How do information flows affect impact from environmental research? - An analysis of a science-policy network.

Evidence of the impact arising from environmental research is increasingly demanded. Exchanges between science providers and actors that use scientific knowledge to address environmental problems are recognized as a key component of the mechanisms through which impact occurs. Yet, the role of interactions between science and policy actors in delivering and shaping research impact is not well established.

Differential vector competence of Ornithodoros soft ticks for African swine fever virus: What if it involves more than just crossing organic barriers in ticks?

Background: Several species of soft ticks in genus Ornithodoros are known vectors and reservoirs of African swine fever virus (ASFV). However, the underlying mechanisms of vector competence for ASFV across Ornithodoros species remain to be fully understood. To that end, this study compared ASFV replication and dissemination as well as virus vertical transmission to descendants between Ornithodoros moubata, O.

Daily Activity Patterns and Co-Occurrence of Duikers Revealed by an Intensive Camera Trap Survey across Central African Rainforests.

The duiker community in Central African rainforests includes a diversity of species that can coexist in the same area. The study of their activity patterns is needed to better understand habitat use or association between the species. Using camera traps, we studied the temporal activity patterns, and quantified for the first time the temporal overlap and spatial co-occurrence between species.

Surveillance of swine influenza viruses in sentinel familial farms in Hung Yen province in Northern Vietnam in 2013-2014.

From May 2013 to April 2014, 15 swine family-run farms (17 pig litters) in two districts in Hung Yen province, near Hanoi, were virologically and epizootiologically monitored for swine influenza viruses (SIV) monthly. No SIV was isolated from nasal swabs. Maternal antibodies were detected in 10 litters, and seroconversion against SIV was detected in six litters.

Swine influenza viruses in Northern Vietnam in 2013-2014.

Swine are an important intermediate host for emergence of pandemic influenza. Vietnam is the largest swine producer in South East Asia. Systematic virological and serological surveillance of swine influenza viruses was carried out in Northern Vietnam from May 2013 to June 2014 with monthly sampling of pigs in local and large collective slaughterhouses and in a live pig market.

Review of Antibiotic Resistance in the Indian Ocean Commission: A Human and Animal Health Issue.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to human, animal health, and environment worldwide. For human, transmission occurred through a variety of routes both in health-care settings and community. In animals, AMR was reported in livestock, pets, and wildlife; transmission of AMR can be zoonotic with the probably most important route being foodborne transmission.

Epidemiological features of influenza circulation in swine populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The emergence of the 2009 influenza pandemic virus with a swine origin stressed the importance of improving influenza surveillance in swine populations. The objectives of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to describe epidemiological features of swine influenza (SI) across the world and identify factors impacting swine influenza virus surveillance.

Methods: The systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines.

Application of discrete choice experiment to assess farmers' willingness to report swine diseases in the Red River Delta region, Vietnam.

A discrete choice experiment (DCE) is carried out to value socio-economic factors influencing the farmer's decision to report swine diseases and to assess the willingness of farmers to report swine diseases. Data were collected between March and July 2015 in two provinces in the Red River Delta, Northern Vietnam, from 196 pig producers by face-to face interview. A conditional logit model is used to measure the relative importance of the socio-economic factors and calculate the expected probability of disease reporting under changes of levels of these factors.

Transmission of Foot-and-Mouth Disease SAT2 Viruses at the Wildlife-Livestock Interface of Two Major Transfrontier Conservation Areas in Southern Africa.

Over a decade ago, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) re-emerged in Southern Africa specifically in beef exporting countries that had successfully maintained disease-free areas in the past. FMD virus (FMDV) serotype SAT2 has been responsible for a majority of these outbreaks. Epidemiological studies have revealed the importance of the African buffalo as the major wildlife FMD reservoir in the region.

Financial Impacts of Priority Swine Diseases to Pig Farmers in Red River and Mekong River Delta, Vietnam.

A study was conducted between May 2013 and August 2014 in three provinces of Vietnam to investigate financial impacts of swine diseases in pig holdings in 2010-2013. The aim of the study was to quantify the costs of swine diseases at producer level in order to understand swine disease priority for monitoring at local level. Financial impacts of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), foot and mouth disease (FMD), and epidemic diarrhoea were assessed for 162 pig holders in two Red River Delta provinces and in one Mekong River Delta province, using data on pig production and swine disease outbreaks at farms.

