The tales of contradiction: A thematic analysis of British sheep farmers' perceptions of managing sheep scab in their flocks.

Sheep scab is endemic in Great Britain with an estimated national herd-level prevalence of 10.9% from a surveyed population of sheep farms. Previous studies have investigated how sheep farmers manage sheep scab on their farms in Great Britain, but there have not been any qualitative studies investigating sheep farmers perceptions on the roles different stakeholders have in the management of sheep scab. This qualitative study aims to explore how sheep farmers perceive their role and the different stakeholders' roles in the management of sheep scab, and how they would like sheep scab to be managed going forward. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 43 sheep farmers from England, Scotland, and Wales. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, through the theoretical lens of Foucault's notion of 'biopower'. Two themes were generated: 'The feeling of powerlessness leads to a need of rules and regulations', with sub-themes: 'The need for governmental rules and regulations' and 'The need for rules and regulation at livestock markets', and 'An apparent lack of sheep scab surveillance', with sub-themes: 'The farmers perceive that the veterinarians have control over surveillance' and 'The farmers have control over surveillance on their farms'. In the first theme, the respondents suggested that more rules and regulations to control the management of sheep scab was required. This included reinstating of sheep scab as a notifiable disease in England and Wales, as well as more regulations at livestock markets to prevent the trading of infested sheep; both of which would subject the farmers to regulatory power mechanisms. The second theme centred around who has the control of surveillance on the farms. Most of the respondents perceived that the veterinarians had knowledge and expertise of the local area on sheep scab, which they were able to relay to the farmers. Thus, veterinarians exerted disciplinary power by creating 'docile' bodies. However, it also appeared that veterinarians were not regularly called onto farms. Although disciplinary power flows through the interactions between the farmer and veterinarian, the techniques currently used are not always having their desired effect. The study demonstrated that how sheep farmers want sheep scab to be managed is, at times, conflicting and contradictory, which highlights the complexity of sheep scab as a disease to manage.

Towards a biased mindset: An extended Theory of Planned Behaviour framework to predict farmers' intention to adopt a sustainable mange control approach.

Resistance against macrocyclic lactones is emerging in Psoroptes ovis mites, the cause of psoroptic mange in sheep and cattle. Therefore, sustainable mange control approaches should be implemented to prevent or slow down resistance. To ensure a proper implementation of such approaches, it is crucial to understand the factors that may impede or facilitate adoption of these practices among farmers. A conceptual model that combines insights from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB, Ajzen, 1991) - a theory that predicts human behaviour -, with insights from behavioural economics (Camerer, 2004; Samson, 2016) - a theory that assumes that behavioural biases or reasoning errors are pervasive in decision-making -, was developed to predict farmers' adoption intention. In particular, this paper examines how behavioural economics can influence farmers' beliefs related to sustainable mange control and through which pathways these biased beliefs can predict adoption intention. A cross-sectional survey study amongst 174 Belgian Blue cattle farmers has been conducted and Structural Equation Modelling was used for analyses. In particular, the model shows that farmers' positive attitudes towards a sustainable mange control method (attitude) and their perceptions of how others evaluate the sustainable control methods (subjective norms) more strongly predict adoption intention than perceived behavioural control. Additionally, the model shows that adoption intention is explained by the bandwagon bias -the belief that other farmers have a positive opinion about the control method-, and availability bias - farmers who have the belief that mange occurs often on their farm - through the determinants of TPB. Although this bandwagon bias influences farmers adoption intention, the rather low presence of availability bias might explain why adoption intention of a sustainable mange control method is limited. Next, retaining to the default treatment (default bias) influences farmers' belief that they are capable of implementing control methods on their farm (perceived behavioural control), while the belief that implementing a control method is perceived as a cost for their farm rather than being beneficial (loss aversion bias) negatively influences attitude and perceived behavioural control. We further discuss important implications that can incite farmers' adoption intention.

Hormonal and behavioral changes induced by acute and chronic experimental infestation with Psoroptes cuniculi in the domestic rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus.

BACKGROUND: Parasitic diseases are important in animal production because they cause high economic losses. Affected animals often exhibit stereotypical behavioral alterations such as anorexia and inactivity, among others. Among the diseases that commonly affect domestic rabbits is mange, which is caused by the mite Psoroptes cuniculi. Therefore, within the context of the host-parasite relationship, it is critical to understand the mechanisms involved in the alteration of host behavior, in order to better utilize sick animal behavior as a strategy for diagnosis and treatment of disease. METHODS: Rabbits were infested placing mites in the ear conduct. We characterized changes in exploratory behavior and scent marking evoked by acute (1-9 days) and chronic (25-33 days) experimental infestation. Behavior was recorded during ten minutes while the animals were in a 120 cm × 120 cm open field arena divided into 9 squares. Serum cortisol was measured individually using radioimmunoassay kits. Locomotor activity, chinning, rearing and body weight were compared using a Friedman test, the effect of treatment (infested versus non-infested) across time was analyzed using a repeated measures ANOVA, and the Pearson test was used to determine whether chinning and ambulation scores were significantly correlated. Serum cortisol levels and food consumption were analyzed with a Kruskal-Wallis test and body temperature was analyzed with an ANOVA test. RESULTS: We observed a significant decrease in rearing behavior as early as two days post-infestation, while chinning and locomotor activity were significantly decreased four days post-infestation. Chronic infestation was associated with decreased food intake, significant weight loss, and a trend toward increased serum cortisol levels, while no changes were observed in body temperature. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of visible lesions within the ear canal is commonly used to detect mite infestation in rabbits, but this is possible only after chronic infestation. The behaviors described here may be a useful and economic tool in guiding the early diagnosis of parasitic infestation by P. cuniculi, allowing for early treatment and the application of control measures before significant weight loss occurs, thereby avoiding economic losses.

