ensure that risk in western Europe remains low.
To avoid unnecessary and costly PEP and optimize resource allocation, it should be clearly stated which WHO recommendations, Public Health England recommendations, or other practices most relevant after pet exposure should be applied. Low risks (<10-–6) are usually considered acceptable or essentially 0 (3,15). The risk of a fatal car crash while traveling to PEP consultations was higher than the risk of rabies after exposure to a pet in France in 2001–2011 (3). The most pertinent policy in areas at low risk for rabies is probably that of the United Kingdom (i.e., no PEP outside alert areas that do not have asymptomatic animals or exposure to bats) (https://zenodo.org/record/49670#).
Dr. Ribadeau-Dumas is a physician and doctoral candidate in economics at Paris Dauphine University, Paris, France. Her research interests are infectious diseases, public health, health economics, and rabies.
Acknowledgment
We thank Karim Boubaker, Bernard Brochier, Laurent Dacheux, Juan Emilio Echavarria Mayo, Franco Mutinelli, Jacques-André Romand, and Reto Zanoni for providing information on rabies cases; Sylvie Tourdiat for providing assistance with formatting tables and the figure; and Delphine Libby-Claybrough for providing assistance with English editing.
References
- Cliquet F, Picard-Meyer E, Robardet E. Rabies in Europe: what are the risks? Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2014;12:905–8. DOIPubMed
- Freuling CM, Hampson K, Selhorst T, Schröder R, Meslin FX, Mettenleiter TC, The elimination of fox rabies from Europe: determinants of success and lessons for the future. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2013;368:20120142. DOIPubMed
- Ribadeau Dumas F, N’Diaye DS, Paireau J, Gautret P, Bourhy H, Le Pen C, Cost-effectiveness of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis in the context of very low rabies risk: a decision-tree model based on the experience of France. Vaccine. 2015;33:2367–78. DOIPubMed
- French multidisciplinary investigation team. Identification of a rabid dog in France illegally introduced from Morocco. Euro Surveill. 2008;13:pii: 8066.PubMed
- Servas V, Mailles A, Neau D, Castor C, Manetti A, Fouquet E, An imported case of canine rabies in Aquitaine: investigation and management of the contacts at risk, August 2004–March 2005. Euro Surveill. 2005;10:222–5.PubMed
- Regulation (EC) no. 998/2003 of the European parliament and of the council, 2003 [cited 2015 Apr16]. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32013R0576
- World Tourism Organization. UNWTO annual report 2014. Madrid: UNWTO 2015 [cited 2015 Jun 10].http://www2.unwto.org/annualreport2014
- Carrara P, Parola P, Brouqui P, Gautret P. Imported human rabies cases worldwide, 1990–2012. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013;7:e2209. DOIPubMed
- Lankau EW, Tack DM, Marano N. Crossing borders: one world, global health. Clin Infect Dis. 2012;54:v–vi. DOIPubMed
- Metlin AE, Holopainen R, Tuura S, Ek-Kommonen C, Huovilainen A. Imported case of equine rabies in Finland: clinical course of the disease and the antigenic and genetic characterization of the virus. J Equine Vet Sci. 2006;26:584–7 .DOI
- Napp S, Casas M, Moset S, Paramio JL, Casal J. Quantitative risk assessment model of canine rabies introduction: application to the risk to the European Union from Morocco. Epidemiol Infect. 2010;138:1569–80. DOIPubMed
- Altmann M, Parola P, Delmont J, Gautret P. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of French travelers from Marseille regarding rabies risk and prevention. J Travel Med. 2009;16:107–11. DOIPubMed
- Gautret P, Ribadeau-Dumas F, Parola P, Brouqui P, Bou
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Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Expanding Distribution of Lethal Amphibian Fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in Europe Volume 22 Number 7—July 2016 Emerging Infectious Disease journal CDC
Expanding Distribution of Lethal Amphibian Fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in Europe Volume 22 Number 7—July 2016 Emerging Infectious Disease journal CDC
Expanding Distribution of Lethal Amphibian Fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in Europe - Volume 22, Number 7—July 2016 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC
Volume 22, Number 7—July 2016
Dispatch
Expanding Distribution of Lethal Amphibian Fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivoransin Europe
On This Page
- The Study
- Conclusions
- Suggested Citation
Annemarieke Spitzen-van der Sluijs, An Martel, Johan Asselberghs, Emma K. Bales, Wouter Beukema, Molly C. Bletz, Lutz Dalbeck, Edo Goverse, Alexander Kerres, Thierry Kinet, Kai Kirst, Arnaud Laudelout, Luis F. Marin da Fonte, Andreas Nöllert, Dagmar Ohlhoff, Joana Sabino-Pinto, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Jeroen Speybroeck, Frank Spikmans, Sebastian Steinfartz, Michael Veith, Miguel Vences, Norman Wagner, Frank Pasmans, and Stefan Lötters
Suggested citation for this article
Abstract
Emerging fungal diseases can drive amphibian species to local extinction. During 2010–2016, we examined 1,921 urodeles in 3 European countries. Presence of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivoransat new locations and in urodeles of different species expands the known geographic and host range of the fungus and underpins its imminent threat to biodiversity.
