Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 21, 2014 - Published by group.bmj.com
Research
Research EDITORIAL
Developing an early warning system for bovine respiratory disease Bart Pardon Despite decades of research, controlling bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains one of the hardest challenges in practice (Fulton and Confer 2012). Although the infectious agents, risk factors and immunological responses involved have been extensively documented, this has not led to a markedly reduced BRD incidence. On the contrary, the continuing trend towards larger herds with a more complex contact structure has only increased the risk for BRD and its financial consequences (Gulliksen and others 2009, Woolums and others 2013). Today, the BRD cost in the North American beef cattle industry alone is reported to be greater than US $500 million annually (Miles 2009). In dairy cattle, BRD significantly influences first lactation survival (Bach 2011), and in the veal industry, which processes the excess male dairy calves, a single episode has been shown to reduce carcase weight by 9 kg on average (Pardon and others 2013). Improved diagnostic techniques for BRD, especially molecular testing (PCR – classic, real time or multiplex), in-situ hybridisation or DNA sequencing methods (MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry), have now become widely available (Fulton and Confer 2012, Pereyre and others 2013). Test development has even outpaced validation
Bart Pardon, DVM, PhD, Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
in the field, especially when it comes to diagnosing group problems (Fulton and Confer 2012). Unfortunately, in most European countries, few practitioners routinely submit samples for laboratory analysis; supplementary costs for the farmer are believed to be the primary reason for this. Therefore, in many cattle production systems worldwide, the focus of veterinary BRD management still lies on medical treatment, rather than implementing preventive measures specific to the pathogens present on that particular farm. Today, most veterinarians are well aware that the public pressure on veterinary antimicrobial use, in the face of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in human bacteria, has become one of the main challenges for food animal producers (European Food Safety Authority [EFSA] and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [ECDC] 2014). Political measures have been taken in several different countries, including benchmarking antimicrobial use at the level of the farm and veterinary practice, and designing formularies for the responsible use of antimicrobials. This trend appears to be most prevalent in the Nordic countries, but less so towards the south of Europe. In the Netherlands and Belgium, formularies state that before a veterinarian can use certain antimicrobials that are critically or highly important for human medicine, they need to confirm that there is antimicrobial resistance to first line antibiotics in pathogens present on the farm. This systematic sampling of BRD outbreaks increases production costs,
October 11, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 349
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 21, 2014 - Published by group.bmj.com
Research does not merit greater especially when PCR tests attention. for the viral component are also implemented. References Reducing antimicrobial BACH, A. (2011) Associations use is only possible by between several aspects of heifer reducing the number of development and dairy cow survivBRD cases. Therefore, ability to second lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 1052-1057 the establishment of EFSA & ECDC (2014)European preventive measures, Union Summary Report on antiin particular control of microbial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from respiratory viruses, is humans, animals and food in 2012. equally important to the EFSA Journal 12, 3590 control of these bacterial FULTON, R. W. & CONFER, A. W. (2012) Laboratory test descripcomponents. tions for bovine respiratory disease Based on the fact diagnosis and their strengths and that disease prevention weaknesses: gold standards for is cheaper in the long diagnosis, do they exist? Canadian Veterinary Journal 53, 754-761 term than treatment, GULLIKSEN, S. M., Jor, surveillance for human E., Lie, K. I., LØKEN, T., influenza virus was AKERSTEDT, J. & Østerås, O. (2009) Respiratory infections in initiated years ago. Norwegian dairy calves. Journal