Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has a complex infection ecology and is difficult to control in many countries, including Ireland. For many years, the Irish national bTB eradication programme relied on cattle-based control measures, including test-and-removal with related movement restrictions. In the early 2000s, badger culling was added as a part of the control measure in the national programme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) in animals are considered a human health threat, because this type of bacteria can serve as a reservoir of antibiotic resistant genes and act as a continuous threat of the emergence of new resistant bacteria, in addition to the direct effect of making infection untreatable. Although the prevalence of ESBL producing bacteria in broilers was drastically reduced in the Netherlands, chicken meat still has the highest prevalence among meat products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In recent years, the wildlife/livestock interface has attracted increased attention due to disease transmission between wild and domestic animal populations. The ongoing spread of African swine fever (ASF) in European wild boar (Sus scrofa) emphasize the need for further understanding of the wildlife/livestock interface to prevent disease spill-over between the wild and domestic populations. Although wild boar may also act as a potential source for other infectious disease agents, ASF is currently the most severe threat from wild boar to domestic pigs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPigs are considered to be the main reservoir for livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA), which is a zoonotic opportunistic pathogen. As LA-MRSA is an occupational hazard, there is an incentive to control its spread in pig herds. Currently, knowledge about effective control measures which do not require culling the whole herd are limited, and the control strategies against LA-MRSA vary between countries.
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