Amphibians provide an iconic example of disease-driven global loss in biodiversity. The recently described chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is an emerging pathogen that is driving amphibian populations to local extinction (1,2). This highly pathogenic fungus causes a lethal skin disease that has so far been restricted to urodele amphibians (newts and salamanders); the fungus was most likely introduced from East Asia into Europe via the pet trade (2). In Europe, Bsal infection has led to dramatic declines of fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) populations in the Netherlands and Belgium (2). Within 7 years after the supposed introduction of the fungus, a population in the Netherlands declined by 99.9% (3,4). In the United Kingdom and Germany, Bsal has been detected in captive salamanders and newts (5,6). Infection trials suggest thatBsal represents an unprecedented threat to diversity of Western Palearctic urodeles (2); nevertheless, reports of deaths among salamanders and newts in their naturalized ranges have been restricted to a few populations of a single salamander species in the southern Netherlands and adjacent Belgium (1,3). Using data from field surveillance, we examined the hosts and the geographic range of Bsal in Europe.
The Study
Figure. Study sites for collection of amphibians in Western Europe, 2010–2016. Numbers correspond to field sites at which amphibians were collected and examined forBatrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) (Technical Appendix[PDF - 207 KB - 4 pages])....
During 2010–2016, we collected samples of free-living populations of newts and salamanders from 48 sites in the Netherlands, Belgium, and adjacent regions of the Eifel region in Germany (near the border with the Netherlands and Belgium) (Figure; Technical Appendix[PDF - 207 KB - 4 pages] Table 1). Site selection was based on reported amphibian deaths, apparent negative amphibian population trends, preventive Bsal surveillance in susceptible populations, or geographic proximity to known outbreak sites. Samples were also collected at 6 additional sites in Germany and 1 in the Netherlands, which were located >100 km from the nearest known outbreak (Technical Appendix[PDF - 207 KB - 4 pages] Table 2). Sampling was conducted by swabbing skin (7,8) of live animals and collecting skin samples from dead animals. All samples were kept frozen at ?20°C until they were analyzed for the presence of Bsal DNA via real-time PCR, as described (9).
Across all 55 sites, we tested 1,019 fire salamanders (43 dead, 976 skin swab samples); at site 14, skin swab samples instead of tissue samples were collected from 16 dead salamanders. We also collected samples from 474 alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris; 18 dead, 456 skin swab samples), 239 smooth newts (Lissotriton vulgaris; 2 dead, 237 skin swab samples), 80 palmate newts (Lissotriton helveticus; all skin swab samples), 79 crested newts (Triturus cristatus; all skin swab samples), and 30 Italian crested newts (Triturus carnifex; all skin swab samples). To obtain a Bayesian 95% credible interval for prevalence (online Technical Appendix), we used the computational methods of Lötters et al. (10). We ran 3 parallel Markov chains with 20,000 iterations each and discarded the first 5,000 iterations as burn-in; chains were not thinned.