of Nowadays, early warning Dairy Science 92, 5139-5146 FIG 1: Deep nasopharyngeal swabbing is a simple and fast technique that causes systems based on KARA, E. O., ELLIOT, A. J., minimal stress to the animal. For PCR analysis, swabs can be conserved without BAGNALL, H., FOORD, D. G., swabbing patients with flu- using a transport medium, making this sampling procedure acceptable for PNAISER, R., OSMAN, H., like symptoms in sentinel regions located far from the laboratory SMITH, G. E. & OLOWOKURE, practices (Romanowska B. (2012) Absenteeism in schools during the 2009 consist of sentinel practices, evenly spread and others 2008), absenteeism in schools influenza A (H1N1) pandemic: a useful tool for early detection of influenza activity in the community? throughout the country, taking nasal (Kara and others 2012) or even internet data Epidemiology and Infection 140, 1328-1336 swabs in epidemic episodes of BRD and (Google flu trends, Pervaiz and others 2012) MILES, D. G. (2009) Overview of the North American subsequently quickly communicating test are common practice. These initiatives help beef cattle industry and the incidence of bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Animal Health Research Reviews 10, results to the whole of the country. O’Neill individuals, physicians and governments 101-103 and others also show that other viruses to protect themselves by vaccination or O’Neill, R., Mooney, J., Furphy, C. & Graham, such as bovine viral diarrhoea, bovine other preventive measures such as hand D. A. (2014) Patterns of detection of respiratory viruses coronavirus and bovine herpesvirus type disinfection or avoiding crowded places in a in nasal swabs from calves in Ireland: a retrospective study. Veterinary Record doi:10.1136/vr.102574 1 spread all year round. Nevertheless, for timely manner. They also help physicians PARDON, B., HOSTENS, M., DUCHATEAU, L., these viruses there are weeks in which to estimate the likelihood of their symptomDEWULF, J., DE BLEECKER, K. & DEPREZ, P. (2013) more cases are reported; therefore, for these based first line diagnosis. These national Impact of respiratory disease, diarrhea, otitis and arthritis on mortality and carcass traits in white veal calves. viruses as well, some of which fall within surveillance programmes reduce costs, by BMC Veterinary Research 9, 79 national eradication programmes, early avoiding supplementary costs for individual PEREYRE, S., TARDY, F., RENAUDIN, H., CAUVIN, warning systems could be beneficial. diagnosis, but especially by preventing E., DEL PRA NETTO MACHADO, L., TRICOT, A., O’Neill and others used deep BENOIT, F., TREILLES, M. & BEBEAR, C. (2013) disease and its financial consequences (in Identification and subtyping of clinically relevant nasopharyngeal swabbing (Fig 1), a people, this applies in particular to work human and ruminant mycoplasmas by use of matrixdiagnostic technique practised in other absenteeism). assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight It is studies, even for respiratory bacteria. The paper by O’Neill and others mass spectrometry. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 51, 3314-3323 a simple and fast technique, causing less (2014), summarised on p 351 of this issue of PERVAIZ, F., PERVAIZ, M., ABDUR REHMAN, N. stress to the animals than bronchoalveolar Veterinary Record, suggests that documenting & SAIF, U. (2012) FluBreaks: early epidemic detection or transtracheal lavage. Furthermore, the the seasonal spread of respiratory viruses from Google flu trends. Journal of Medical Internet Research 14, e125 fact that no specific storage conditions are in cattle can offer interesting perspectives ROBERTS, H. C., ELBERS, A. R., CONRATHS, required when using PCR assays for viral on BRD. A clear seasonal risk period F. J., HOLSTEG, M., HOERETH-BOENTGEN, detection makes this method sufficiently for bovine respiratory syncytial virus D., GETHMANN, J. & VAN SCHALK, G. (2014) flexible for the varying circumstances in (BRSV) and parainfluenza virus type Response to an emerging vector-borne disease: surveillance and preparedness for Schmallenberg practice, which in many countries includes 3 (PI-3), both of which are adapted to virus. Preventive Veterinary Medicine doi: 10.1016/ often long transport times to the laboratory. aerosol transmission, was demonstrated. j.prevetmed.2014.08.020 O’Neill and others also showed that pooling The researchers in this study conducted ROMANOWSKA, M., NOWAK, I., RYBICKA, K. & BRYDAK, L. B. (2008) The introduction