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Escherichia coli 0157 in farm animals
Preventive Veterinary Medicine 49 (2001) 135±138
Book reviews Escherichia coli 0157 in farm animals C.S. Stewart, H.J. Flint (Eds.); CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK, ISBN 0-85199-322-X This volume is only a book in the sense of its physical identity, it really contains the papers of a workshop on E. coli 0157 in farm animals held at the Rowett Research Institute in Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland. In addition to the papers underlying the presentations at this workshop, the volume is completed with two reviews on human infections that were associated with exposure to farm animals, and a review on infection control options. The volume contains 13 chapters on E. coli 0157 ranging from genetics and molecular epidemiology, ecology of E. coli 0157 in the rumen, the disease it produces in cattle, its shedding patterns in ruminants, the infection characteristics in cows and calves, the zoonotic aspects of the microorganism, the options for control, and finally in the last chapter a set of recommendations on future actions and research (the so-called `Pennington group recommendations'). The material is very readable for an epidemiologist, and a number of the chapters have been written by individuals with advanced epidemiological training. Throughout the chapters a series of case studies is described in detail, and this makes for dramatic but very powerful reading. These case studies in themselves are a great resource for any educator in the field of food science or infectious disease outbreaks. The chapter contains a wealth of information, and a number of the authors have specifically done an excellent job in providing an excellent overview of the literature. The elaborate reference lists together with an index make this book a good starting point for finding information on this relative new zoonotic disease in farm animals. Of course, the volume has all the characteristics of a set of papers, in contrast to a single author review of the material. Several papers discuss the same material, and in some situations conflicting conclusions arise from different interpretations of the same body of information. Notably, the feeding of roughage being hailed in one chapter as a likely method to reduce shedding, and being criticized as too early a conclusion in another. In one of the chapters, the first appearance of E. coli 0157 in 1982 was documented as a first case `coming out of the blue' and this was cited as a clear indication of a newly developed genetic mix of E. coli and genes encoding verotoxin from a different microorganism. In another of the chapters, evidence was provided that the E. coli 0157 had been present in the animal population for at least 30 years before that, and probably longer (and this was recently confirmed in a phylo-genetic study published as a letter to Nature). These are characteristics of proceedings of any meeting of specialists in a given field of study, and do not detract from the overall use of the book. It is clear that this is not a consensus piece of work, but the reflection of thought processes of the leading researchers in this area. 0167-5877/01/$ ± see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
136
Book reviews
All authors agree on many of the issues surrounding E. coli 0157; it is clearly a zoonotic disease with sources in most farm animals. Sheep have not been implicated in outbreaks of the disease in humans, but experiments do show their ability to harbor and shed the microorganism. Several chapters go into the importance of cattle as the primary source, although this is somewhat put in perspective in other chapters. Much of the outbreaks are due to person to person transfer within the human population, often with farm animals, or contact with farm animals, being the point source of the epidemic. The workshop was held in 1998, and it is interesting to read how much was already known about water well contamination in Canada. These chapters were completed before the latest large outbreak in Ontario, where indeed the public water source was found to be the primary source of infection. The volume is not really meant to be a book in the sense of primary course material, or the ultimate source of current knowledge in the field of E. coli 0157. It clearly cannot function as such, but on the other hand it contains a wealth of information for epidemiologists that are dealing with, or want to deal with, this important zoonotic infection in their research work or teaching efforts. It is highly recommended as such a source of information. Ynte H. Schukken Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853, USA E-mail address: [email protected] (Y.H. Schukken) Accepted 14 December 2000 PII: S 0 1 6 7 - 5 8 7 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 2 0 4 - X
Applied Veterinary Epidemiology and the Control of Disease in Populations Bernard Toma, Barbara Dufour, Moez Sanaa, Jean-Jacques BeÂnet, FrancËois Moutou, Armando LouzaÄ, Peter Ellis (Eds.); AEEMA (Association pour l'EÂtude de l'EÂpideÂmiologie des Maladies Animales), 1999 (translation from French), French Edition, first published 1996, 536 pages, ISBN 92-9044-487-8 (US $25) Applied Veterinary Epidemiology is targeted at a very broad audience of people who have a stake in the health of livestock populations. The authors, in their introduction, state that the book was not written for veterinary epidemiologists; rather it addresses the needs of veterinarians and non-veterinary professionals from different disciplines who are involved in the control and eradication of disease at the local, national and zonal levels. The book was conceived for people who will make decisions and need to be conversant in epidemio-logical methods and in the design, implementation and evaluation of sanitary (disease control) programs. By translating the book from its original French version, the authors also pursued the goal of illustrating and reconciling some of the divergences between the francophone and anglophone terminology and methodology in epidemiology and disease control. Before embarking on the subject matter proper, the authors provide some veterinary and epidemiological terminology for the non-veterinary audience. This introductory
