First report on outbreaks of contagious ovine digital dermatitis in Sweden

Background Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is considered widespread in the United Kingdom but was only recently reported in mainland Europe, as one outbreak in Germany. The disease can cause severe lameness in sheep and, if left untreated, can lead to total avulsion of the hoof capsule. CODD is considered to have multifactorial and polymicrobial aetiology, in which Treponema medium/Treponema vincentii phylogroup, Treponema phagedenis phylogroup and Treponema pedis are believed to play a significant role. Footrot and CODD have a close connection and footrot is considered an important risk factor for CODD. Case Lameness, mainly in lambs aged 1.5 months, was reported on a farm in Sweden in spring 2018. The animals showed no signs of footrot and the causative agent, Dichelobacter nodosus, was not found. CODD was suspected but not confirmed, and the clinical signs subsided when the animals were turned out to pasture. In February 2019, young lambs and ewes were lame again and this time CODD was diagnosed. After treatment, the whole flock was slaughtered later in 2019 due to CODD. In autumn 2020, CODD was diagnosed on another Swedish farm, this time as part of a mixed infection with D. nodosus. The animals were treated with footbaths in zinc sulphate 10% by the farmer, but lameness recurred soon afterwards. The animals were treated, but ultimately the whole flock was slaughtered. No connection was found between the two farms. Conclusion The first two outbreaks of CODD in Sweden have been diagnosed and are described in this case report. If it spreads, CODD could have a negative impact on the Swedish sheep industry in terms of animal welfare, production and antibiotic use.

Could Naturally Occurring Coronaviral Diseases in Animals Serve as Models for COVID-19? A Review Focusing on the Bovine Model

The current pandemic of COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of basic studies on coronaviruses (CoVs) in general, and severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in particular. CoVs have for long been studied in veterinary medicine, due to their impact on animal health and welfare, production, and economy. Several animal models using coronaviral disease in the natural host have been suggested. In this review, different animal models are discussed, with the main focus on bovine CoV (BCoV). BCoV is endemic in the cattle population worldwide and has been known and studied for several decades. SARS-CoV-2 and BCoV are both betacoronaviruses, where BCoV is highly similar to human coronavirus (HCoV) OC43, encompassing the same virus species (Betacoronavirus 1). BCoV causes respiratory and gastrointestinal disease in young and adult cattle. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the similarities and dissimilarities between BCoV and SARS-CoV-2, as well as discussing the usage of BCoV as a model for human CoVs, including SARS-CoV-2.

PSV-13 Incidence of infectious and non-infectious feet lesions and their association with carcass quality in sheep at a slaughter plant in Alberta

Infectious and non-infectious feet lesions (FL) in livestock have been associated with reduced welfare, production, carcass and meat quality. Currently, the incidence of FL in sheep and its relationship with carcass quality has not been documented in Canada. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) the incidence and type of lesions in Alberta sheep at slaughter and 2) the relationship between FL and carcass quality. A total of 4,487 sheep carcasses were assessed for FL at a slaughter plant in Alberta, Canada between October 2017 and March 2019. Approximately 300 sheep were evaluated monthly by two experienced observers who recorded common infectious (IN) and non-infectious (NIN) lesions. In addition, carcass information including hot carcass weight (HCW), and back fat thickness (BFT) were obtained from the slaughter plant records. Data were analyzed by multivariable regression models using SAS PROC GLIMMIX. Overall, FL incidence was 9.4% (7.0% having one lesion and 2.4% having more than one lesion). Infectious lesions accounted for 45.7% of all lesions [footrot (37.1%), interdigital dermatitis (7.3%), and contagious ecthyma (1.3%)], while NIN lesions accounted for 54.3% [overgrown horn (21.9%), injury (13.6%), laminitis (10.2%), and other lesions (8.6%)]. Sheep with IN had lower BFT (13.5 ± 1.32 cm, P = 0.0002) and HCW (51.5 ± 1.89 kg, P = 0.0189) than NIN (15.8 ± 1.51 cm and 54.7 ± 1.97 kg, respectively). For every 1 cm decrease in BFT and 1 kg decrease in HCW the odds of IN increased by 0.89 (P < 0.0001) and 0.98 (P = 0.0229), respectively. Based on our findings, foot lesions are a significant issue for the Canadian sheep industry and infectious lesions may have greater detrimental effect on carcass quality than non-infectious lesions. Further studies are necessary to understand the relationship of carcass quality and feet lesion.

Local Governance and Public Wellbeing

Well-being is a core concept for measuring the satisfaction of citizens with and in their social, political and economic situations. In particular, it is local conditions that are decisive for such an evaluation—and thus also for local welfare production. In addition to municipalities as state authorities, initiatives, non-commercial organisations, associations and federations are also decisive as important welfare producers. From a comparative perspective, the contributions in this volume shed light on various aspects and dimensions of local welfare production and their effects on citizens’ satisfaction. They examine examples from Russia and Germany, in particular the two cities Petrozavodsk and Tübingen as well as the Republic of Karelia and Baden-Württemberg: the theoretical foundations and social challenges, their attitudes and populations, participatory projects and measures of welfare production. With contributions by Daniel Buhr, Elena Chernenkova, Ksenija Chumak, Elizaveta Dibtceva, Kirill Fitisov, Rolf Frankenberger, Christopher Gohl, Stewart Gold, Polina Kopteva, Alisa Kruglova, Natalja Lavrushina, Irina Miljukova, Yuliya Petrovskaya, Maria Pitukhina, Denis Sachuk, Anni Schlumberger, Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, Ekaterina Shestakova, Ekaterina Shlapeko, Anna Simakova, Isabel Sinner, Irina Stepus, Carmen Thamm, Anatoly Tsygankov

Sozialpolitik für die Soziale Arbeit

This volume provides an introduction to social policy and the system of social protection in Germany, focusing in particular on social work as a part of social policy. It explains the fundamental societal mechanisms of redistribution and social security, discusses welfare state theories and presents the development of German social policy. It focuses on providing a detailed description of the structure of the German welfare state, discussing both the different welfare state pillars (social insurance, social compensation, social assistance and social support) as well as the various levels of sociopolitical institutions. It also hones in on recent social policy developments (the transformation of welfare production) in terms of their respective significance for social work as a discipline and a profession.

Citrus and Winery Wastes: Promising Dietary Supplements for Sustainable Ruminant Animal Nutrition, Health, Production, and Meat Quality

Citrus and grapes are the most widely grown fruits globally, with one-third of total production used for juice and wine making. The juice and winemaking processes generate large quantities of solid organic wastes including citrus pulp and grape pomace. These fruit wastes pose serious economic, environmental, and social challenges, especially in low-to-middle-income countries due to financial, technological, and infrastructural limitations. They are, however, rich in valuable compounds which can be utilized in the ruminant livestock industry as novel, economical, and natural sources of cellulose, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and phytochemicals, which have nutritional, anthelmintic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. Despite citrus and grape fruit wastes having such potential, they remain underexploited by the livestock industry in low-to-middle-income countries owing to lack of finance, skills, technology, and infrastructure. Inclusion of these fruit wastes in ruminant diets could combine the desirable effects of enhancing animal nutrition, health, welfare, production, and meat quality attributes with the prevention of challenges associated with their disposal into the environment. The current review explores the valorization potential of citrus and winery wastes as dietary supplements to sustainably enhance ruminant animal nutrition, health, welfare, production, and meat quality.