The EU Artificial Intelligence Act (2024): Implications for healthcare.

In August 2024, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) entered into force. This legally binding instrument sets rules for the development, the placing on the market, the putting into service, and the use of AI systems in the European Union. As the world's first extensive legal framework on AI, it aims to boost innovation while protecting individuals against the harms of AI.

Antivenom for sale? Availability and affordability of snakebite medicines across public and private health facilities in Rwanda.

Antivenom is considered the safest and most effective treatment against snake envenomation (SBE); however, global shortages mean that many low-income countries struggle to meet demand. In Rwanda, chronic shortages of essential medicines are an important barrier to robust healthcare delivery and discourage snakebite victims from seeking hospital care. The aim of this retrospective, cross-sectional study was to evaluate the availability and affordability of commodities to treat SBE at hospitals and health centers.

Barriers to accessing internationally controlled essential medicines in sub-saharan Africa: A scoping review.

Background: Access to internationally controlled essential medicines (ICEMs), medicines that are listed on both the World Health Organization's Essential Medicines List and one of three international drug control conventions, remains problematic in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Previous reviews have focused only on specific ICEMs or ICEM-related healthcare fields, but none have focused on all ICEMs as a distinct class. This scoping review therefore aims to identify the barriers to accessing ICEMs across all relevant healthcare fields in SSA.

Healthcare workers' perspectives on access to sexual and reproductive health services in the public, private and private not-for-profit sectors: insights from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Background: Access to sexual and reproductive health services remains a challenge for many in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Health service delivery in the four countries is decentralised and provided by the public, private and private not-for-profit sectors. When accessing sexual and reproductive health services, clients encounter numerous challenges, which might differ per sector.

Availability, affordability and stock-outs of commodities for the treatment of snakebite in Kenya.

Background: Annually, about 2.7 million snakebite envenomings occur globally. Alongside antivenom, patients usually require additional care to treat envenoming symptoms and antivenom side effects.

The Burden of Snakebite in Rural Communities in Kenya: A Household Survey.

Annually, about 2.7 million snakebite envenomings occur worldwide, primarily affecting those living in rural regions. Effective treatment exists but is scarce, and traditional treatments are commonly used.

An exploratory focus group study on experiences with snakebites: health-seeking behaviour and challenges in rural communities of Kenya.

Background: Snakebite envenoming is a long-hidden public health threat in the rural communities of Kenya. This study aimed to shed light on the health-seeking behaviour of people bitten by snakes, views on prevention measures and community needs and the consequences for snakebite patients in these areas.

Methods: Six focus group interviews were conducted in communities in the Kajiado (n=3) and Kilifi (n=3) counties.

Evaluation of tests for antibodies against bovine herpesvirus 1 performed in national reference laboratories in Europe.

Sets of serum and milk samples were collected from various countries and prepared, lyophilised and distributed by 1 laboratory to 12 reference laboratories in Europe. The serum sets contained the three European bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) reference serum samples (EU1, EU2 and EU3), serum samples from naturally and experimentally BHV1-infected cattle, from vaccinated, and vaccinated-challenged cattle, from uninfected cattle, and a series of serum dilutions. In addition, sets of milk samples were distributed.

Vaccination of pigs two weeks before infection significantly reduces transmission of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

The objective of this study was to investigate whether and at what time interval could vaccination reduce transmission of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) among pigs. Reduction of virus transmission by vaccination was determined experimentally. Transmission of FMDV was studied in three groups of ten pigs: one non-vaccinated group and two groups that were vaccinated 7 days (-7 dpi) and 14 days before inoculation (-14 dpi), respectively.

Emergency vaccination against classical swine fever.

At present, emergency vaccination against classical swine fever is not practised in Western countries. However, stamping out and pre-emptive culling policies are increasingly meeting greater resistance. Consequently, emergency vaccination is a re-emerging subject of debate.

Vaccinology of classical swine fever: from lab to field.

There are two types of classical swine fever vaccines available: the classical live and the recently developed E2 subunit vaccines. The live Chinese strain vaccine is the most widely used. After a single vaccination, it confers solid immunity within a few days that appears to persist lifelong.

Susceptibility of bovine umbilical cord endothelial cells to bovine herpesviruses and pseudocowpox virus.

The purpose of the study was to determine the susceptibility of bovine umbilical cord endothelial (BUE) cells to bovine herpesvirus (BHV) 1, BHV2, BHV4 and BHV5, and to pseudocowpox virus. The detection limits and growth curves of these viruses in BUE cells were compared with those in Vero, Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK). or bovine fetal diploid lung (BFDL) cells.

Viral infections and bovine mastitis: a review.

