RESUMEN

A mandatory national Irish bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) eradication programme, coordinated by Animal Health Ireland, commenced in 2013. Key decisions and programme review are undertaken by a cross-industry Implementation Group (BVDIG) supported by a Technical Working Group. Ear notch tissue is collected from all new-born calves using modified official identity tags, supplemented by additional blood sampling, including for confirmatory testing of calves with initial positive results and testing of their dams. Testing is delivered by private laboratories in conjunction with the National Reference Laboratory, with all results reported to a central database. This database manages key elements of the programme, issuing results to herdowners by short message service messaging supplemented by letters; assigning and exchanging animal-level statuses with government databases of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to enable legislated restrictions on animal movements; assigning negative herd status based on test results; generating regular reports for programme management and evaluation and providing herd-specific dashboards for a range of users. Legislation supporting the programme has been in place throughout but has not thus far mandated the slaughter of persistently infected (PI) calves. A key challenge in the early years, highlighted by modeling, was the retention of PI animals by some herd owners. This has largely been resolved by measures including graduated financial supports to encourage their early removal, herd-level movement restrictions, ongoing programme communications and the input of private veterinary practitioners (PVPs). A framework for funded investigations by PVPs in positive herds was developed to identify plausible sources of infection, to resolve the status of all animals in the herd and to agree up to three measures to prevent re-introduction of the virus. The prevalence of PI calves in 2013 was 0.66%, within 11.3% of herds, reducing in each subsequent year, to 0.03 and 0.55%, respectively, at the end of 2020. Recent regulatory changes within the European Union for the first time make provision for official approval of national eradication programmes, or recognition of BVD freedom, and planning is underway to seek approval and, in due course, recognition of freedom within this framework by 2023.

RESUMEN

Surveillance and management of livestock diseases is often evaluated with reference to expected sector-wide costs. In contrast, we calculate losses or savings for individual herd owners of a change in monitoring strategy during a national cattle disease eradication programme: bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) in Ireland. The alternative strategy differs in how the disease is identified; by its sample- rather than census-based approach; and by its greater cost per test. We examined the costs faced by each breeding herd if testing were conducted using serology on a sample of young stock, in contrast to the current method of tissue-tag testing of all newborn calves. Following best knowledge of the likely costs, the following input values were used: i) €2.50 per test for tissue-tag testing and €7.66 for serology, ii) serology conducted on a sample of 10 young stock per management group from either the 6-12 month or 9-18 month cohorts; iii) 3 scenarios for the number of management groups: one per herd (M∞), one per 100 cows (M100) and one per 50 cows (M50). We found that many herds would often not be able to supply a suitable sample of young stock for serology or would face higher testing costs than when using tissue tag testing. The largest number (25%) of herds would benefit from participating in the change if sampling were done in October. These could annually save between €2.1 million under M∞ and €0.8 million under M50 (€108 - €49 per herd). However, analysing herd-level data we found that 90% of all Irish breeding herds would save less than €1.42 per cow or €99 in total per annum under M∞, and €0.59 per cow or €36 in total under M50. In a sensitivity analysis, we allowed serology costs to vary between €2 and €10 per animal. Herds at the 10 t h percentile of most savings made from switching would save at most €155 (M∞ at €2 per serology test) but would not save anything under M50 at costs ≥ €10. We conclude that, under these assumptions, the expected reduction in testing costs for the majority of beneficiaries would barely outweigh the practical implications of the strategy switch or the risks to the eradication programme associated with sample based surveillance. This study does not assess the cost-effectiveness of alternatives post-eradication.

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RESUMEN

The Republic of Ireland has a national eradication programme for bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDv) based on tissue-tag testing of calves to identify persistently infected animals (PIs). It has been proposed that serological testing of a sample of home-bred young stock would be a more cost effective surveillance mechanism than continued tissue-tag testing in herds which have previously been found to be BVD-free. These animals would have to be at least 6 months of age to avoid interference from maternal antibodies in test results. To examine the potential practicality of this system, we identified birth profiles and movements of calves born in Ireland during 2014 and 2015. We found that birth profiles for both beef and dairy animals were more evenly distributed throughout the year than often assumed, which should be borne in mind when evaluating the suitability of a single round of serological testing in the autumn for every herd. A large amount of movement was identified, with approximately 43% of calves experiencing a move before they reached 10 months of age, including moves to another Irish herd, to a knackery, to export, or to slaughter. Approximately 19% of calves had moved to other breeding herds in Ireland within this period. There were distinct patterns according to movement type, month of birth and herd type. The majority of herds moved either all or none of their calves in the first 10 months of life. These results indicate that young stock serological testing is unlikely to be an appropriate surveillance mechanism for all BVDv-free herds, as (i) many herds would not be able to supply a large enough sample of suitably aged home-bred young stock at a single point in time and (ii) PIs which would have been picked up by tissue-tag testing soon after birth would have moved from their home herd, to infect other herds, before serological testing could be conducted.

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El apéndice del frenillo vestibular (AFV) es un fragmento de tejido mucoso que se desprende desde el frenillo labial del maxilar superior. Aunque su formación y función aún son desconocidas  se reconoce como una alteración del desarrollo. Sin embargo, muchos odontólogos y médicos confunden a menudo esta entidad  con  hiperplasias fibrosas producto de trauma. El objetivo de la siguiente investigación fue determinar la frecuencia de AFV en una población y su posible asociación con factores traumáticos locales. Se realizó un examen estomatológico completo a 185 individuos luego de llenar una historia clínica y consentimiento informado. Cerca del 20% de la población estudiada presentaron AFV (36 individuos), sin embargo el uso de prótesis o aparatología ortodóncica/ortopédica no pudo asociarse estadísticamente. El AFV es una anomalía del desarrollo que se presenta con relativa frecuencia y no se relaciona con factores traumáticos, por lo cual no representa una lesión reactiva y mucho menos neoplásica.

Tissue tag of the labial frenum (TTLF) is a fragment of oral mucosa that arises from the labial superior frenum. Its cause and function are still unknown, however, it is considered an alteration of the normal oral anatomy. Although its nature, many dentists and medics confuse this entity with fibrous hyperplasias produced by trauma. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of TTLF and the association to traumatic local factors. 185 people were examined after filling an oral medicine history and signed an informed consent. About 20% of the study population showed TTLF (36 people), however, the use of prostheses or orthodontic treatment could not be statistically associated. TTLF is a relatively frequent development anomaly that it is not cause by trauma, and it does not represent a reactional lesion or a neoplasia.

O apêndice do frenillo a vestibular (AFV) é um fragmento do tecido mucoso que seja vindo fora de maxilar superior labial do frenillo. Embora suas formação e função não sejam sabidas ainda sejam reconhecidas como uma alteração do desenvolvimento. Não obstante, muitos dentistas e doutores confundem frequentemente esta organização com o produto do trauma das hiperplasias fibrosas. O objetivo da seguinte investigação era determinar a freqüência de AFV em uma população e de sua associação possível com fatores traumáticos locais. Uma examinação completa estomatologica a 185 indivíduos após o enchimento a uma historia clínica e a um consentimento informado foi feita. Perto de 20% da população estudada eles pressentem AFV (36 indivíduos), não obstante o uso do prótesis ou do aparatología ortodôntica o ortopédica não podia ser associado estatísticamente. O AFV é uma anomalia do desenvolvimento que aparece com freqüência relativa e não se relaciona aos fatores traumáticos, assim não representa uma lesão reativa e muito menos neoplásica.