Attitudes of clients of Dutch pest controllers towards integrated pest management (IPM) and preventive measures in relation to rodent nuisance.

Background: Rodent management with lethal methods (e.g., rodenticides) comes with downsides for rodent welfare, the environment and non-target species.

Large-scale identification of rodenticide resistance in Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus in the Netherlands based on Vkorc1 codon 139 mutations.

Background: Resistance to rodenticides has been reported globally and poses a considerable problem for efficacy in pest control. The most-documented resistance to rodenticides in commensal rodents is associated with mutations in the Vkorc1 gene, in particular in codon 139. Resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides has been reported in the Netherlands since 1989.

Efficacy of Management and Monitoring Methods to Prevent Post-Harvest Losses Caused by Rodents.

The presence of pest rodents around food production and storage sites is one of many underlying problems contributing to food contamination and loss, particularly influencing food and nutrition security in low-income countries. By reducing both pre- and post-harvest losses by rodents, millions of food-insecure people would benefit. As there are limited quantitative data on post-harvest rice losses due to rodents, our objectives were to assess stored rice losses in local households from eight rural communities and two rice milling factories in Bangladesh and to monitor the effect of different rodent control strategies to limit potential losses.

Wild rodents and insectivores as carriers of pathogenic Leptospira and Toxoplasma gondii in The Netherlands.

Small mammals such as rodents can to carry zoonotic pathogens. Currently, there is impaired knowledge on zoonotic pathogens in rodents and insectivores in the Netherlands. This limits opportunities for preventive measures and complicates risk-assessments for zoonotic transmission to humans.

Evidence of in Rodents from Bangladesh.

Rodents contribute to the life cycle of the protozoan parasite as an intermediate host and key prey animal of cats, the definitive host. As there is limited scientific knowledge available about the incidence and prevalence of in commensal rodents in many Asian countries, we tested rodents from a commercial rice mill and eight local villages in Bangladesh for the presence of DNA using rodent brain material preserved in ethanol. Overall, 10 of 296 (3.

Prevalence of Leptospira Infection in Rodents from Bangladesh.

Worldwide, infection poses an increasing public health problem. In 2008, leptospirosis was recognised as a re-emerging zoonosis of global importance with South-East Asia being one of the most significant centres of the disease. Rodents are thought to be the most important host for a variety of serovars.

Clostridium difficile in wild rodents and insectivores in the Netherlands.

With wild rodents and insectivores being present around humans and their living, working and food production environments, it is important to gain knowledge of the zoonotic pathogens present in these animals. The enteropathogen Clostridium difficile, an opportunistic anaerobic bacteria, can be carried by both animals and humans, and is distributed globally. It is known that there is genetic overlap between human and animal sources of C.

The need to implement the landscape of fear within rodent pest management strategies.

Current reactive pest management methods have serious drawbacks such as the heavy reliance on chemicals, emerging genetic rodenticide resistance and high secondary exposure risks. Rodent control needs to be based on pest species ecology and ethology to facilitate the development of ecologically based rodent management (EBRM). An important aspect of EBRM is a strong understanding of rodent pest species ecology, behaviour and spatiotemporal factors.

Environmental impact of replacing soybean meal with rapeseed meal in diets of finishing pigs.

The major impact of the livestock sector on the environment may be reduced by feeding agricultural co-products to animals. Since the last decade, co-products from biodiesel production, such as rapeseed meal (RSM), became increasingly available in Europe. Consequently, an increase in RSM content in livestock diets was observed at the expense of soybean meal (SBM) content.

Validation of an automated mite counter for Dermanyssus gallinae in experimental laying hen cages.

For integrated pest management (IPM) programs to be maximally effective, monitoring of the growth and decline of the pest populations is essential. Here, we present the validation results of a new automated monitoring device for the poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae), a serious pest in laying hen facilities world-wide. This monitoring device (called an "automated mite counter") was validated in experimental laying hen cages with live birds and a growing population of D.

Distribution of anticoagulant rodenticide resistance in Rattus norvegicus in the Netherlands according to Vkorc1 mutations.

Background: Rodenticide resistance to anticoagulants in Rattus norvegicus will lead to increased difficulties in combating these pest animals. Here, the authors present the results of a survey in the Netherlands where tissue samples and droppings were tested using a newly developed TaqMan PCR test for genotypic variation at codon 139 in the Vkorc1 gene associated with anticoagulant rodenticide resistance. Test results are linked to results of a questionnaire that was conducted among pest controllers.

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in common moles (Talpa europaea).

Background: The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in common moles, Talpa europaea, was investigated in order to determine whether moles can serve as an indicator species for T. gondii infections in livestock.

Findings: In total, 86 moles were caught from 25 different sites in the Netherlands.

The need and potential of biosensors to detect dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls along the milk, eggs and meat food chain.

Dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) are hazardous toxic, ubiquitous and persistent chemical compounds, which can enter the food chain and accumulate up to higher trophic levels. Their determination requires sophisticated methods, expensive facilities and instruments, well-trained personnel and expensive chemical reagents. Ideally, real-time monitoring using rapid detection methods should be applied to detect possible contamination along the food chain in order to prevent human exposure.

Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii in brain tissue of feral rodents and insectivores caught on farms in the Netherlands.

We investigated the presence of both Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii in 250 brain tissue samples from 9 species of feral rodents and insectivores caught on 10 organic farms in the Netherlands in 2004. Collected samples were conserved in 4% paraformaldehyde solution and analysed by real-time PCR. For N.

Escherichia coli concentrations in feces of geese, coots, and gulls residing on recreational water in The Netherlands.

Contamination of recreational water by bird feces is a main concern of water managers. It is important to understand the sources of Escherichia coli contamination since the organism is frequently used as a water hygiene parameter. Here, we address presence and levels of E.

Food safety in free-range and organic livestock systems: risk management and responsibility.

Animal production systems that offer outdoor access to the animals have become increasingly popular in the Western world due to the growing general discontent of consumers with conventional bioindustrial farming practices. These open production systems offer improved animal welfare but may create new problems for animal health, resulting in increased food safety risks from bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections or environmental contaminants. Examples of these new problems include increased Toxoplasma gondii infections in pigs and high dioxin levels in eggs from free-range hens.

Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health.

Rodents are the most abundant and diversified order of living mammals in the world. Already since the Middle Ages we know that they can contribute to human disease, as black rats were associated with distribution of plague. However, also in modern times rodents form a threat for public health.

Changing climate-changing pathogens: Toxoplasma gondii in North-Western Europe.

In this review, we describe the effects of global climate change for one specific pathogen: the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. It is postulated that an increase of T. gondii prevalence in humans can occur in some regions of North-Western Europe as a result of changing environmental conditions.

The Year of the Rat ends - time to fight hunger!

This paper investigates the importance of ecologically based rodent management in the light of the current food crisis, and the potential effects of this approach on the position of the undernourished. Hunger and food prices are on the rise owing to shortages that can be traced to reasons such as climatic extremes, use of crops for biofuels, reduced growth in yields which lag behind population growth, reduced world stocks and lack of sufficient investment in maintaining the irrigation infrastructure. For the undernourished this is problematic as they are most vulnerable to the rise in food prices.

The ethics of rodent control.

Because western societies generally see animals as objects of moral concern, demands have been made on the way they are treated, e.g. during animal experimentation.