It was the objective of the study to estimate the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in bulk tank milk from German dairy herds and to characterize isolates from bulk tank milk with respect to their Staph. aureus protein A (spa) and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type, their phenotypic antimicrobial resistance and resistance-resp. virulence-associated genes using broth microdilution and a microarray for Staph. aureus. Bulk tank milk samples (25 mL) were tested for MRSA using a 2-step selective enrichment protocol. Presumptive MRSA were confirmed by PCR. Thirty-six isolates collected from bulk tank milk of dairy herds in 2009 and 2010 were included in the characterization. All isolates displayed spa-types assigned to the clonal complex CC398. Based on the epidemiological cutoff values for the interpretation of minimum inhibitory concentrations isolates were resistant to tetracycline (100%), clindamycin (58%), erythromycin (52%), quinupristin/ dalfopristin (36%), and kanamycin (27%). Isolates did not carry genes associated with typical virulence factors for Staph. aureus such as the Panton-Valentine leukocidin. However, they did carry hemolysin genes. Livestock-associated MRSA of CC398 does occur in German dairy herds and the strains have similar properties as described for strains from pigs.

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BackgroundAiming for early disease detection and prompt outbreak control, digital technology with a participatory One Health approach was used to create a novel disease surveillance system called Participatory One Health Disease Detection (PODD). PODD is a community-owned surveillance system that collects data from volunteer reporters; identifies disease outbreak automatically; and notifies the local governments (LGs), surrounding villages, and relevant authorities. This system provides a direct and immediate benefit to the communities by empowering them to protect themselves.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the PODD system for the rapid detection and control of disease outbreaks.MethodsThe system was piloted in 74 LGs in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with the participation of 296 volunteer reporters. The volunteers and LGs were key participants in the piloting of the PODD system. Volunteers monitored animal and human diseases, as well as environmental problems, in their communities and reported these events via the PODD mobile phone app. LGs were responsible for outbreak control and provided support to the volunteers. Outcome mapping was used to evaluate the performance of the LGs and volunteers.ResultsLGs were categorized into one of the 3 groups based on performance: A (good), B (fair), and C (poor), with the majority (46%,34/74) categorized into group B. Volunteers were similarly categorized into 4 performance groups (A-D), again with group A showing the best performance, with the majority categorized into groups B and C. After 16 months of implementation, 1029 abnormal events had been reported and confirmed to be true reports. The majority of abnormal reports were sick or dead animals (404/1029, 39.26%), followed by zoonoses and other human diseases (129/1029, 12.54%). Many potentially devastating animal disease outbreaks were detected and successfully controlled, including 26 chicken high mortality outbreaks, 4 cattle disease outbreaks, 3 pig disease outbreaks, and 3 fish disease outbreaks. In all cases, the communities and animal authorities cooperated to apply community contingency plans to control these outbreaks, and community volunteers continued to monitor the abnormal events for 3 weeks after each outbreak was controlled.ConclusionsBy design, PODD initially targeted only animal diseases that potentially could emerge into human pandemics (eg, avian influenza) and then, in response to community needs, expanded to cover human health and environmental health issues.

Understanding molecular epidemiology is essential for the improvement of lumpy skin disease (LSD) eradication and control strategies. The objective of this study was to perform a molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) isolated from dairy cows presenting LSD-like clinical signs in northern Thailand. The skin nodules were collected from 26 LSD-suspected cows involved in six outbreaks during the period from July to September of 2021. LSDVs were confirmed from clinical samples using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR-positive samples were subsequently amplified and sequenced using a G-protein-coupled chemokine receptor (GPCR) gene for molecular characterization and phylogenetic analyses. All 26 samples were positive for LSDV by PCR. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that the 24 LSDV isolates obtained from cattle in northern Thailand were closely related to other LSDV sequences acquired from Asia (China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam). On the other hand, two LSDV isolates of the cows presenting LSD-like clinical signs after vaccination were clustered along with LSDV Neethling-derived vaccines. The outcomes of this research will be beneficial in developing effective control strategies for LSDV.

ABSTRAK Investigasi terhadap kualitas mikrobiologis susu kambing mentah dengan menggunakan angka lempeng total bakteri (ALTB), koliform, Staphylococcus koagulase positif (CPS) dan Staphylococcus koagulase negatif (CNS) sebagai bakteri indikator, telah dilaksanakan. Sepuluh faktor resiko yang berpotensi terkait dengan adanya bakteri indikator tersebut juga telah dievaluasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai median dari jumlah bakteri indikator dalam sampel susu asal ambing dan susu kandang untuk masing-masing bakteri indikator, yaitu ALTB, koliform, CPS, dan CNS adalah 3,74; 0,70; 1,70; dan 2,52 log cfu/ml untuk susu ambing dan 5,69; 2,98; 3,66; dan 3,32 log cfu/ ml untuk susu kandang. Nilai median semua bakteri indikator dari sampel susu ambing tidak ada yang melebihi batas maksimum standar yang berlaku. Namun demikian, untuk sampel susu kandang, hanya jumlah ALTB saja yang memenuhi standar yang ada. Prevalensi total bakteri indikator, yaitu koliform, CPS, dan CNS dalam sampel susu ambing masing-masing adalah 46,3%; 37,7%; dan 66,0%, sedangkan dari sampel susu kandang adalah 86,7%; 76,7%; dan 86,7%. Kambing dari bangsa peranakan Saanen, paritas ke-5 dan ambing yang radang telah terbukti sebagai faktor resiko. Data di atas menunjukkan bahwa praktik higiene yang baik di peternakan masih belum optimal dilaksanakan. Kontaminasi bakteri pada susu dapat dikontrol dengan mengendalikan faktor-faktor resiko yang telah teridentifikasi.