of the nasal swabs for PCR testing resulted in PCR tests on nasal swabs submitted to SENTINEL influenza surveillance system in Poland higher detection rates, while reducing the Regional Veterinary Laboratories – experiences and lessons learned from the first three analysis costs. in Ireland by veterinarians active in the epidemic seasons. Euro Surveillance 13, 8046 To date, work on early warning STOCKMARR, A., BØDKER, R. & NIELSEN, L. R., field. Whereas the individual test results (2013) Dynamic changes in antibody levels as an early systems in cattle has only been published are probably solely communicated to the warning of Salmonella Dublin in bovine dairy herds. for zoonotic agents such as Salmonella or submitting veterinarian, the whole of the Journal of Dairy Science 96, 7558-7564 emerging diseases (for example, bluetongue cattle industry might actually benefit from WOOLUMS, A. R., BERGHAUS, R. D., SMITH, D. R., WHITE, B. J., ENGELKEN, T. J., IRSIK, M. B., or Schmallenberg virus) (Stockmarr and these test results. Systematically warning MATLICK, D. K. & others (2013) Producer survey others 2013, Roberts and others 2014). veterinarians and farmers when the first of herd-level risk factors for nursing beef calf respiratory Without minimising the importance of cases of BRSV or PI-3 emerge in a given disease. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 243, 538-547 disease surveillance for these diseases, one region might help them to protect nearby should question whether limiting the animals by vaccination or by improved financial consequences of endemic viruses biosecurity. An optimal early warning by surveillance and early warning systems doi: 10.1136/vr.g5968 system for these respiratory viruses should 350 | Veterinary Record | October 11, 2014
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 21, 2014 - Published by group.bmj.com
Developing an early warning system for bovine respiratory disease Bart Pardon Veterinary Record 2014 175: 349-350
doi: 10.1136/vr.g5968 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/14/349
These include:
References Email alerting service
This article cites 11 articles, 1 of which you can access for free at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/14/349#BIBL Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
Research
Research EDITORIAL
Developing an early warning system for bovine respiratory disease Bart Pardon Despite decades of research, controlling bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains one of the hardest challenges in practice (Fulton and Confer 2012). Although the infectious agents, risk factors and immunological responses involved have been extensively documented, this has not led to a markedly reduced BRD incidence. On the contrary, the continuing trend towards larger herds with a more complex contact structure has only increased the risk for BRD and its financial consequences (Gulliksen and others 2009, Woolums and others 2013). Today, the BRD cost in the North American beef cattle industry alone is reported to be greater than US $500 million annually (Miles 2009). In dairy cattle, BRD significantly influences first lactation survival (Bach 2011), and in the veal industry, which processes the excess male dairy calves, a single episode has been shown to reduce carcase weight by 9 kg on average (Pardon and others 2013). Improved diagnostic techniques for BRD, especially molecular testing (PCR – classic, real time or multiplex), in-situ hybridisation or DNA sequencing methods (MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry), have now become widely available (Fulton and Confer 2012, Pereyre and others 2013). Test development has even outpaced validation
Bart Pardon, DVM, PhD, Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
in the field, especially when it comes to diagnosing group problems (Fulton and Confer 2012). Unfortunately, in most European countries, few practitioners routinely submit samples for laboratory analysis; supplementary costs for the farmer are believed to be the primary reason for this. Therefore, in many cattle production systems worldwide, the focus of veterinary BRD management still lies on medical treatment, rather than implementing preventive measures specific to the pathogens present on that particular farm. Today, most veterinarians are well aware that the public pressure on veterinary antimicrobial use, in the face of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in human bacteria, has become one of the main challenges