Detection of Theileria luwenshuni in sheep from Great Britain.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Phipps LP
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4831081 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Detection of Theileria luwenshuni in sheep from Great Britain.
Phipps L Paul LP Hernández-Triana Luis M LM Goharriz Hooman H Welchman David D Johnson Nicholas N
Parasites & vectors 20160413
<h4>Background</h4>Theileria spp. are tick-borne protozoan parasites of the Phylum Apicomplexa, Order Piroplasmida that infect a wide range of wild and domestic animals. In Great Britain, Theileria spp. have been reported from livestock associated with transmission by the tick Haemaphysalis punctata. However, these reports have not been associated with disease. This study has investigated the cause of a disease outbreak accompanied by mortality in a flock of sheep grazing reclaimed marshland in ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:Recent investigations indicate that personality traits are unevenly distributed geographically, with some traits being more prevalent in certain places than in others. The geographical distributions of personality traits are associated with a range of important political, economic, social, and health outcomes. The majority of research on this subject has focused on the geographical distributions and macro-level correlates of personality across nations or regions of the United States. The aim of the present investigation was to replicate and extend that past work by examining regional personality differences in Great Britain. Using a sample of nearly 400,000 British residents, we mapped the geographical distributions of the Big Five Personality traits across 380 Local Authority Districts and examined the associations with important political, economic, social, and health outcomes. The results revealed distinct geographical clusters, with neighboring regions displaying similar personality characteristics, and robust associations with the macro-level outcome variables. Overall, the patterns of results were similar to findings from past research.
| S-EPMC4372610 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Estimates for the prevalence of sheep infected with classical scrapie are essential for assessing the efficacy of control strategies that have been implemented in Great Britain (GB). Here a back-calculation approach was used to estimate the prevalence in the GB national flock by integrating data on reported cases and the results of abattoir and fallen stock surveys for 2002. Prevalence estimates ranged from 0.33 to 2.06%, depending on the estimates used for the frequencies of prion protein (PrP) genotypes in the national flock and the stage of incubation at which the diagnostic tests used are able to detect infected animals. The risk of infection was found to be higher than that of clinical disease, especially in those PrP genotypes that have a later age at onset of clinical disease. Moreover, results suggest that a high proportion (more than 55%) of infected animals surviving to disease onset die on farm before clinical signs become apparent, which helps account for the high observed prevalence in the fallen stock compared with the abattoir survey. The analyses indicated that attention needs to be given to identifying the stage of incubation at which diagnostic tests are able to detect infected animals and obtaining better demographic data for the GB national flock.
| S-EPMC2607439 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A sound knowledge base is required to target resources to reduce workplace exposure to carcinogens. This project aimed to provide an objective estimate of the burden of cancer in Britain due to occupation. This volume presents extensive analyses for all carcinogens and occupational circumstances defined as definite or probable human occupational carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. This article outlines the structure of the supplement - two methodological papers (statistical approach and exposure assessment), eight papers presenting the cancer-specific results grouped by broad anatomical site, a paper giving industry sector results and one discussing work-related cancer-prevention strategies. A brief summary of the methods and an overview of the updated overall results are given in this introductory paper. A general discussion of the overall strengths and limitations of the study is also presented. Overall, 8010 (5.3%) total cancer deaths in Britain and 13,598 cancer registrations were attributable to occupation in 2005 and 2004, respectively. The importance of cancer sites such as mesothelioma, sinonasal, lung, nasopharynx, breast, non-melanoma skin cancer, bladder, oesophagus, soft tissue sarcoma and stomach cancers are highlighted, as are carcinogens such as asbestos, mineral oils, solar radiation, silica, diesel engine exhaust, coal tars and pitches, dioxins, environmental tobacco smoke, radon, tetrachloroethylene, arsenic and strong inorganic mists, as well as occupational circumstances such as shift work and occupation as a painter or welder. The methods developed for this project are being adapted by other countries and extended to include social and economic impact evaluation.
