Revue scientifique et technique
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Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot. · Dec 2011
Assessment of national strategies for control of high-pathogenicity avian influenza and low-pathogenicity notifiable avian influenza in poultry, with emphasis on vaccines and vaccination.
Twenty-nine distinct epizootics of high-pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) have occurred since 1959. The H5N1 HPAI panzootic affecting Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe has been the largest among these, affecting poultry and/or wild birds in 63 countries. A stamping-out programme achieved eradication in 24 of these epizootics (and is close to achieving eradication in the current H5N2 epizootic in South African ostriches), but vaccination was added to the control programmes in four epizootics when stamping out alone was not effective. ⋯ Fewer outbreaks of LPNAI have been reported than of HPAI and only six countries used vaccine in control programmes, accounting for 8.1% of the total H5/H7 AI vaccine usage, as compared to 91.9% of the vaccine used against HPAI. Of the six countries that have used vaccine to control LPNAI, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Italy have been the biggest users. In countries with enzootic HPAI and LPNAI, development and implementation of exit strategies has been difficult.
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Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot. · Aug 2009
Essential veterinary education in zoological and wildlife medicine: a global perspective.
The current veterinary curriculum leaves graduates ill-equipped for careers in the field of zoological and wildlife medicine. Further postgraduate training is required to be an effective zoo or wildlife veterinarian. ⋯ These subjects are essential, as we are preparing students to work in a world in which there is a global trade in wild animals, an increasing number of emerging infectious diseases and numerous environmental threats (habitat fragmentation, climate change) linked to anthropogenic change. Veterinary students should also be exposed to new opportunities to identify field and laboratory tools for the management and possible treatment of diseases in captive and wild populations and ecosystems using both in situ and ex situ approaches to conservation.
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Past pandemics arose from low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses. In more recent times, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, LPAI H9N2 and both HPAI and LPAI H7 viruses have repeatedly caused zoonotic disease in humans. Such infections did not lead to sustained human-to-human transmission. ⋯ Over 380 human cases have been confirmed to date, with an overall case fatality of 63%. The zoonotic transmission of avian influenza is a rare occurrence, butthe greater public health concern is the adaptation of such viruses to efficient human transmission, which could lead to a pandemic. A better understanding of the ecology of avian influenza viruses and the biological determinants of transmissibility and pathogenicity in humans is important for pandemic preparedness.
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Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot. · Apr 2009
Historical ArticlePandemic influenza--including a risk assessment of H5N1.
Influenza pandemics and epidemics have apparently occurred since at least the Middle Ages. When pandemics appear, 50% or more of an affected population can be infected in a single year, and the number of deaths caused by influenza can dramatically exceed what is normally expected. Since 1500, there appear to have been 13 or more influenza pandemics. ⋯ Nor is there agreement about the subtype of influenza virus most likely to cause the next pandemic. The continuing spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses has heightened interest in pandemic prediction. Despite uncertainties in the historical record of the pre-virology era, study of previous pandemics may help guide future pandemic planning and lead to a better understanding of the complex ecobiology underlying the formation of pandemic strains of influenza A viruses.
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Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot. · Dec 2007
ReviewTowards flexible decision support in the control of animal epidemics.
Decision-making in the control of animal epidemics is a dynamic and flexible process. Facing uncertainties about the consequences of control options, flexible decision-making can avoid unnecessary control costs through learning and adjusting. ⋯ This paper systematically analyses the elements in the decision-making process of animal epidemic control to illustrate the importance of flexibility. Also discussed are various ways of integrating flexibility into research on decision-making in animal epidemic control.