for food animal producers (European Food Safety Authority [EFSA] and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [ECDC] 2014). Political measures have been taken in several different countries, including benchmarking antimicrobial use at the level of the farm and veterinary practice, and designing formularies for the responsible use of antimicrobials. This trend appears to be most prevalent in the Nordic countries, but less so towards the south of Europe. In the Netherlands and Belgium, formularies state that before a veterinarian can use certain antimicrobials that are critically or highly important for human medicine, they need to confirm that there is antimicrobial resistance to first line antibiotics in pathogens present on the farm. This systematic sampling of BRD outbreaks increases production costs,
October 11, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 349
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 21, 2014 - Published by group.bmj.com
Research does not merit greater especially when PCR tests attention. for the viral component are also implemented. References Reducing antimicrobial BACH, A. (2011) Associations use is only possible by between several aspects of heifer reducing the number of development and dairy cow survivBRD cases. Therefore, ability to second lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 1052-1057 the establishment of EFSA & ECDC (2014)European preventive measures, Union Summary Report on antiin particular control of microbial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from respiratory viruses, is humans, animals and food in 2012. equally important to the EFSA Journal 12, 3590 control of these bacterial FULTON, R. W. & CONFER, A. W. (2012) Laboratory test descripcomponents. tions for bovine respiratory disease Based on the fact diagnosis and their strengths and that disease prevention weaknesses: gold standards for is cheaper in the long diagnosis, do they exist? Canadian Veterinary Journal 53, 754-761 term than treatment, GULLIKSEN, S. M., Jor, surveillance for human E., Lie, K. I., LØKEN, T., influenza virus was AKERSTEDT, J. & Østerås, O. (2009) Respiratory infections in initiated years ago. Norwegian dairy calves. Journal of Nowadays, early warning Dairy Science 92, 5139-5146 FIG 1: Deep nasopharyngeal swabbing is a simple and fast technique that causes systems based on KARA, E. O., ELLIOT, A. J., minimal stress to the animal. For PCR analysis, swabs can be conserved without BAGNALL, H., FOORD, D. G., swabbing patients with flu- using a transport medium, making this sampling procedure acceptable for PNAISER, R., OSMAN, H., like symptoms in sentinel regions located far from the laboratory SMITH, G. E. & OLOWOKURE, practices (Romanowska B. (2012) Absenteeism in schools during the 2009 consist of sentinel practices, evenly spread and others 2008), absenteeism in schools influenza A (H1N1) pandemic: a useful tool for early detection of influenza activity in the community? throughout the country, taking nasal (Kara and others 2012) or even internet data Epidemiology and Infection 140, 1328-1336 swabs in epidemic episodes of BRD and (Google flu trends, Pervaiz and others 2012) MILES, D. G. (2009) Overview of the North American subsequently quickly communicating test are common practice. These initiatives help beef cattle industry and the incidence of bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Animal Health Research Reviews 10, results to the whole of the country. O’Neill individuals, physicians and governments 101-103 and others also show that other viruses to protect themselves by vaccination or O’Neill, R., Mooney, J., Furphy, C. & Graham, such as bovine viral diarrhoea, bovine other preventive measures such as hand D. A. (2014) Patterns of detection of respiratory viruses coronavirus and bovine herpesvirus type disinfection or avoiding crowded places in a in nasal swabs from calves in Ireland: a retrospective study. Veterinary Record doi:10.1136/vr.102574 1 spread all year round. Nevertheless, for timely manner. They also help physicians PARDON, B., HOSTENS, M., DUCHATEAU, L., these viruses there are weeks in which to estimate the likelihood of their symptomDEWULF, J., DE BLEECKER, K. & DEPREZ, P. (2013) more cases are reported; therefore, for these based first line diagnosis. These national Impact of respiratory disease, diarrhea, otitis and arthritis on mortality and carcass traits in white veal calves. viruses as well, some of which fall within surveillance programmes reduce