MORE BIRD FLU OUTBREAKS IN FRANCE!!!

FRANCE - Following the detection of three avian influenza outbreaks in Dordogne, three more outbreaks have been confirmed in Landes and Dordogne. The new outbreaks were detected after increased surveillance was put into place across France, including active surveillance of clinical signs of avian influenza in sensitive species. Abnormal mortality levels detected by farmers have also led to systematic sampling. The confirmed outbreaks, which took place in guinea fowl and ducks in Landes and ducks in Dordogne, a press release from the French agriculture ministry said that other outbreaks were suspected. Protection zones, surveillance, biosecurity and stamping out of the disease on the affected farms have been used to try and prevent the virus spreading. The issue of biosecurity with active surveillance is key to curb the spread of the virus and the issue of early reporting when there is a high number of mortality with a short period ,is also very important. story credit; poultry site.

LYME DISEASE.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness . The spirochete, which causes the disease, is transmitted by Ixodes ticks, For a person to develop Lyme disease, he or she must be bitten by an infected tick and the organism is transmitted only if the tick is infected and if the tick feeds long enough for more than 36 hours. The major sign in early localized Lyme disease is the bull’s eye rash: erythema migrans. The rash begins at the tick bite site and expands over days to reach diameters in excess of 5 cm. Generally, the border of the rash is erythematous, with central clearing, although at times the center is erythematous or even purplish. Fever, malaise, aches and pains often accompany the rash. The rash resolves with or without antibiotic therapy. Some patients will develop early disseminated disease in which there are multiple erythema migrans. Cranial nerve palsies, most often the seventh nerve, may occur in this stage. Aseptic meningitis occurs in some patients and can be difficult to distinguish from viral meningitis. However, the onset is generally more insidious than viral meningitis. Carditis occurs in this stage but is rare in children; carditis presents as heart block. Late disease is characterized by arthritis, generally Central nervous system disease and peripheral neuropathy are rare manifestations of late Lyme disease. Prevention relies on avoidance of tick bites or prompt removal of the tick before transmission of the spirochete occurs. Ticks are most common in high grass or weeds. In general, if you can see your shoes, you are not likely to be bitten. This was shown in a study of golfers that correlated likelihood of Lyme disease with time spent in the rough. Tick checks are important so that the tick can be removed promptly. Lyme disease treatment ;Treatment depends upon the stage of the infection. For children aged 8 years and older, doxycycline is given for 2 to 3 weeks; amoxicillin is used in younger children or those who cannot tolerate doxycycline. Parenteral therapy is reserved for patients with persistent arthritis or meningitis; however, many experts would consider repeating an oral course of antibiotics for arthritis and using doxycycline for meningitis. As with many infections, symptoms often persist after completion of an effective antibiotic course. There is no evidence that prolonged antibiotic courses are needed or are helpful. read more here; http://www.healio.com/pediatrics/news/print/infectious-diseases-in-children/%7B77a7f447-979e-4655-9993-fd4dab45e8f0%7D/lyme-disease-staying-on-track

Boost yield and product quality by combining injecting and massaging

THE APPROPRIATE INJECTION PATTERN The GEA YieldJector's dense injection pattern gives more than twice the injection points of a conventional injector, providing the highest number of injection points in its class. This optimizes brine distribution, also under and around the bone. GEA injectors offer this possibility because it features injection heads with individual needles that retract when hitting a bone, further increasing the needle-in-meatratio. Marinating bone-in and skin-on poultry products like wings, drumsticks, thighs, legs and whole or half birds adds flavor and boosts value. Traditionally this is carried out using tumbling only. Not only this is a time-consuming batch process, but it also leads to wet products at the outfeed and unsightly effects like skin slip. Combining injecting and massaging in the GEA Fresh enhanced line overcomes these drawbacks. GEA Food Solutions has a complete solution to increases efficiency, produce a more appetizing looking product and boost yield by up to 4%. Injecting AccuJector with chicken wings on belt Bone-in and skin-on poultry parts present specific challenges for injection. Conventional needles have a tendency to break or deform when they hit bone, whereas larger diameters needles leave visible marks in the skin and damage the bone. To overcome these drawbacks, the poultry parts injection solution incorporates a GEA YieldJector, which has an exceptionally high number of injection points and works with sharp, small diameter GEA OptiFlex needles. appearance and an improvement in processing efficiency. Frying/Cooking/Roasting GEA CookStar_Outfeed with chicken legs Yield is most influenced by weight loss during further processing. The better the brine distribution and the lower the deviation between products, the higher the potential yield and capacity during the frying, cooking and/or roasting processes. Add to this the optimal frying control and oil filtration of the GEA EasyFry and the precisely controlled cooking process of the GEA CookStar and you benefit from the best possible processing efficiency. Read more here;http://www.gea.com/global/en/articles/bone-in-poultry/index.jsp

