An exploratory qualitative enquiry into workers' experiences of leptospirosis and post-leptospirosis in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Aims: This pilot study describes the experiences of six people who reported post-leptospirosis symptoms. Our aim was to perform an exploratory qualitative study to document participants' experiences and to identify themes to gain understanding of the impact and burden experienced.

Methods: Participants self-recruited, meaning they had directly contacted the first author prior to the study commencing and had offered to tell their stories.

Of Mice, Cattle, and Men: A Review of the Eco-Epidemiology of Serovar Ballum.

In New Zealand (NZ), leptospirosis is a mostly occupational zoonosis, with >66% of the recently notified cases being farm or abattoir workers. Livestock species independently maintain serovar Hardjo and serovar Pomona, and both are included in livestock vaccines. The increasing importance in human cases of Ballum, a serovar associated with wildlife, suggests that wildlife may be an overlooked source of infection.

Vaccination practices for spp. on New Zealand dairy farms.

Aims: To describe leptospiral vaccination practices in dairy herds in New Zealand and evaluate conformity with best practice guidelines issued by the New Zealand Veterinary Association using data from a questionnaire administered by participating veterinary practices.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 200 randomly selected dairy farms stratified by herd size and region throughout New Zealand was conducted from January to April 2016 to investigate leptospiral vaccination practices in dairy herds in New Zealand. Using a pre-tested questionnaire administered during a face-to-face interview, vaccination practice details such as vaccine types, time, and age of vaccination and whether vaccines were administered by veterinary or farm staff, were collected.

Serological study of serovar Copenhageni and serovars Tarassovi and Ballum in beef cattle, sheep and deer in New Zealand.

Aims: To estimate animal-level seroprevalence of serovar Copenhageni and serovars Ballum and Tarassovi, in beef cattle, sheep and deer on New Zealand farms, and herd/flock-level seroprevalence of any serovar when existing same-sera data for serovars Hardjobovis and Pomona were included, and to determine associations between risk factors and animal-level seroprevalence.

Methods: Banked sera from sheep (n=82), beef (n=54) and deer (n=62) herds/flocks (n=3,878 animals) from seven regions were analysed using the microscopic agglutination test. Titres of ≥48 were designated positive.

Seroprevalence of in Racehorses and Broodmares in New Zealand.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of in a cohort of horses and to evaluate potential risk factors for seropositivity in horses in New Zealand. The convenience sample included 499 Thoroughbred racing and breeding horses from 25 commercial properties in North Island, New Zealand. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic data on horses and property-level information on grazing and management practices, pest (rodent) management, access to natural waterways, other livestock on the property, and possible contact with wildlife.

First evidence of concurrent enzootic and endemic transmission of Ross River virus in the absence of marsupial reservoirs in Fiji.

Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is a zoonotic alphavirus transmitted by several mosquito species. Until recently, endemic transmission was only considered possible in the presence of marsupial reservoirs.

Methods: RRV seroprevalence was investigated in placental mammals (including horses, cows, goats, pigs, dogs, rats, and mice) in Fiji, where there are no marsupials.

Shifts in the Molecular Epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni Infections in a Sentinel Region of New Zealand following Implementation of Food Safety Interventions by the Poultry Industry.

In 2006, New Zealand had the highest notification rate of campylobacteriosis in the world, and poultry was considered the leading source of campylobacteriosis. Implementation of food safety interventions by the poultry industry led to a decrease in the campylobacteriosis notification rate. The aim is to examine the impact of targeted food safety interventions implemented by the New Zealand poultry industry on the source attribution of infections in a sentinel region.

Estimation of the burden of leptospirosis in New Zealand.

Background: Human leptospirosis mainly affects people in close occupational contact with domestic livestock and their products in New Zealand. The disease has an unquantified impact on both human health and animal production in the country. This study aimed to estimate the burden of leptospirosis in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and cost associated with loss due to absence from work, treatment of disease, animal production loss and cost of vaccination.

Campylobacter jejuni Strains Associated with Wild Birds and Those Causing Human Disease in Six High-Use Recreational Waterways in New Zealand.