costs, by BMC Veterinary Research 9, 79 national eradication programmes, early avoiding supplementary costs for individual PEREYRE, S., TARDY, F., RENAUDIN, H., CAUVIN, warning systems could be beneficial. diagnosis, but especially by preventing E., DEL PRA NETTO MACHADO, L., TRICOT, A., O’Neill and others used deep BENOIT, F., TREILLES, M. & BEBEAR, C. (2013) disease and its financial consequences (in Identification and subtyping of clinically relevant nasopharyngeal swabbing (Fig 1), a people, this applies in particular to work human and ruminant mycoplasmas by use of matrixdiagnostic technique practised in other absenteeism). assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight It is studies, even for respiratory bacteria. The paper by O’Neill and others mass spectrometry. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 51, 3314-3323 a simple and fast technique, causing less (2014), summarised on p 351 of this issue of PERVAIZ, F., PERVAIZ, M., ABDUR REHMAN, N. stress to the animals than bronchoalveolar Veterinary Record, suggests that documenting & SAIF, U. (2012) FluBreaks: early epidemic detection or transtracheal lavage. Furthermore, the the seasonal spread of respiratory viruses from Google flu trends. Journal of Medical Internet Research 14, e125 fact that no specific storage conditions are in cattle can offer interesting perspectives ROBERTS, H. C., ELBERS, A. R., CONRATHS, required when using PCR assays for viral on BRD. A clear seasonal risk period F. J., HOLSTEG, M., HOERETH-BOENTGEN, detection makes this method sufficiently for bovine respiratory syncytial virus D., GETHMANN, J. & VAN SCHALK, G. (2014) flexible for the varying circumstances in (BRSV) and parainfluenza virus type Response to an emerging vector-borne disease: surveillance and preparedness for Schmallenberg practice, which in many countries includes 3 (PI-3), both of which are adapted to virus. Preventive Veterinary Medicine doi: 10.1016/ often long transport times to the laboratory. aerosol transmission, was demonstrated. j.prevetmed.2014.08.020 O’Neill and others also showed that pooling The researchers in this study conducted ROMANOWSKA, M., NOWAK, I., RYBICKA, K. & BRYDAK, L. B. (2008) The introduction of the nasal swabs for PCR testing resulted in PCR tests on nasal swabs submitted to SENTINEL influenza surveillance system in Poland higher detection rates, while reducing the Regional Veterinary Laboratories – experiences and lessons learned from the first three analysis costs. in Ireland by veterinarians active in the epidemic seasons. Euro Surveillance 13, 8046 To date, work on early warning STOCKMARR, A., BØDKER, R. & NIELSEN, L. R., field. Whereas the individual test results (2013) Dynamic changes in antibody levels as an early systems in cattle has only been published are probably solely communicated to the warning of Salmonella Dublin in bovine dairy herds. for zoonotic agents such as Salmonella or submitting veterinarian, the whole of the Journal of Dairy Science 96, 7558-7564 emerging diseases (for example, bluetongue cattle industry might actually benefit from WOOLUMS, A. R., BERGHAUS, R. D., SMITH, D. R., WHITE, B. J., ENGELKEN, T. J., IRSIK, M. B., or Schmallenberg virus) (Stockmarr and these test results. Systematically warning MATLICK, D. K. & others (2013) Producer survey others 2013, Roberts and others 2014). veterinarians and farmers when the first of herd-level risk factors for nursing beef calf respiratory Without minimising the importance of cases of BRSV or PI-3 emerge in a given disease. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 243, 538-547 disease surveillance for these diseases, one region might help them to protect nearby should question whether limiting the animals by vaccination or by improved financial consequences of endemic viruses biosecurity. An optimal early warning by surveillance and early warning systems doi: 10.1136/vr.g5968 system for these respiratory viruses should 350 | Veterinary Record | October 11, 2014
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 21, 2014 - Published by group.bmj.com
Developing an early warning system for bovine respiratory disease Bart Pardon Veterinary Record 2014 175: 349-350
doi: 10.1136/vr.g5968 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/14/349
These include:
References Email alerting service
This article cites 11 articles, 1 of which you can access for free at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/14/349#BIBL Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