Researchers seek cure for deadly laminitis hoof disease in horses.

team of ponies has been helping Australian researchers search for the cause and cure for the costly, common and incurable equine disease, laminitis.The disease is the second-biggest killer of horses, a painful and potentially deadly hoof condition that affects thousands of horses a year.The groundbreaking research triggered a joint multi-million-dollar project by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the University of Queensland, Melbourne University and Charles Sturt University in New South Wales.The science has returned positive results and researchers said a preventative treatment could be within reach. The cause of the disease was hotly debated,until 5 years ago when high insulin levels are to blame. Professor Sillence has headed the team that has proved that in most cases, high insulin levels are to blame.He said in horses prone to laminitis, or founder as it is more commonly known, sweet feed was shown to trigger toxic levels of the hormone.The most common form of laminitis that affects ponies and horses that are on rich pasture, is certainly down to excess levels of insulin in the blood - it's like human diabetes," he said. Professor Sillence said genetic predisposition, over-feeding and a lack of exercise also played a part. "The difference is the horses' pancreas never fails and pumps out massive amounts of insulin until it causes this devastating result, which is when the hooves start to come apart from the legs," he said. Case study; Horse owner Errol Maudsley said he always suspected his daughter's pony, Coco, might have been prone to founder because of his round stature.He said they had always managed him accordingly."We lock him up and restrict how much he eats, but after all the rain he caught us out and he actually foundered - it's just access to so much feed," he said. In Coco's case, it was caught early and treated, but Mr Maudsley said management would be ongoing."Forever - now that we know he's prone - we'll have to watch him all the time," he said. read more here;http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-14/researchers-hope-to-find-cure-to-laminitis-disease-in-horses/6471000

THE THREAT OF LYME DISEASE.

Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that in its most serious form can result in chronic fatigue, pain, confusion, depression-like symptoms and memory loss. The number of cases appear to be rising include a growing number of ticks in some weather conditions; more wild mammals that host them; an increase in the number of visitors to areas where they live; and greater awareness leading to more diagnosis. The disease is spreading through the population of ticks and animals are picking it up thus so more and more people are contracting the disease. Britain has recorded a rise this summer , a case scenario; Laura ;One patient who had to wait more than three years for treatment was Laura, who has asked that only her first name be used.In January 2012 she noticed a red bullseye rash on her right shin. The rash is the most distinctive feature of Lyme disease, but Laura was not aware of that. A couple of months later, she said, she began to feel “foggy, confused, forgetful”, and it was “hard to make decisions, hard to think, hard to read, hard – pretty much – to use my brain”.Despite living close to Richmond Park in west London, where Lyme disease is known to exist, Doctors thought the most likely cause was chronic fatigue. Months passed during which Laura gave up her job as a civil servant to focus what energy she had on her two primary school age children.The turning point was when Laura read an article about Lyme disease and recognized a picture of the erythema migrans rash. A blood test came back negative, but this was not decisive: medics test not for the bacterial infection but for the anti-bodies that the body makes to fight it, so patients tested too soon or too late will often not record a positive result. A specialist was “confident” it was Lyme disease, though cautioned it was too late to treat it with antibiotics. Laura pressed for a lumbar puncture, which showed she had an inflamation of the brain - another indicator she possibly had the illness.This summer she was finally given antibiotics, which she said “seemed to help”. She is now working in a local school. story credit; the guardian.

NEWCASTLE OUTBREAK IN ROMANIA.

Romania has reported an outbreak of Newcastle disease for the first time since 2007. Where over 500 birds died in a flock of laying hens in Bucov, Prahova. Another 1070 birds were destroyed to prevent the outbreak from spreading. Romania's report to the World Organisation for Animal health described the affected farm as 'non-commercial, and said the birds were aged seven and a half months. They were vaccinated at 1 and 3 weeks old with a live attenuated vaccine, administered orally. The country has culled all affected birds and has initiated a surveillance to facilitate tracing and tracking of birds and also institute control measures in cases of outbreak. story courtesy; poultry site.

Natural flavoring for reduced sodium meat products

Natural flavoring for reduced sodium meat products