, a leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, has been frequently isolated from recreational rivers and streams in New Zealand, yet the public health significance of this is unknown. This study uses molecular tools to improve our understanding of the epidemiology and sources of in recreational waterways, with a view to preventing human infection. Epidemiological and microbiological data were collected between 2005 and 2009 from six high-use recreational waterways in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island.

Epidemiological investigation of Leptospira spp. in a dairy farming enterprise after the occurrence of three human leptospirosis cases.

An epidemiological investigation was conducted in an unvaccinated dairy farming enterprise in which three workers on one of the milking herds (Herd 1) were diagnosed with leptospirosis due to serovars Hardjo (H) (n = 2) and Pomona (P) (n = 1) between January and March 2015. Blood and urine samples were collected from milking cows in Herd 1 (N = 230) and Herd 2 (N = 400), rising one- (R1, N = 125) and rising two-year-old (R2, N = 130) replacement heifers, and four pigs associated with Herd 1, in March 2015. Sera were tested using the MAT for serovars H, P, Copenhageni (C), Ballum (B) and Tarassovi (T), and urine samples were tested by qPCR.

Effects of natural infection by L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo type Hardjo-bovis and L. interrogans serovar Pomona, and leptospiral vaccination, on sheep growth.

In New Zealand, up to 97% of NZ sheep flocks are seropositive to Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo and/or Leptospira interrogans Pomona, yet vaccination is rare. This study evaluated the impact of exposure to these serovars and of vaccination on sheep growth. One third of 2260 ewe lambs on eight farms were randomly selected and vaccinated with a primary and booster bivalent Hardjo and Pomona vaccine starting at one month of age on seven farms and at around five months of age on one farm.

Exposure to whole chicken carcasses may present a greater risk of campylobacteriosis compared to exposure to chicken drumsticks.

In New Zealand, the major risk factor for campylobacteriosis has been identified as poultry consumption. New Zealanders consume different types of chicken meat which undergo different processing before entering the retail chain. The manipulations and jointing of chicken carcasses into pieces and the subsequent processing and packaging have the potential to cross-contaminate and reshuffle bacterial pathogens among the different products sold.

Meta-analysis of the efficacy of Leptospira serovar Hardjo vaccines to prevent urinary shedding in cattle.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis often associated with occupational exposure from livestock that can be prevented by animal vaccination. Several trials have assessed vaccine efficacy in livestock but there have been no attempts to evaluate these trials jointly. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate vaccine efficacy to prevent urinary shedding of Leptospira serovar Hardjo (Hardjo) in cattle.

Effects of natural infection by L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo type Hardjo-bovis, L. interrogans serovar Pomona and leptospiral vaccination on sheep reproduction.

Most New Zealand sheep flocks are seropositive to Leptospira serovars Hardjo and/or Pomona, yet vaccination is rare. This study evaluated the impact of exposure to these serovars and of vaccination, on primiparous one- (P1) and two-year-old (P2) sheep reproduction outcomes. The study was designed as a split-flock vaccination trial, with a third of the animals vaccinated starting at one month of age.

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Leptospira Seropositivity in Beef Cattle, Sheep and Deer Farmers in New Zealand.

Leptospirosis is a global zoonosis that in New Zealand affects primarily people occupationally exposed to livestock. The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of five Leptospira serovars in farmers working on cattle, sheep and deer farms that had the serological status of animals previously assessed and to identify risk factors for farmer seropositivity. A total of 178 farmers from 127 properties participated in the study.

Molecular Epidemiology of Campylobacter coli Strains Isolated from Different Sources in New Zealand between 2005 and 2014.

Unlabelled: Campylobacteriosis is one of the most important foodborne diseases worldwide and a significant health burden in New Zealand. Campylobacter jejuni is the predominant species worldwide, accounting for approximately 90% of human cases, followed by Campylobacter coli Most studies in New Zealand have focused on C. jejuni; hence, the impact of C.

Effectiveness of a commercial leptospiral vaccine on urinary shedding in naturally exposed sheep in New Zealand.

L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo and L. interrogans serovar Pomona are endemic in New Zealand sheep.

Serological patterns, antibody half-life and shedding in urine of Leptospira spp. in naturally exposed sheep.