| S-EPMC3384015 | biostudies-other
Project description:Selective breeding programmes, based on prion protein (PrP) genotype, have been introduced throughout the European Union to reduce the risk of sheep transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). These programmes could have negative consequences on other important traits, such as fitness and production traits, if the PrP gene has pleiotropic effects or is in linkage disequilibrium with genes affecting these traits. This paper presents the results of an investigation into associations between lamb survival and PrP genotype in ten mainstream sheep breeds in Great Britain (GB). In addition, the reasons for lamb deaths were examined in order to identify any associations between these and PrP genotype.Survival times from birth to weaning were analysed for over 38000 lambs (2427 dead and 36096 live lambs) from 128 flocks using Cox proportional hazard models for each breed, including additive animal genetic effects. No significant associations between PrP genotype and lamb survival were identified, except in the Charollais breed for which there was a higher risk of mortality in lambs of the ARR/VRQ genotype compared with those of the ARR/ARR genotype. Significant effects of birth weight, litter size, sex, age of dam and year of birth on survival were also identified. For all breeds the reasons for death changed significantly with age; however, no significant associations between reason for death and PrP genotype were found for any of the breeds.This study found no evidence to suggest that a selective breeding programme based on PrP genotype will have a detrimental effect on lamb survival. The only significant effect of PrP genotype identified was likely to be of little consequence because an increased risk of mortality was associated with a genotype that is selected against in current breeding strategies.
| S-EPMC2637852 | biostudies-other
Project description:Campylobacter infection is a leading cause of ovine abortion worldwide. Historically, genetically diverse Campylobacter fetus and Campylobacter jejuni strains have been implicated in such infections, but since 2003 a highly pathogenic, tetracycline-resistant C. jejuni clone (named SA) has become the predominant cause of sheep abortions in the United States. Whether clone SA was present in earlier U.S. abortion isolates (before 2000) and is associated with sheep abortions outside the United States are unknown. Here, we analyzed 54 C. jejuni isolates collected from U.S. sheep abortions at different time periods and compared them with 42 C. jejuni isolates associated with sheep abortion during 2002 to 2008 in Great Britain, using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Although clone SA (ST-8) was present in the early U.S. isolates, it was not as tetracycline resistant (19% versus 100%) or predominant (66% versus 91%) as it was in the late U.S isolates. In contrast, C. jejuni isolates from Great Britain were genetically diverse, comprising 19 STs and lacking ST-8. PFGE and CGH analyses of representative strains further confirmed the population structure of the abortion isolates. Notably, the Great Britain isolates were essentially susceptible to most tested antibiotics, including tetracycline, while the late U.S. isolates were universally resistant to this antibiotic, which could be explained by the common use of tetracyclines for control of sheep abortions in the United States but not in Great Britain. These results suggest that the dominance of clone SA in sheep abortions is unique to the United States, and the use of tetracyclines may have facilitated selection of this highly pathogenic clone.
| S-EPMC4042809 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Following the increasing availability of DNA-sequenced data, the genetic structure of populations can now be inferred and studied in unprecedented detail. Across social science, this innovation is shaping new bio-social research agendas, attracting substantial investment in the collection of genetic, biological and social data for large population samples. Yet genetic samples are special because the precise populations that they represent are uncertain and ill-defined. Unlike most social surveys, a genetic sample's representativeness of the population cannot be established by conventional procedures of statistical inference, and the implications for population-wide generalisations about bio-social phenomena are little understood. In this paper, we seek to address these problems by linking surname data to a censored and geographically uneven sample of DNA scans, collected for the People of the British Isles study. Based on a combination of global and local spatial correspondence measures, we identify eight regions in Great Britain that are most likely to represent the geography of genetic structure of Great Britain's long-settled population. We discuss the implications of this regionalisation for bio-social investigations. We conclude that, as the often highly selective collection of DNA and biomarkers becomes a more common practice, geography is crucial to understanding variation in genetic information within diverse populations.