Book reviews Escherichia coli 0157 in farm animals C.S. Stewart, H.J. Flint (Eds.); CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK, ISBN 0-85199-322-X This volume is only a book in the sense of its physical identity, it really contains the papers of a workshop on E. coli 0157 in farm animals held at the Rowett Research Institute in Bucksburn, Aberdeen, Scotland. In addition to the papers underlying the presentations at this workshop, the volume is completed with two reviews on human infections that were associated with exposure to farm animals, and a review on infection control options. The volume contains 13 chapters on E. coli 0157 ranging from genetics and molecular epidemiology, ecology of E. coli 0157 in the rumen, the disease it produces in cattle, its shedding patterns in ruminants, the infection characteristics in cows and calves, the zoonotic aspects of the microorganism, the options for control, and finally in the last chapter a set of recommendations on future actions and research (the so-called `Pennington group recommendations'). The material is very readable for an epidemiologist, and a number of the chapters have been written by individuals with advanced epidemiological training. Throughout the chapters a series of case studies is described in detail, and this makes for dramatic but very powerful reading. These case studies in themselves are a great resource for any educator in the field of food science or infectious disease outbreaks. The chapter contains a wealth of information, and a number of the authors have specifically done an excellent job in providing an excellent overview of the literature. The elaborate reference lists together with an index make this book a good starting point for finding information on this relative new zoonotic disease in farm animals. Of course, the volume has all the characteristics of a set of papers, in contrast to a single author review of the material. Several papers discuss the same material, and in some situations conflicting conclusions arise from different interpretations of the same body of information. Notably, the feeding of roughage being hailed in one chapter as a likely method to reduce shedding, and being criticized as too early a conclusion in another. In one of the chapters, the first appearance of E. coli 0157 in 1982 was documented as a first case `coming out of the blue' and this was cited as a clear indication of a newly developed genetic mix of E. coli and genes encoding verotoxin from a different microorganism. In another of the chapters, evidence was provided that the E. coli 0157 had been present in the animal population for at least 30 years before that, and probably longer (and this was recently confirmed in a phylo-genetic study published as a letter to Nature). These are characteristics of proceedings of any meeting of specialists in a given field of study, and do not detract from the overall use of the book. It is clear that this is not a consensus piece of work, but the reflection of thought processes of the leading researchers in this area. 0167-5877/01/$ ± see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
136
Book reviews
All authors agree on many of the issues surrounding E. coli 0157; it is clearly a zoonotic disease with sources in most farm animals. Sheep have not been implicated in outbreaks of the disease in humans, but experiments do show their ability to harbor and shed the microorganism. Several chapters go into the importance of cattle as the primary source, although this is somewhat put in perspective in other chapters. Much of the outbreaks are due to person to person transfer within the human population, often with farm animals, or contact with farm animals, being the point source of the epidemic. The workshop was held in 1998, and it is interesting to read how much was already known about water well contamination in Canada. These chapters were completed before the latest large outbreak in Ontario, where indeed the public water source was found to be the primary source of infection. The volume is not really meant to be a book in the sense of primary course material, or the ultimate source of current knowledge in the field of E. coli 0157. It clearly cannot function as such, but on the other hand it contains a wealth of information for epidemiologists that are dealing with, or want to deal with, this important zoonotic infection in their research work or teaching efforts. It is highly recommended as such a source of information. Ynte H. Schukken Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853, USA E-mail address: [email protected] (Y.H. Schukken) Accepted 14 December 2000 PII: S 0 1 6 7 - 5 8 7 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 2 0 4 - X
Applied Veterinary Epidemiology and the Control of Disease in Populations Bernard Toma, Barbara Dufour, Moez Sanaa, Jean-Jacques BeÂnet, FrancËois Moutou, Armando LouzaÄ, Peter Ellis (Eds.); AEEMA (Association pour l'EÂtude de l'EÂpideÂmiologie des Maladies Animales), 1999 (translation from French), French Edition, first published 1996, 536 pages, ISBN 92-9044-487-8 (US $25) Applied Veterinary Epidemiology is targeted at a very broad audience of people who have a stake in the health of livestock populations. The authors, in their introduction, state that the book was not written for veterinary epidemiologists; rather it addresses the needs of veterinarians and non-veterinary professionals from different disciplines who are involved in the control and eradication of disease at the local, national and zonal levels. The book was conceived for people who will make decisions and need to be conversant in epidemio-logical methods and in the design, implementation and evaluation of sanitary (disease control) programs. By translating the book from its original French version, the authors also pursued the goal of illustrating and reconciling some of the divergences between the francophone and anglophone terminology and methodology in epidemiology and disease control. Before embarking on the subject matter proper, the authors provide some veterinary and epidemiological terminology for the non-veterinary audience. This introductory