Aims: To determine within-farm prevalence, longitudinal pattern of exposure measured by serology, antibody titre longevity and point prevalence of shedding in urine of Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo and L. interrogans serovar Pomona in naturally infected sheep on a sample of commercial farms in New Zealand.

Methods: On eight commercial sheep farms, between September 2011 and January 2014, blood samples were collected from 115-217 ewe lambs on each farm, at intervals of 2-11 months.

Prevalence and risk factors for Leptospira exposure in New Zealand veterinarians.

This study assessed seroprevalence and risk factors for Leptospira (serovars Hardjo, Pomona, Ballum, Copenhageni, Tarassovi) exposure in New Zealand veterinarians. Veterinarians (n = 277) at one of two conferences were voluntarily enrolled and blood samples taken. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) titres ⩾48 were considered seropositive.

Interlaboratory and between-specimen comparisons of diagnostic tests for leptospirosis in sheep and cattle.

A study was performed to investigate interlaboratory test agreement between a research and a commercial veterinary diagnostic laboratory on blood and urine samples, and to investigate test agreement between blood, urine, and kidney samples (research laboratory) for leptospirosis diagnosis. Samples were sourced from 399 sheep and 146 beef cattle from a local abattoir. Interlaboratory agreement for real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) results on urine samples was almost perfect (kappa = 0.

Shedding and seroprevalence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in sheep and cattle at a New Zealand Abattoir.

A cross-sectional study was carried out on sheep and cattle slaughtered at a New Zealand abattoir from September to November 2010 to investigate the supplier-specific shedding rate, renal carriage rate and seroprevalence of leptospires. In the 2008/2009 season, this abattoir experienced three human leptospirosis cases from 20 staff, of which two were hospitalized. Urine, kidney and blood samples were collected from carcasses of 399 sheep (six suppliers, 17 slaughter lines) and 146 cattle (three suppliers, 22 slaughter lines).

Seroprevalence and exposure to risk factors for leptospirosis among veterinary students at Massey University.

Aims: To determine the seroprevalence and quantify putative risk factors for exposure to leptospirosis both within and outside the veterinary curriculum among undergraduate veterinary students at Massey University, New Zealand.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2010 to November 2011. In total, 302 students were blood sampled, with serum tested by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) for antibodies to Leptospira borgpetersenii serovars Hardjobovis, Leptospira interrogans Pomona and Leptospira borgpetersenii Ballum.

A serological survey of leptospiral antibodies in dogs in New Zealand.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of titres to four endemic leptospiral serovars in dog sera from the lower half of the North Island, and the South Island of New Zealand submitted to diagnostic laboratories, and to explore the association between the prevalence of seropositive samples to leptospirosis and breed group, age group and sex.

Methods: Serum samples from 655 dogs residing in the central and lower North Island and from the South Island of New Zealand were sourced from the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital and from submissions to New Zealand Veterinary Pathology in 2005. They were screened by the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) against Leptospira interrogans serovars Copenhageni and Pomona and L.

Longitudinal serological survey and herd-level risk factors for Leptospira spp. serovars Hardjo-bovis and Pomona on deer farms with sheep and/or beef cattle.

Aim: To investigate the seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. serovars Hardjo-bovis and Pomona on deer and mixed deer, sheep and/or beef cattle farms in the lower North Island of New Zealand and to examine associations between putative risk factors for seropositive deer herds.

Methods: Serological screening was conducted on 19 commercial deer farms, 16 with sheep and/or beef cattle, between August and October each year between 2006 and 2008.

Growth response and shedding of Leptospira spp. in urine following vaccination for leptospirosis in young farmed deer.

Aim: To investigate the effect of vaccination against Leptospira serovars Hardjo-bovis and Pomona on growth rate and shedding of leptospires in urine in rising 1-year-old farmed red deer.

Methods: In early March 2007, 230 female and 205 male, 3-month-old deer on five farms were treated with streptomycin then were randomly allocated to a control group (n = 218), or were vaccinated (n = 217) with a bivalent whole-cell killed leptospiral vaccine (Leptavoid-2) followed by a booster 4 weeks later. These animals were isolated from other 3-month-old deer on each property until May, when all vaccinated and control deer were combined with deer not treated with streptomycin, for maximum exposure to natural leptospiral challenge.