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Following the 2011 1st International Conference on One Health in Australia, there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm to develop further the one health concepts and to operationalize activities. In reality this has not materialized into significant tangible outcomes although these are still of considerable interest to adopt as one health approach(s) when appropriate. The best example in Australia has probably been the response to Hendra outbreaks in horses and humans.

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Three new cities in Mexico have banned bullfighting and pledged their support to WSPA’s Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW).

Fortín de las Flores, Xalapa and Boca del Río joined the city of Teocelo, all within the State of Veracruz, to say NO to the cruel practice of bullfighting.

Marcela Vargas, Programme Manager for WSPA Mesoamerica and the Caribbean said: “These cities are way ahead in achieving an animal-friendly culture in Mexico and WSPA would like to congratulate them on signing up and taking a stand.”

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Massey University’s EpiCentre and mEpiLab have been made a collaborating centre for veterinary epidemiology and public health by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

The announcement was made at the recent OIE Assembly in Paris. Collaborating centres provide scientific expertise and excellence in specific designated fields of competence. They are consulted by the OIE, when and as required, to provide specialised input, advice or opinion.

The EpiCentre is the largest veterinary epidemiology training and research centre in Australasia. It offers expertise in the understanding and control of disease in animal populations, the transmission of disease from animals to humans, and hazards in food of animal origin.

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Comment
Communicating on bovine TB

Research
What are the bacteria in the lower airways of athletic horses telling us?
Kristopher Hughes

Postcastration analgesia in ponies using buprenorphine hydrochloride
E. J. Love, P. M. Taylor, H. R. Whay, J. Murrell

Evaluation of the hormones responsible for the gastrointestinal motility in cattle with displacement of the abomasum; ghrelin, motilin and gastrin
A. S. Ozturk, M. Guzel, T. K. Askar, I. Aytekin

Paralysis in pigs with spinal cord injury due to porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) infection
P. Zlotowski, S. P. Pavarini, M. B. Bandinelli, I. M. Langohr, D. Driemeier

A longitudinal study of respiratory infections in British National Hunt racehorses
J. M. Cardwell, K. C. Smith, J. L. N. Wood, J. R. Newton

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Researchers have discovered a protein that appears to be necessary for the itch response — at least in mice. Once thought to be a low-level form of pain, itch is instead a distinct sensation with a dedicated neural circuit linking cells in the periphery of the body to the brain, a study in mice suggests.

Neuroscientists Mark Hoon and Santosh Mishra of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in Bethesda, Maryland, searched for the molecule that encodes the sensation of itch by screening genes in sensory neurons that are activated by touch, heat, pain and itch. They found that one particular protein, called natriuretic polypeptide b, or Nppb, was expressed in only a subset of these neurons.

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Watch this 15-minute filmed presentation on ILRI’s new long-term strategy.

Shirley Tarawali, director of institutional planning and partnerships at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), describes ILRI’s new and recently launched long-term strategy.

‘We recently finalized a strategy for the coming ten years. The institute’s previous ten-year strategy finished in 2010 and we’ve had a lot of changes. We’ve become a member of the CGIAR Consortium. We’ve had a new director general. And the challenges facing agriculture and livestock in particular have become huge. We needed to consolidate and refocus our efforts for the coming ten years.

‘The strategy is called Livestock research for food security and poverty reduction. ILRI’s previous strategy was very much focused on poverty reduction, so we’ve expanded our mandate.

‘For much of 2012, we’ve been working on bringing together stakeholders, inside the institute, those who we work with, and those who don’t know us so well, in order to consult face-to-face and online to get inputs on where we should focus, where our priorities should be.

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Malaria parasites infecting human red blood cells send packets of information between cells to coordinate group activity, HHMI senior international research scholar Alan Cowman has discovered. When the parasites are under stress--such as when they’re exposed to antimalarial drugs--the communication increases the parasites’ ability to develop into a new stage of their life cycle.

Blocking the chatter could be a novel way to combat malaria infections and stop the spread of the disease, says Cowman, whose lab is at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia.

The new research was published online May 15, 2013, in the journal Cell.
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By Marcia Wood
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Giving premature babies small doses of a bile acid might help the newborns avoid a liver disease, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) physiologist Douglas G. Burrin and his colleagues.

In a preliminary study with newborn piglets as the animal model, Burrin and his co-investigators showed that the bile acid CDCA (chenodeoxycholic acid) helped combat parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD), a liver condition that sometimes occurs in preemies nourished exclusively through intravenous feeding.

Known as total parenteral nutrition, or TPN, this feeding regimen can save lives but, if administered for longer than two weeks, may lead to complications such as PNALD.

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Commenting on reports that Science Minister David Willetts will use the G8 Science Meeting of science ministers to raise the issue of antimicrobial resistance, Peter Jones, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said:

"We are very pleased to see that the UK is using the G8 Summit to raise awareness of such an important global problem.

"We know that veterinary use of antimicrobials is well regulated in the UK and Europe but this is not necessarily the case across the globe. Action being taken in Europe is important but it is just a drop in the ocean and so we must promote the responsible use of antimicrobials internationally.

"Irresponsible use of antimicrobials in both humans and animals can lead to resistance and ultimately to these vital medicines becoming ineffective. We hope David Willetts will be able to draw on the positive measures taken in the UK and Europe to encourage other nations to take appropriate action."

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The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has strongly welcomed the latest move by the Welsh Government to introduce new dog breeding legislation to enhance animal welfare and tackle puppy farming.

Commenting, BVA President Peter Jones said:

“We are delighted that the Welsh Government has put dog welfare back at the top of the agenda and is pushing ahead with plans to tighten the regulations regarding the breeding of puppies.

“Vets are often faced with the terrible consequences of puppy farms and bad breeders, which can lead to suffering for both the animals and their owners. We welcome this latest move to drive forward legislative change to tackle the abhorrent practice of puppy farming and hope effective measures will make a real difference to the health and welfare of man’s best friend.

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