What's in that package? An evaluation of quality of package honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) shipments in the United States.

To replace deceased colonies or to increase the colony numbers, beekeepers often purchase honey bees, Apis mellifera L., in a package, which is composed of 909-1,364 g (2-3 lb) of worker bees and a mated queen. Packages are typically produced in warm regions of the United States in spring and shipped throughout the United States to replace colonies that perished during winter. Although the package bee industry is effective in replacing colonies lost in winter, packages also can be an effective means of dispersing diseases, parasites, and undesirable stock to beekeepers throughout the United States. To evaluate the quality of packages, we examined 48 packages representing six lines of bees purchased in the spring 2006. We estimated levels of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman and the percentage of drone (male) honey bees received in packages. We surveyed for presence of the tracheal honey bee mite, Acarapis woodi (Rennie), and a microsporidian parasite, Nosema spp., in the shipped bees. We found significant differences in both the mean Varroa mite per bee ratios (0.004-0.054) and the average percentage of drones (0.04-5.1%) in packages from different producers. We found significant differences in the number of Nosema-infected packages (0.0-75.0%) among the six lines. No packages contained detectable levels ofA. woodi. Considering the observed variability among honey bee packages, beekeepers should be aware of the potential for pest and disease infestations and high drone levels in packages.

Case histories of insect- or arachnid-caused human illness.

Insects, arachnids, and other medically important arthropods affect human health directly by bites, stings, and blisters, and indirectly by disease transmission. In this paper, three widely divergent cases of insect- or arachnid-caused human illness are presented--a spider bite, a mosquito-borne disease case, and an imaginary mite problem. Some key references are included for each topic, as well as editorial comment to add perspective.

[Delusions of parasitosis--report of 94 cases].

The present article describes 94 patients (34 male and 60 female) with delusions of parasitosis, admitted to our dermatology clinic between 1978 and 1989. The female to male ratio was to one under the age of 45, and 1:2.1 over 45. The mean age of onset in males was 46.4 years, and in females, 52.8. In nine patients (6 male and 3 female), the delusions began shortly after their retirement, while in seven (1 male and 6 female) after separation from their families. The ratio of the number of patients living alone to that of patients living with their families was one to two, three times higher than that of the general population (1:6). About half of the patients had no skin lesions, while half the rest had excoriations. Three had eczematous lesions caused by the application of insecticides. In 58 patients, the creatures of delusion were mites. Most patients complained of some kind of cutaneous sensations of the skin, such as itching, tickling and prickling, while only two complained of auditory sensations. The color of creatures of delusion was black or white. Folie á deux was observed in 23 groups and affected both sexes.

[Psychiatric and parasitologic aspects of dermatozoon delusion]. / Psychiatrische und parasitologische Aspekte des Dermatozoenwahns.

Patients suffering from delusional parasitosis are not only seen by psychiatrists, but more often by dermatologists and parasitologists. Previous results published by researchers of differing specialities led to somewhat contradictory opinions concerning these patients. The main goals of the present study were, on the one hand, to examine the various and partly controversial hypotheses, which were mostly based on single case observations in a substantial sample of 107 patients with delusional parasitosis and, on the other hand, to investigate possible differences between patients who consulted the parasitologist initially and those who saw the dermatologist first and were subsequently treated by a psychiatrist. Hence, 34 patients treated by one of the authors (M.M.) at a special outpatient clinic for patients with delusional parasitosis of the Second Dermatological University Department, Vienna, have been compared with 73 patients who consulted the other author (E.K.) at the Institute of Parasitology of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna. Some similarities, but also marked differences were found between the two groups: the sex ratio was similar in both groups but they differed with regard to age, social background (size of household) localisation of "parasites" and the mode of "infection". The results demonstrate the necessity of developing differentiated medical care programmes which take into account these differences.

[Dissimulated dermatozoon delusion with severe skin artifacts]. / Dissimulierter Dermatozoenwahn mit schweren Hautartefakten.

A 37-year-old civil servant, who had been treated for 9 years for sycosis simplex, covered up the presence of his dermatozoon delusion, which had probably only developed in the course of time since the original diagnosis had been made. In a single examination performed when he was referred to our clinic, he admitted for the first time that he had been using sharp objects to dig out ingrown beard hair and mites. This practice had caused numerous sclerotic scars and ulcers on the facial skin. In our dermatological practice, this was an unusual finding in a patient with a dermatozoon delusion.

Demodicosis and symbiophobia: status, terminology, and treatments.

All patients are undoubtedly parasitized by hair follicle mites (D. brevis and/or D. folliculorum). Recovery of these may trigger or exacerbate phobias, so they should not be demonstrated on primary presentation. As adjunct treatment for all patients, one can recommend avoidance of long-term topical sterate or corticosteroid preparations, followed by use of daily lavage with soap and water. This is doubly important in sensitive or phobic patients, because ubiquitous demodecids may increase from 'normal' (greater than 5 per pilosebaceous complex) demodiciasis to marked (less than 10 mites) demodicosis. Evidence of phobia should, provisionally, be labelled with the nonperjorative term symbiophobia (herein coined for "fear of association with organisms"), and the causative organisms, if present, treated. Nonremission of phobias, despite counselling and treatment, should be referred to a sensitive, competent, medically trained psychiatrist.