Nontyphoidal salmonellae in United Kingdom badgers: prevalence and spatial distribution

Eighteen (72%) of 25 badger social groups were found to excrete Salmonella enterica serovar Ried, S. enterica serovar Binza, S. enterica serovar Agama, or S. enterica serovar Lomita. Each serovar was susceptible to a panel of antimicrobials. Based on results of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, the S. enterica serovar Agama and S. enterica serovar Binza isolates were very similar, but two clones each of S. enterica serovar Lomita and S. enterica serovar Ried were found. Badgers excreting S. enterica serovar Agama were spatially clustered.     

Relationship between Antibody Susceptibility and Lipopolysaccharide O-Antigen Characteristics of Invasive and Gastrointestinal Nontyphoidal Salmonellae Isolates from Kenya

BackgroundNontyphoidal Salmonellae (NTS) cause a large burden of invasive and gastrointestinal disease among young children in sub-Saharan Africa. No vaccine is currently available. Previous reports indicate the importance of the O-antigen of Salmonella lipopolysaccharide for virulence and resistance to antibody-mediated killing. We hypothesised that isolates with more O-antigen have increased resistance to antibody-mediated killing and are more likely to be invasive than gastrointestinal.Conclusion/SignificanceKenyan S. Typhimurium and Enteritidis clinical isolates are susceptible to antibody-mediated killing, with degree of susceptibility varying with level of O-antigen for S. Typhimurium. This supports the development of an antibody-inducing vaccine against NTS for Africa. No clear differences were found in the phenotype of isolates from blood and stool, suggesting that the same isolates can cause invasive disease and gastroenteritis. Genome studies are required to understand whether invasive and gastrointestinal isolates differ at the genotypic level.     

Prevalence of indigenous viruses in laboratory animal colonies in the United Kingdom 1978-1979

Compared with the results of the previous serological survey of 1976-1977, it can be seen that mouse hepatitis virus is still prevalent in the mouse colonies and that corona viruses of rats are also common. The prevalence of Sendai virus has increased considerably. However, the prevalence of Reo 3 virus appeared to have decreased, although this may be the results of the different test used.     

Malaria in the United Kingdom

Over the past decade the United Kingdom had the second highest number of cases of imported malaria among European countries. There has been a substantial rise in recorded cases of malaria during the past three years though some of it may be due to improved notification. Fatal cases of malaria in visitors to Africa have averaged 6.5% of reported infections due to Plasmodium falciparum. Attacks of vivax malaria may occur several months after travellers return from a malarious country.     

Prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in Raccoon Dogs and Badgers in Miyazaki Prefecture,Japan

EcoHealth - A total of 55 samples of intestinal contents from 28 raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and 27 badgers (Males anakuma) in Miyazaki prefecture, Japan, were examined for the presence...     

Imported Malaria in the United Kingdom

Over 2,000 cases of imported malaria have been confirmed by blood examination. Ninety percent. of cases from tropical Africa were infected with P. falciparum. Most of the patients were Caucasians and had primary infections. All developed fever within a month after arrival and most of them within two weeks of arrival. In some patients malaria parasites were seen in routine blood films.Developing forms of P. falciparum were always present in the peripheral blood of patients suffering from a primary attack which was not diagnosed or treated until a week or more after the onset of fever.All deaths investigated were caused by P. falciparum and were primary infections.In not one of the P. falciparum infections did the victim continue taking prophylactic drugs for more than a few days after leaving the endemic area. Had drugs been continued for one month probably not a single overt case of P. falciparum would have occurred.A primary attack of P. falciparum malaria is seldom, if ever, classical in that the fever is never tertian and may resemble clinically many other diseases.Children in boarding-schools returning from the tropics should be supplied with prophylactic tablets and instructions to the matron. If there is an epidemic of a fever any students who have recently returned from the tropics should have a blood film examined for malaria.The risk of contracting malaria among drug addicts is considerable, especially with P. falciparum.     

Geochemistry and health in the United Kingdom.

Before the 1960s, comparisons between the distribution of trace elements in the environment and health in the United Kingdom were primarily confined to ad hoc studies in areas associated with particular agricultural disorders or with unusual human mortality or morbidity records. More recently, increasing interest in the importance of trace elements in crop and animal production and in the hazards of environmental pollution have created a need for more systematic geochemical data. Geochemical reconnaissance maps for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland have demonstrated the extent of many known clinical trace element problems in agriculture and have also been valuable in delineating areas within which subclinical disorders may occur. Their application to studies on the composition of soils, food crops and surface waters in relation to public health has proved encouraging. Current knowledge and present investigations into environmental geochemistry and human health in the U.K. are reviewed, together with future research requirements.     

Science and society: art and science collaborations in the United Kingdom

In this Perspective article, I consider ways in which the contemporary arts and sciences can interact with each other, and I outline the current opportunities for funding in the United Kingdom. I examine the view that, in an art-science collaboration, it is the artist who benefits most, and I cautiously suggest that this is an oversimplification. Evidence from interviews with scientists who have been involved in these collaborations shows that artistic experience and skills are of value in the scientific research process.