A comparison of risk assessments on Campylobacter in broiler meat.

In recent years, several quantitative risk assessments for Campylobacter in broiler meat have been developed to support risk managers in controlling this pathogen. The models encompass some or all of the consecutive stages in the broiler meat production chain: primary production, industrial processing, consumer food preparation, and the dose-response relationship. The modelling approaches vary between the models, and this has supported the progress of risk assessment as a research discipline. The risk assessments are not only used to assess the human incidence of campylobacteriosis due to contaminated broiler meat, but more importantly for analyses of the effects of control measures at different stages in the broiler meat production chain. This review paper provides a comparative overview of models developed in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, and aims to identify differences and similarities of these existing models. Risk assessments developed for FAO/WHO and in New Zealand are also briefly discussed. Although the dynamics of the existing models may differ substantially, there are some similar conclusions shared between all models. The continuous introduction of Campylobacter in flocks implies that monitoring for Campylobacter at the farm up to one week before slaughter may result in flocks that are falsely tested negative: once Campylobacter is established at the farm, the within-flock prevalence increases dramatically within a week. Consequently, at the point of slaughter, the prevalence is most likely to be either very low (<5%) or very high (>95%). In evaluating control strategies, all models find a negligible effect of logistic slaughter, the separate processing of positive and negative flocks. Also, all risk assessments conclude that the most effective intervention measures aim at reducing the Campylobacter concentration, rather than reducing the prevalence. During the stage where the consumer handles the food, cross-contamination is generally considered to be more relevant than undercooking. An important finding, shared by all, is that the tails of the distributions describing the variability in Campylobacter concentrations between meat products and meals determine the risks, not the mean values of those distributions. Although a unified model for risk assessment of Campylobacter in the broiler meat production would be desirable in order to promote a European harmonized approach, it is neither feasible nor desirable to merge the different models into one generic risk assessment model. The purpose of such a generic model has yet to be defined at a European level and the large variety in practices between countries, especially related to consumer food preparation and consumption, complicates a unified approach.

Inmunidad al virus de la enfermedad de Newcastle en las aves de corral por vacunación / Herd immunity to Newcastle disease virus in poultry by vaccination

La enfermedad de Newcastle es una enfermedad de importancia económica de las aves de corral y la vacunación constituye una importante medida preventiva en muchos países. Sin embargo, se han notificado brotes en las poblaciones vacunadas. Esto sugiere que o bien el nivel de cobertura de vacunación es muy bajo o que la vacunación no proporciona inmunidad perfecta, permitiendo que el virus se propague en las poblaciones vacunadas parcialmente.En este artículo se estudian los requisitos de un programa de vacunación epidemiológicamente eficaz contra la enfermedad de Newcastle en las aves de corral, sobre la base de datos de estudios experimentales de transmisión. Los estudios de transmisión indican que las aves vacunadas con bajos o indetectables títulos de anticuerpos podrían no estar protegidas contra las enfermedades y la mortalidad, por lo tanto la infección y la transmisión puede ocurrir. De hecho, nuestros análisis cuantitativos muestran que el virus de la enfermedad de Newcastle es altamente transmisible de las aves de corral con bajo títulos de anticuerpos.Como consecuencia de ello, la inmunidad sólo puede lograrse si una proporción elevada de aves (mayor que 85 por ciento) tienen una alta valoración de anticuerpos (log2 título de inhibición de la hemaglutinación mayor o igual que 3) después de la vacunación. Se discuten las implicaciones para el control de la enfermedad de Newcastle en las aves de corral por la vacunación.

Herd immunity to Newcastle disease virus in poultry by vaccination.

Newcastle disease is an economically important disease of poultry for which vaccination is applied as a preventive measure in many countries. Nevertheless, outbreaks have been reported in vaccinated populations. This suggests that either the vaccination coverage level is too low or that vaccination does not provide perfect immunity, allowing the virus to spread in partially vaccinated populations. Here we study the requirements of an epidemiologically effective vaccination program against Newcastle disease in poultry, based on data from experimental transmission studies. The transmission studies indicate that vaccinated birds with low or undetectable antibody titres may be protected against disease and mortality but that infection and transmission may still occur. In fact, our quantitative analyses show that Newcastle disease virus is highly transmissible in poultry with low antibody titres. As a consequence, herd immunity can only be achieved if a high proportion of birds (>85%) have a high antibody titre (log(2) haemagglutination inhibition titre > or =3) after vaccination. We discuss the implications for the control of Newcastle disease in poultry by vaccination.