This review deals with the role of viruses in the aetiology of bovine mastitis. Bovine herpesvirus 1, bovine herpesvirus 4, foot-and-mouth disease virus, and parainfluenza 3 virus have been isolated from milk from cows with clinical mastitis. Intramammary inoculations of bovine herpesvirus 1 or parainfluenza 3 virus-induced clinical mastitis, while an intramammary inoculation of foot-and-mouth disease virus resulted in necrosis of the mammary gland.

Simultaneous intramammary and intranasal inoculation of lactating cows with bovine herpesvirus 4 induce subclinical mastitis.

In this study, we examined whether an experimental bovine herpesvirus 4 (BHV4) infection can induce bovine mastitis, or can enhance bovine mastitis induced by Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis). Four lactating cows were inoculated intramammarily and intranasally with BHV4, and four lactating control cows were mock-inoculated.

[Biotechnology for the benefit of vaccination against viral diseases: a review].

This review deals briefly with some key developments in veterinary viral vaccinology, lists the types of vaccines that are used for vaccinations commonly performed in food animals as well as in companion animals, and indicates that the practising veterinarian can select the best vaccine by comparing the results of efficacy studies. Diva (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals; also termed marker) vaccines and companion diagnostic tests have been developed that can be used for progam aimed to control or eradicate virus infections. Vaccine-induced herd immunity, which can be measured relatively easily when diva vaccines are used, is a crucial issue in such programmes.

Present and future of veterinary viral vaccinology: a review.

This review deals briefly with some key developments in veterinary vaccinology, lists the types of vaccines that are used for vaccinations commonly performed in food animals as well as in companion animals, and indicates that the practising veterinarian can select the best vaccine by comparing the results of efficacy studies. Diva (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals; also termed marker) vaccines and companion diagnostic tests have been developed that can be used for progammes aimed to control or eradicate virus infections. Vaccine-induced herd immunity, which can be measured relatively easily when diva vaccines are used, is a crucial issue in such programmes.

Detection of bovine herpesvirus 4 glycoprotein B and thymidine kinase DNA by PCR assays in bovine milk.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed to detect bovine herpesvirus 4 (BHV4) glycoprotein B (gB) DNA, and a nested-PCR assay was modified for the detection of BHV4 thymidine kinase (TK) DNA in bovine milk samples. To identify false-negative PCR results, internal control templates were constructed, added to milk samples, and co-amplified with viral DNA using the same primers for both templates. Specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility of the two PCR assays were examined.

Glutathione and alpha-lipoate in diabetic rats: nerve function, blood flow and oxidative state.

Background: Increased oxidative stress is considered to be a causal factor in the development of diabetic complications, among which peripheral neuropathy. The pathophysiology of nerve dysfunction in diabetes has been explained both by reduced endoneurial microcirculation and alterations in endoneurial metabolism. It is unclear whether antioxidants primarily improve nerve blood flow or normalise systemic or endoneurial oxidative metabolism.

Pseudorabies virus is transmitted among vaccinated conventional pigs, but not among vaccinated SPF pigs.

Whereas the reproduction ratio (R) of pseudorabies virus (PRV) in vaccinated specific pathogen free (SPF) pigs without maternally derived antibodies under experimental conditions has repeatedly been shown to be significantly below 1, R in vaccinated conventional pigs in the field with maternally derived antibodies was significantly above 1. To exclude the difference in husbandry conditions as a cause for this discrepancy, we quantified and compared the transmission of PRV in both groups under identical experimental conditions. Whereas none of the SPF sentinel pigs became infected (R=0, significantly<1), all conventional sentinel pigs did become infected (R=2.

[Vaccination of calves with contaminated batches of bovine herpes virus 1 vaccines did not result in infection with bovine virus diarrhea virus].

The aim of the experiment was to study whether bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) marker vaccine batches known to be contaminated with bovine virus diarrhoea virus (BVDV) type 1 could cause BVD in cattle. For this purpose, four groups of cattle were used. The first group (n = 4 calves, the positive control group), was vaccinated with vaccine from a batch contaminated with BVDV type 2.

Efficacy of a live glycoprotein E-negative bovine herpesvirus 1 vaccine in cattle in the field.

To assess the efficacy of a live glycoprotein E-negative bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1) vaccine to reduce transmission of BHV1 in cattle, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled field trial including 84 herds was conducted in the Netherlands. The incidence of BHV1 infections during 17 months was monitored by detecting antibodies against BHV1 glycoprotein E. In the placebo-treated group 214 seroconversions in 3985 paired sera, and in the vaccinated group 67 seroconversions in 3601 paired sera were detected.

Use of PCR and immunofluorescence to detect bovine herpesvirus 1 recombinants.

Homologous recombination occurs frequently between strains of the same alphaherpesvirus species. Studies of this phenomenon require techniques that can differentiate parental strains from putative recombinant progeny viruses. Usually, progeny viruses generated by co-infection of two distinguishable parental strains are first cloned by selection of a single plaque and then characterised by PCR.