Analysis of Swine Movements in a Province in Northern Vietnam and Application in the Design of Surveillance Strategies for Infectious Diseases.

While swine production is rapidly growing in South-East Asia, the structure of the swine industry and the dynamic of pig movements have not been well-studied. However, this knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding the dynamic of disease transmission in swine populations and designing cost-effective surveillance strategies for infectious diseases. In this study, we assessed the farming and trading practices in the Vietnamese swine familial farming sector, which accounts for most pigs in Vietnam, and for which disease surveillance is a major challenge.

Epidemiological Analysis of Influenza A Infection in Cambodian Pigs and Recommendations for Surveillance Strategies.

This study analysed the available data of seroprevalence to human influenza viruses in pigs in Cambodia using generalized linear mixed models in order to improve understanding of factors underlying the spread of human influenza viruses in Cambodian pigs. The associations between seroprevalence against seasonal H1N1 influenza virus in pigs and the population density of humans and pigs were not significant. However, a positive association between anti-H3 antibodies in pigs and the human population density was identified.

Transmission of pandemic influenza H1N1 (2009) in Vietnamese swine in 2009-2010.

Background: The pandemic of 2009 was caused by an H1N1 (H1N1pdm) virus of swine origin. This pandemic virus has repeatedly infected swine through reverse zoonosis, although the extent of such infection in swine remains unclear.

Objective: This study targets small and commercial pig producers in North Vietnam, in order to estimate the extent of H1N1pdm infection in swine and to identify the risk factors of infection.

Swine influenza surveillance in East and Southeast Asia: a systematic review.

East and Southeast Asia are important pig- and poultry-producing areas, where the majority of production takes place on small-scale farms with low biosecurity levels. This systematic review synthesizes data on swine influenza virology, serology and epidemiology in East and Southeast Asia. A total of 77 research articles, literature reviews and conference papers were selected and analyzed from 510 references retrieved from PubMed and ISI Web of KnowledgeSM.

Looking for avian influenza in remote areas. A case study in Northern Vietnam.

Epidemiological surveys of avian influenza infections rarely focus on backyard poultry systems in remote locations because areas with low levels of poultry production are considered to have little influence on the emergence, re-emergence, persistence or spread of avian influenza viruses. In addition, routine disease investigations in remote areas often are neglected due to the lower availability and relatively high cost of veterinary services there. A bank of avian sera collected in 2005 from ethnic minority households in Ha Giang province (Northern Vietnam), located on the Chinese border, was analysed to estimate the seroprevalence of avian influenza virus (AIV) during a H5N1 epidemic and to identify potential risk factors for infection.

Role of wild suids in the epidemiology of African swine fever.

There is presently no vaccine to combat African swine fever (ASF), a viral hemorrhagic fever of domestic pigs that causes up to 100% morbidity and mortality in naive, commercial pig populations. In its endemic setting, ASF virus cycles between asymptomatic warthogs and soft ticks, with persistence in exotic locations being ascribed to the almost global distribution of susceptible soft tick and suid hosts. An understanding of the role played by diverse hosts in the epidemiology of this multi-host disease is crucial for effective disease control.

Avian influenza vaccines: a practical review in relation to their application in the field with a focus on the Asian experience.

Vaccination can be a useful tool for the control of avian influenza (AI) outbreaks, but its use is prohibited in most of the countries worldwide because of its interference with AI surveillance tests and its negative impact on poultry trade. AI vaccines currently in use in the field increase host resistance to the disease but have a limited impact on the virus transmission. To control or eradicate the disease, a carefully conceived vaccination strategy must be accompanied by strict biosecurity measures.

Conceptual framework for avian influenza risk assessment in Africa: the case of Ethiopia.

The avian influenza (AI) epidemic is threatening Africa mainly because the flyways of migratory birds link the endemic and newly infected countries with disease-free areas in this continent and because of the risk of introduction through trade. Risk analysis provides a set of tools for supporting decision making by the veterinary services and other stakeholders, resulting in more effective surveillance and emergency preparedness. The risk assessment process could be split into three different steps: 1) risk release through the migratory birds and the official and unofficial poultry-product marketing chains; 2) risk exposure by means of studying interfaces among imported and exposed poultry and among wild and domestic birds; and 3) risk consequences for establishing the probability of AI spreading within the poultry population and the probability of it escaping detection.