Risk assessment of pv. for the EU.

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a risk assessment of pv. (Xcv). This pest causes bacterial canker of grapevine and is reported from Brazil and India.

Pest risk assessment of for the European Union.

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest risk assessment of (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), the navel orangeworm, for the EU. The quantitative assessment considered two scenarios: (i) current practices and (ii) a requirement for chilled transport. The assessment focused on pathways of introduction, climatic conditions and cultivation of hosts allowing establishment, spread and impact.

Epidemiologically-based strategies for the detection of emerging plant pathogens.

Emerging pests and pathogens of plants are a major threat to natural and managed ecosystems worldwide. Whilst it is well accepted that surveillance activities are key to both the early detection of new incursions and the ability to identify pest-free areas, the performance of these activities must be evaluated to ensure they are fit for purpose. This requires consideration of the number of potential hosts inspected or tested as well as the epidemiology of the pathogen and the detection method used.

Optimising risk-based surveillance for early detection of invasive plant pathogens.

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of plants continue to devastate ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide. Effective management requires surveillance to detect epidemics at an early stage. However, despite the increasing use of risk-based surveillance programs in plant health, it remains unclear how best to target surveillance resources to achieve this.

Eco-Epidemiological Uncertainties of Emerging Plant Diseases: The Challenge of Predicting Dynamics in Novel Environments.

In order to prevent and control the emergence of biosecurity threats such as vector-borne diseases of plants, it is vital to understand drivers of entry, establishment, and spatiotemporal spread, as well as the form, timing, and effectiveness of disease management strategies. An inherent challenge for policy in combatting emerging disease is the uncertainty associated with intervention planning in areas not yet affected, based on models and data from current outbreaks. Following the recent high-profile emergence of the bacterium in a number of European countries, we review the most pertinent epidemiological uncertainties concerning the dynamics of this bacterium in novel environments.

Quantifying the hidden costs of imperfect detection for early detection surveillance.

The global spread of pathogens poses an increasing threat to health, ecosystems and agriculture worldwide. As early detection of new incursions is key to effective control, new diagnostic tests that can detect pathogen presence shortly after initial infection hold great potential for detection of infection in individual hosts. However, these tests may be too expensive to be implemented at the sampling intensities required for early detection of a new epidemic at the population level.

Update of the Scientific Opinion on the risks to plant health posed by in the EU territory.

EFSA was asked to update the 2015 EFSA risk assessment on for the territory of the EU. In particular, EFSA was asked to focus on potential establishment, short- and long-range spread, the length of the asymptomatic period, the impact of and an update on risk reduction options. EFSA was asked to take into account the different subspecies and Sequence Types of .

Background matching in the brown shrimp Crangon crangon: adaptive camouflage and behavioural-plasticity.

A combination of burrowing behaviour and very efficient background matching makes the brown shrimp Crangon crangon almost invisible to potential predators and prey. This raises questions on how shrimp succeed in concealing themselves in the heterogeneous and dynamic estuarine habitats they inhabit and what type of environmental variables and behavioural factors affect their colour change abilities. Using a series of behavioural experiments, we show that the brown shrimp is capable of repeated fast colour adaptations (20% change in dark pigment cover within one hour) and that its background matching ability is mainly influenced by illumination and sediment colour.

A method of determining where to target surveillance efforts in heterogeneous epidemiological systems.

The spread of pathogens into new environments poses a considerable threat to human, animal, and plant health, and by extension, human and animal wellbeing, ecosystem function, and agricultural productivity, worldwide. Early detection through effective surveillance is a key strategy to reduce the risk of their establishment. Whilst it is well established that statistical and economic considerations are of vital importance when planning surveillance efforts, it is also important to consider epidemiological characteristics of the pathogen in question-including heterogeneities within the epidemiological system itself.

Seasonal pattern of Echinococcus re-infection in owned dogs in Tibetan communities of Sichuan, China and its implications for control.

Background: Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) are highly endemic in Tibetan communities of Sichuan Province. Previous research in the region indicated that domestic dog was the major source of human infection, and observations indicated that domestic dog could have more access to intermediate hosts of Echinococcus spp.: both domestic livestock (CE) viscera and small mammals (AE), in early winter and again in spring.

Echinococcus granulosus: Epidemiology and state-of-the-art of diagnostics in animals.

Diagnosis and detection of Echinococcus granulosus (sensu lato) infection in animals is a prerequisite for epidemiological studies and surveillance of echinococcosis in endemic, re-emergent or emergent transmission zones. Advances in diagnostic approaches for definitive hosts and livestock, however, have not progressed equally over the last 20 years. Development of laboratory based diagnostics for canids using coproantigen ELISA and also coproPCR, have had a huge impact on epidemiological studies and more recently on surveillance during hydatid control programmes.

Independent evaluation of a canine Echinococcosis Control Programme in Hobukesar County, Xinjiang, China.

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China is one of the world's most important foci for cystic echinococcosis. Domestic dogs are the main source for human infection, and previous studies in Xinjiang have found a canine Echinococcus spp. coproELISA prevalence of between 36% and 41%.

Dog ownership, dog behaviour and transmission of Echinococcus spp. in the Alay Valley, southern Kyrgyzstan.

Echinococcosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease in Kyrgyzstan, and the incidence of human infection has increased substantially since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Domestic dogs are hosts of Echinococcus spp. and play an important role in the transmission of these parasites.

Farm level risk factors associated with severity of post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome.

A cross-sectional study involving 147 pig farms across England was conducted in 2008-2009. Farm severity of post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) was estimated through the use of an algorithm that combined data on post-weaning mortality, PMWS morbidity and proportion of porcine circovirus type 2 PCR positive pigs. Farms were classified as non/slightly, moderately or highly affected by PMWS.

Prevalence and risk factors for swine influenza virus infection in the English pig population.

Infection of pigs with influenza viruses is a cause of considerable economic loss for pig farmers as well as a potential human health concern - as evidenced by the identification of genetic material derived from swine-adapted influenza viruses in an novel strain of H1N1 influenza virus in 2009. A study was conducted investigating the prevalence of influenza virus infection in a selection of 143 English pig herds between April 2008 and April 2009, which found evidence of recent virus circulation in over half of these herds (n=75). Farms which were sampled in the Summer months were found to have lower odds of recent virus circulation, as were farms containing pigs kept in straw yards.