Bsal was found at 14 of the 55 sites; infected amphibians were fire salamanders, alpine newts, and smooth newts. Our results demonstrate that the range of Bsal distribution may be up to ?10,000 km2 (measured as the surface of a minimum convex polygon encompassing the outermost points) across Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands (Figure). The presence of Bsal in wild alpine newts and smooth newts shows distinct expansion of the known host range in the wild (Technical Appendix[PDF - 207 KB - 4 pages] Table 1). Furthermore, we document that Bsal is present in natural fire salamander populations in Germany (confined to the Eifel region). At some sites, because of our sample sizes, the upper limit of the 95% credible interval for Bsalprevalence was as high as 0.7; therefore, we may have failed to detect Bsal at these sites (Technical Appendix[PDF - 207 KB - 4 pages] Table 1). In addition, the fungus may have been present at several sites before first detection. For example, Bsal was detected at site 4, where population-monitoring efforts in the years before detection (2000–2013) showed declines in 4 newt species (http://www.ravon.nl/EID_SI_Spitzen_et_al_2016). However, because no samples were collected before 2015, we have no evidence for a causal relationship between the presence of Bsal and the declines. We have also recorded the presence of Bsal in populations with no evidence of population change so far, such as the incidental findings of dead Bsal-positive newts in fyke nets at sites 5 and 11, and the incidental findings of dead Bsal-positive fire salamanders at sites 12 and 14. Clinical signs of mycosis, such as lethargy and skin shedding (1), were observed at some Bsal-positive sites (1, 2, 7, 8, 14) but not at others.
Conclusions
Our study provides evidence that Bsal among wild amphibians in Europe is more widely distributed and affects a wider host range than previously known, which can either indicate recent spread of the fungus or point to historically infected sites that hitherto remained undetected. The presence of Bsal in wild populations can easily remain unnoticed because the lesions develop only near the final stage of the disease (1). This information is crucial for the design of field surveys for Bsal surveillance. Our data might be used to inform a management strategy and to implement the recommendation of the Bern Convention (11) to halt the spread of Bsal in Europe. Research to search for molecular evidence that the outbreak locations are connected is under way. Chytrid disease dynamics are affected by multiple factors (e.g., temperature regimes [1]), and yet undetermined environmental determinants might be essential for disease outbreaks (12). Untangling these factors, as well as the modes of Bsal spread and its geographic distribution, are points for further research to fully map the problem and identify populations and species at risk.
Ms. Spitzen-van der Sluijs is a senior project manager at Reptile, Amphibian & Fish Conservation Netherlands and a PhD candidate at Ghent University. Her work focuses on the effects of emerging infectious diseases on native amphibian population dynamics.
Acknowledgments
We thank A. Geiger, K. Fischer, W. Bosman, M. Haffmann, J. Janse, J. Munro, L. Paulssen, E. Schotmans, and S. van Baren for their invaluable help and support to this project. We also thank all volunteers from Hyla, Natagora and Reptile, Amphibian & Fish Conservation Netherlands for collecting amphibians.
This study was supported by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Flemish Agency for Nature and Forests, Land Nordrhein Westfalen, Province of Limburg, StädteRegion Aachen, Stiftung Artenschutz, Trier University Research Assistantship, Verband der Zoologischen Gärten, Zoo Landau, and a PhD fellowship of the Research Foundation–Flanders.
References
- Martel A, Spitzen-van der Sluijs A, Blooi M, Bert W, Ducatelle R, Fisher MC, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans sp. nov. causes lethal chytridiomycosis in amphibians. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013;110:15325–9 .DOIPubMed
- Martel A, Blooi M, Adriaensen C, Van Rooij P, Beukema WM, Fisher MC, Recent introduction of a chytrid fungus endangers Western Palearctic salamanders. Science. 2014;346:630–1 . DOIPubMed
- Spitzen-van der Sluijs A, Spikmans F, Bosman W, De Zeeuw M, Van der Meij T, Goverse E, Rapid enigmatic decline drives the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) to the edge of extinction in the Netherlands. Amphib-Reptil. 2013;34:233–9 .DOI
- Goverse E, De Zeeuw M. Schubben & slijm: resultaten meetnet amfibieën 2014 [cited 2016 Mar 21].http://www.ravon.nl/Portals/0/PDF3/schubbenslijm26.pdf
- Cunningham AA, Beckmann K, Perkins M, Fitzpatrick L, Cromie R, Redbond J, Emerging disease in UK amphibians. Vet Rec. 2015;176:468. DOIPubMed
- Sabino-Pinto J, Bletz M, Hendrix R, Perl RGB, Martel A, Pasmans F, First evidence of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans from a captive salamander population in Germany. Amphib-Reptil. 2015;36:411–6. DOI
- Hyatt AD, Boyle DG, Olsen V, Boyle DB, Berger L, Obendorf D
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