Sophie Roelandt

1 Eenheid Coördinatie van Diergeneeskundige Diagnose, Epidemiologie and Risico Analyse (CDD-ERA), Operatio-nele Directie Interacties en Bewaking, Centrum voor Onderzoek in Diergeneeskunde en Agrochemie (CODA-CER-VA), Brussel, België ; 2 Eenheid Pathologie & Prionologie, Operationele Directie Interacties en Bewaking, Centrum voor Onderzoek in Diergeneeskunde en Agrochemie (CODA-CERVA); 3 Onderzoeks-en Referentielaboratorium voor Vectorziekten, Koningin Astrid Militair Hospitaal, Brussel, België ; 4 Departement voor Moleculair Biomedisch Onderzoek, Vlaams Instituut for Biotechnologie (VIB), Gent, België ; 5 Laboratorium voor Gentherapie, Faculteit Diergeneeskunde, Universeit Ghent, Merelbeke, Belgium ; 6 Department of Virology, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Solna, Sweden; 7 Departement Immunologie, Faculteit Diergeneeskunde, Universeit Gent, Merel-beke, Belgium ; 8 Eenheid Enzoötische en (Her)opduikende Virale Ziekten (ENZOREM), Operationele Directie Virale Ziekten...

A risk assessment was organized during the early EU ASF outbreaks of early 2014 (February-April) and performed in cooperation with 15 Belgian and European experts on ASFV and its epidemiology in pigs/wild boar. African swine fever (ASF) is considered as one of the most dangerous infectious pig diseases, causing many outbreaks. Since the end of 2013 - early 2014, several outbreaks within the European Union (Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Latvia) were reported to OIE, which prompted several risk assessments by (inter)national bodies and scientists. In this study, the open source, semiquantitative Pandora risk assessment tool was used for a quick overall screening of the risk posed by ASF to Belgium early 2014. A set of integrated risk scores was calculated within the Pandora framework. Experts scored the questions and uncertainty levels in the Pandora modules individually, after which the calculations were performed and averaged scores were used within pre-defined risk scales to defin...

Failure of passive transfer is a common problem in calves destined for veal production. At present it is unknown whether the risk for respiratory disease (BRD) or neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) in the veal herd is associated with total immunoglobulin (Ig) and/or on the serostatus for respiratory pathogens measured at arrival. Therefore, the first objective of this prospective longitudinal cohort study was to determine associations between serum protein fractions as determined by routine electrophoresis (total protein, albumin, alpha-1 and -2 globulins, beta-globulins and Ig's) at arrival and BRD and NCD in the first 3 weeks of the production cycle. The second objective was to determine whether the serostatus (seropositive/seronegative) of seven respiratory pathogens (bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), parainfluenzavirus-3, bovine coronavirus (BCV), bovine herpesvirus-1, bovine viral diarrhea virus, Mannheimia haemolytica and Mycoplasma bovis) of these arrival serum samples could be associated with the risk of having BRD. The third objective was to determine which of the electrophoresis proteins and respiratory serostatuses were associated with average daily gain (ADG) in the study period. The study population consisted of 150 rosé veal calves housed in a single air-space. The study period ended at day 18 post arrival, when BRD incidence was judged to be too high to further postpone a group treatment. A Cox regression model was used to determine the effect of the studied protein fractions and antibodies on the time to BRD and NCD occurrence. The effect of the studied predictors on ADG was determined by linear regression. Calves with Ig levels under 7.5g/L had an increased BRD hazard (hazard ratio (HR)=1.9 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2-3.0)). NCD was only positively associated with the alpha-2 globulin concentration. Calves with a negative serostatus for BCV (HR=1.7 (95% CI=1.0-2.8)) or BRSV (HR=2.0 (95% CI=1.0-3.9)) had an increased BRD hazard. Average daily gain (ADG) was 0.242kg/day (SD=0.142) and was not related to the occurrence of BRD or NCD. Calves with Ig's below 7.5g/L and with increased levels of alpha-2 globulins showed a decrease in ADG. This study showed the importance of providing sufficient colostrum to veal calves and the potential benefit of the presence of BCV and BRSV antibodies at arrival to reduce the BRD hazard in the first 3 weeks.

The role of wild birds in the epidemiology and ecology of influenza A viruses has long been recognised (Alexander, 2007a). As a result of the emergence of a H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus and the apparent role of wild birds in its spread across Asia, Europe and Africa, avian influenza (AI) wild bird surveillance has been implemented in many countries including, since February 2006, a mandatory programme in the European Union (CEC, 2006a). In the present study the detection of virus excreted from Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) infected experimentally with A/mallard/England/2126/07 (H3N6) was investigated over a fourteen day period post-infection using cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs, with (wet) and without (dry) viral transport medium which were collected from each duck in alternating order. For influenza A virus matrix gene RNA detection, wet oropharyngeal swabs were significantly more sensitive than dry oropharyngeal on days 4-5 after infection. For cloacal samples, dry swabs were equivalent or superior to wet swabs throughout the study. Although differences in detection between dry and wet swabs were observed, the qualitative bird-level results were unaffected, meaning that the infection status of individual birds was correctly determined.

... Wildtool, a flexible, first-line risk assessment system for wildlife-borne pathogens Paul Tavernier & Jeroen Dewulf & Sophie Roelandt & Stefan Roels ... 2005; Lamotte 2006; Libois 2006; Peeters 2007; Vlaamse Avifauna Comissie 1989; Verkem et al. 2003; Vermeersch et al. ...