Analysis of Information for Backyard Flock Owners Provided by Extension Websites.

Early recognition and prevention of infectious diseases in poultry flocks are essential to reduce spread from bird to bird, to prevent zoonoses, and to keep losses low. Backyard flock owners often have little knowledge about poultry health, and specialized veterinarians are difficult to find. Alternative sources for support, education, and training for noncommercial poultry are the websites of cooperative extension services offering online webinars, presentations, and programs about poultry health and diseases. The aim of this investigation was to survey 23 websites of the extension services of the top 13 states in poultry production for information on backyard poultry health. The eXtension website by the United States Cooperative Extension System was added as a nation-wide source of information. Structure, content, and presentation form were compared and analyzed. The results displayed large differences between the investigated webpages and identified opportunities for improving the sites, especially in completeness, accessibility, and presentation of the information. From 23 extension websites, 13 provided none to very limited online information and 5 websites covered almost all of the investigated content. The primary media used were articles with pictures, and only three universities added videos and webinars. Based on these results and according to the increased need for online sources about poultry health, the extension websites should provide complete and correct information or at least links to approved sources. Videos, podcasts, and webinars can increase outreach and learning achievement. This survey may help to improve the presentation and content of poultry health-related extension websites.

Análisis de la información disponible para propietarios de parvadas de traspatio proporcionada por páginas de extensión en la red internet. El reconocimiento temprano y la prevención de enfermedades infecciosas en las parvadas avícolas son esenciales para reducir su propagación entre aves, para prevenir las zoonosis y para mantener posibles pérdidas bajo control. Los propietarios de parvadas de traspatio a menudo tienen poco conocimiento sobre salud avícola y es difícil encontrar veterinarios especializados. Las fuentes alternativas de apoyo, educación y capacitación para aves de corral no comerciales son las páginas en la red internet preparadas por los servicios de extensión cooperativa que ofrecen seminarios en línea, presentaciones y programas sobre salud y enfermedades de las aves de corral. El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar 23 páginas en la red internet de los servicios de extensión de los 13 estados principales en producción avícola para obtener información sobre la salud de las aves de corral de traspatio. La página de internet eXtension del Sistema de Extensión Cooperativa de los Estados Unidos se agregó como fuente de información a nivel nacional. Se compararon y analizaron la estructura, el contenido y la forma de presentación. Los resultados mostraron grandes diferencias entre las páginas de internet investigadas y se identificaron oportunidades para mejorar los sitios, especialmente en cuanto a la profundidad, accesibilidad y presentación de la información. De 23 páginas de extensión en la internet, 13 proporcionaron ninguna o muy poca información en línea y cinco páginas cubrieron casi la totalidad del contenido investigado. Los medios principales utilizados fueron artículos con imágenes y solo tres universidades agregaron videos y seminarios en línea. Con base en estos resultados y de acuerdo con la creciente necesidad de fuentes en línea sobre salud aviar, las páginas de extensión en la internet deben proporcionar información completa y verídica o al menos enlaces con fuentes aprobadas. Los videos, cápsulas informativas en línea también denominadas "podcasts" y seminarios en línea pueden aumentar el alcance y los logros de aprendizaje. Esta encuesta puede ayudar a mejorar la presentación y el contenido de las páginas de extensión en la internet que están relacionadas con la salud avícola.

GRACE under fire.

On May 1, 2016, a wildfire broke out south of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Although fires aren't uncommon at this time of year in northern Alberta, a dry winter followed by an even drier spring had turned the countryside around the city into tinder. By May 3, whipped on by high winds and 32° heat, the wildfire grew out of control, forcing a mandatory evacuation of almost 90,000 people in the city and surrounding communities. It also necessitated an emergency evacuation of the patients at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre, where registered nurse JoAnn Cluney was on shift in the emergency department.

Call to ARMS: recent measles outbreak reminds us of the importance of immunizations.

As health advisories go, the one this past summer released by the Public Health Agency of Canada went by largely unnoticed. Issued in July, the advisory alerted Canadians to the identification of nearly 30 cases of measles across six different provinces-including Alberta. Most of those cases were travel related, and involved travelers bringing measles back with them to Canada. A few small news articles followed, but by August most people had forgotten all about it. Except for experts and epidemiologists, who recognize that outbreaks like these should remind everyone that measles is not only poised for a resurgence, but already gaining headway in some parts of the world. And that's exactly why RNs and NPs should be encouraging more people to take vaccinations seriously.

Hand bone densitometry: a more sensitive standard for the assessment of early bone damage in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of hand dual-energy x ray absorptiometry (DEXA) compared with radiography in the assessment of bone involvement in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have active disease. METHODS: The study population (n = 79) had RA of <12 months' duration and were selected for poor prognostic features. Clinical data and bone mineral density (BMD) data were collected at baseline, 24 and 48 weeks. Hand radiographs were performed at baseline and 48 weeks. Bone damage analyses were performed for the group and individuals using the smallest detectable change (SDC) method. RESULTS: At baseline, mean disease duration was 8.5 months, erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 34.3 mm/hour, C-reactive protein was 40.2 mg/l, Health Assessment Questionnaire score was 1.35 and 81% of patients were positive for rheumatoid factor. Mean (95% CI) hand BMD loss was 2.5% (-3.5 to -1.5) at 24 weeks and 2.6% (-3.8 to -1.5) at 48 weeks. Individual hand bone loss exceeding the SDC was seen in 46.8% at 24 weeks and in 58.2% at 48 weeks. In the subgroup of 58 patients who had undergone radiography, radiographic joint damage score evaluated by the Sharp-van der Heijde method increased from 4.8 to 10.6 (p = 0.001). Individual hand bone loss in this subgroup exceeding the SDC was seen in 50.0% at 24 weeks and in 56.9% at 48 weeks, whereas at 48 weeks only 22.4% had deteriorated in modified Sharp score. CONCLUSION: The study results indicate that hand DEXA is a more sensitive tool than radiology (radiographic joint-damage scores), for measuring disease-related bone damage in early RA.