| S-EPMC5032893 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Premature mortality exhibits strong spatial patterns in Great Britain. Local authorities that are located further North and West, that are more distant from its political centre London and that are more urban tend to have a higher premature mortality rate. Premature mortality also tends to cluster among geographically contiguous and proximate local authorities. We develop a novel analytical research design that relies on spatial pattern recognition to demonstrate that an empirical model that contains only socio-economic variables can eliminate these spatial patterns almost entirely. We demonstrate that socioeconomic factors across local authority districts explain 81 percent of variation in female and 86 percent of variation in male premature mortality in 2012-14. As our findings suggest, policy-makers cannot hope that health policies alone suffice to significantly reduce inequalities in health. Rather, it requires strong efforts to reduce the inequalities in socio-economic factors, or living conditions for short, in order to overcome the spatial disparities in health, of which premature mortality is a clear indication.
| S-EPMC5831001 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The future of the meat industry will require the management of important trade-offs between economic, environmental and health aspects of both humans and animals. Understanding the patterns and trends of meat expenditure and consumption is crucial for assessing the current resilience of the system and for economic, planning, health and environmental applications. Here, we show how the technique of geodemographic classification, combined with fine scale expenditure estimates can be used to explore temporal and spatial patterns of meat expenditure in Great Britain between 2008 and 2017. Whilst the expenditure patterns of some food categories such as sausages remained relatively consistent, others such as lamb show a trend towards a reduced proportion of expenditure and increased inequality of purchases. Short term changes in expenditure patterns also occurred, potentially due to product specific price variability, price elasticities or zoonotic disease scare. Environmental attitudes, financial constraints and the prominence of communities who do not eat meat for religious or cultural reasons are likely to be driving the differences between geodemographic groups. The methodology and results could be a valuable tool for policy makers in the meat industry and beyond.
| S-EPMC8550722 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Network analyses can assist in predicting the course of epidemics. Time-directed paths or 'contact chains' provide a measure of host-connectedness across specified timeframes, and so represent potential pathways for spread of infections with different epidemiological characteristics. We analysed networks and contact chains of cattle farms in Great Britain using Cattle Tracing System data from 2001 to 2015. We focused on the potential for between-farm transmission of bovine tuberculosis, a chronic infection with potential for hidden spread through the network. Networks were characterized by scale-free type properties, where individual farms were found to be influential 'hubs' in the network. We found a markedly bimodal distribution of farms with either small or very large ingoing and outgoing contact chains (ICCs and OCCs). As a result of their cattle purchases within 12-month periods, 47% of British farms were connected by ICCs to more than 1000 other farms and 16% were connected to more than 10 000 other farms. As a result of their cattle sales within 12-month periods, 66% of farms had OCCs that reached more than 1000 other farms and 15% reached more than 10 000 other farms. Over 19 000 farms had both ICCs and OCCs reaching more than 10 000 farms for two or more years. While farms with more contacts in their ICCs or OCCs might play an important role in disease spread, farms with extensive ICCs and OCCs might be particularly important by being at higher risk of both acquiring and disseminating infections.
| S-EPMC6408381 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Variations in political participation are linked to demographic factors, socioeconomic disparities, and cultural-ethnic diversity. Existing research has primarily explored reduced political involvement among individuals with disabilities, particularly in electoral politics. However, little research has attended the involvement of deaf people specifically. This is of interest because deaf youth are at an intersection of disability, language and cultural identity with their language affiliations and rejection or acceptance of disability evolving through childhood. This study draws from original data collected via an online survey, comprising 163 deaf young respondents aged 16-19 in Great Britain. We compare their levels of political participation with those of general population peers to explore how sociodemographic factors, alongside variations in self-identification as deaf, and meaningful interactions with other deaf people contribute to explain their political engagement. The results challenge conventional wisdom by demonstrating that deaf youth participate more actively in politics than their hearing peers in various forms of political involvement, including collective, contact, and institutional activism. We also recognize differences among deaf youth and propose that social aspects of identity formation, particularly embracing a deaf identity and having deaf friends, can boost certain forms of political engagement. In summary, this study underscores the importance of acknowledging the diversity of deaf youth in terms of affiliation with various forms of deaf identity, rendering their experience different from both disabled and hearing youth. By identifying the factors driving heightened political participation, policymakers and advocates can develop strategies to enhance political engagement among all young people, regardless of their hearing status.
| S-EPMC10994419 | biostudies-literature