Dental survey of the Falkland Islands' child population.

In November 2013 the first dental epidemiological survey of 5, 12 and 15 year old children was undertaken on The Falkland Islands. The census survey used the ICDAS II system and achieved an overall response rate of 87.4%. To allow international comparisons obvious decay experience is reported. The mean dmft of 5-year-olds was 1.2 teeth, the prevalence of decay experience was 34.6%. The mean DMFT of 12-year-old children was 0.9 teeth, the prevalence of decay experience was 36.7%. The mean DMFT of 15-year-olds was 1.78 teeth, and the prevalence of decay experience was 66.7%. This first dental survey showed that levels of child dental decay in the Falkland Islands are similar to western European countries. The results can now be used as a baseline and benchmark to follow future trends in dental health in this British Overseas Territory.

Quarantine protects Falkland Islands (Malvinas) cats from feline coronavirus infection.

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) causes feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Since 2002, when 20 cats on the Falkland Islands were found to be FCoV seronegative, only seronegative cats could be imported. Between 2005-2007, 95 pet and 10 feral cats tested negative by indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) analysis using two strains of type II FCoV, two transmissible gastroenteritis virus assays, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and rapid immunomigration test. Twenty-four samples (23%) showed non-specific fluorescence, mostly attributable to anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA). The reason for ANA was unclear: reactive samples were negative for Erhlichia canis antibodies; seven were feline immunodeficiency virus positive, but 15 were negative. It was not possible to determine retrospectively whether the cats had autoimmune disease, hyperthyroidism treatment, or recent vaccination which may also cause ANA. The FCoV/ FIP-free status of the Falkland Islands cats should be maintained by FCoV testing incoming cats. However, ANA can complicate interpretation of IFA tests.

Control of cystic echinococcosis/hydatidosis: 1863-2002.

Echinococcosis/hydatidosis, caused by Echinococcus granulosus, is a chronic and debilitating zoonotic larval cestode infection in humans, which is principally transmitted between dogs and domestic livestock, particularly sheep. Human hydatid disease occurs in almost all pastoral communities and rangeland areas of the underdeveloped and developed world. Control programmes against hydatidosis have been implemented in several endemic countries, states, provinces, districts or regions to reduce or eliminate cystic echinococcosis (CE) as a public health problem. This review assesses the impact of 13 of the hydatid control programmes implemented, since the first was introduced in Iceland in 1863. Five island-based control programmes (Iceland, New Zealand, Tasmania, Falklands and Cyprus) resulted, over various intervention periods (from <15 to >50 years), in successful control of transmission as evidenced by major reduction in incidence rates of human CE, and prevalence levels in sheep and dogs. By 2002, two countries, Iceland and New Zealand, and one island-state, Tasmania, had already declared that hydatid disease had been eliminated from their territories. Other hydatid programmes implemented in South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay), in Europe (mid-Wales, Sardinia) and in East Africa (northwest Kenya), showed varying degrees of success, but some were considered as having failed. Reasons for the eventual success of certain hydatid control programmes and the problems encountered in others are analysed and discussed, and recommendations for likely optimal approaches considered. The application of new control tools, including use of a hydatid vaccine, are also considered.

Variations in the parasite fauna of the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides Smitt, 1898), with length, season, and depth of habitat around the Falkland Islands.

The parasite fauna of Dissostichus eleginoides was examined from locations around the Falkland Islands. In total, of 11,362 individual parasites of 27 taxa were recovered from 105 fish. Two species, Ceratomyxa dissostichi and Sphaerospora dissostichi, represent new host records. The nematode Ascarophis nototheniae and the larval acanothocephalan Corynosoma bullosum were found to be new locality records and add to the knowledge of the biogeography and host specificity of parasites on the Patagonian Shelf. There were no significant differences in the mean abundance and prevalence of parasites recovered between sexes. Therefore, sex was not considered in further analysis and the data were pooled. Cysts of unknown etiology (CUE), the monogenean Neopavlovskioides georgianus, the larval acanthocephalan Corynosoma bullosum, and the digenean Neolepidapedon magnatestis had significant positive correlations with increasing host length. The larval Trypanorhynch cestode Grillotia erinaceus and the digenean Elytrophalloides oatesi showed significant negative correlations with increasing host length. CUEs, N. georgianus, the digenean Gonocerca physidis and E. oatesi showed statistically significant prevalence between summer, winter, and spring. The effect of depth on parasite communities was also examined, initially using a linear discriminant function analysis. The prevalence of individual parasites was then compared between depth strata using the chi-square test. The parasite communities on the shelf and deep water (> 1,000 m) were found to be different, whereas those caught at intermediate depths on the shelf slope were found to have parasite communities that were intermediate, containing a mixture of shelf and deeper-water parasites. The causes of the variations in parasite faunas in association with these intrinsic and extrinsic factors are discussed.

Infection of Sphyrion laevigatum (Copepoda: Sphyriidae) on Genypterus blacodes (Pisces: Ophidiidae) from the Falkland Islands, South Atlantic.

The degree of parasitism by the parasitic copepod Sphyrion laevigatum on kingclip Genypterus blacodes in the Falkland Islands was investigated. In a sample of 719 kingclip, ranging in size from 35 to 145 cm total length, the prevalence of infection was 49%. The number of parasites per fish ranged from 0 to 24, with only 2% of the sample having more than 5 parasites. There was a significant increase in mean abundance of parasites with increasing fish age and length (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). In addition, there was a significant difference in the prevalence in 1 of 3 geographical areas for the largest size class.

Cancer incidence in the Falkland Islands.

Cancer incidence in the Falkland Islands, 1989-2000, was compared with rates in England and Wales, from which most Islanders originate. Colon and rectum cancer incidence was significantly raised 1989-93 but greatly reduced after 1994, when colonoscopic screening in high-risk families and sigmoidoscopic screening in the general population were introduced.

Health evaluation of penguins (Sphenisciformes) following mortality in the Falklands (South Atlantic).

In the Falklands, heavy mortality of rock-hopper penguins Eudyptes chrysocome occurred during the 1985-86 breeding season. Starvation was diagnosed as the primary cause of death, possibly caused by a shortage of euphausiid crustaceans (krill) due to unusual meterological conditions. 'Puffinosis' may possibly have been a contributory factor; otherwise no conclusive evidence of infectious disease or toxicosis was found and also no evidence of radioactive contamination. In the 1986-87 breeding season no unusual mortality occurred, but 99 apparently healthy penguins were examined, i.e., rockhoppers Eudyptes chrysocome syn E. crestatus, gentoos Pygoscelis papua and Magellanics Spheniscus magellanicus. Full necropsies were carried out on 54. Tissue examinations were made for cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, lead and zinc. High tissue cadmium concentrations found in healthy birds in 1987 were similar to those in penguins which died in 1986, and therefore not considered to be of pathological significance. Although there has been no repetition of the unusually hot 1985-86 breeding season in the Falklands, penguins and other seabirds have had fluctuating breeding successes since then. The precise cause, including the roles of meteorological conditions and overexploitation of some forms of prey species, is unclear.