Removal or substitution of in feed antimicrobials in swine production.

Antimicrobial substitutes are being used in pig production systems, to maintain the health of the animals without compromising their performance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of either the removal of in feed antimicrobials or their substitution for feed additives, at the nursery and growing/finishing stages. At weaning, 1091 piglets were sexed, vaccinated, homogenized by weight and allocated to six treatments during the nursery stage (26-63 d): T1- feed with no antimicrobials nor additives; T2 - feed with antimicrobials; T3 - feed with prebiotic; T4 - feed with probiotic; T5 - feed with essential oils; T6 - feed with organic acids.

Laboratory evidence of norwalk virus contamination on the hands of infected individuals.

Human norovirus (NoV) outbreak investigations suggest that the hands of infected individuals play an important role in NoV transmission. However, there is no experimental evidence documenting the likelihood and degree of NoV contamination on hands. As part of a clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of high-pressure processing for Norwalk virus (NV) inactivation in oysters, 159 hand rinse samples were collected from 6 infected and 6 uninfected subjects.

Norovirus infection in immunocompromised children and children with hospital-acquired acute gastroenteritis.

Norovirus (NoV) is a leading cause of acute viral gastroenteritis among children, yet its burden of disease among immunocompromised hosts and its role in hospital acquired infections (HAI) is not well characterized. To determine the prevalence, genotypes, and NoV loads among immunocompromised children and children with HAI, residual stool samples, and clinical data were collected at two major pediatric hospitals in metropolitan Atlanta from 92 children that were immunocompromised and/or had a hospital acquired acute gastroenteritis. NoV was identified in 16.

Randomized, double-blinded clinical trial for human norovirus inactivation in oysters by high hydrostatic pressure processing.

Contamination of oysters with human noroviruses (HuNoV) constitutes a human health risk and may lead to severe economic losses in the shellfish industry. There is a need to identify a technology that can inactivate HuNoV in oysters. In this study, we conducted a randomized, double-blinded clinical trial to assess the effect of high hydrostatic pressure processing (HPP) on Norwalk virus (HuNoV genogroup I.