Öko- und chronostratigraphische Korrelierung der Zentralen Ostsee mit der Kieler Bucht anhand organisch-wandiger Mikrofossilien

Die Untersuchung von organisch-wandigen Mikrofossilien aus Sedimentkernen der Zentralen Ostsee (Nördliches Zentralbecken, Gotland Becken, Bornholm Becken) und der Kieler Bucht hat zum Ziel die Ursachen und Zusammenhänge von ökologischen Veränderungen in der Ostsee zu erfassen. Hierzu wurden die absoluten Häufigkeiten der organisch-wandigen Mikrofossilien erfasst. Quantitative morphometrische Vermessungen zum Nachweis von Salinitätsveränderungen wurden an Operculodinium centrocarpum (Dinoflagellata) durchgeführt. Die Korrelation der Kerne in der Zentralen Ostsee wurden auf der Basis der Ökostratigraphie durchgeführt. Die Korrelation zwischen der Zentralen Ostsee und der Kieler Bucht erfolgte chronostratigraphisch anhand absoluter Altersdatierung der Kerne aus dem Gotland Becken und der Kieler Bucht. Der erste marine Einfluss, der durch das erste Auftreten mariner Dinoflagellatenzysten gekennzeichnet ist, und das Intervall mit rasch steigender Salinität konnte für die Kieler Bucht auf ein Alter von Ca. 8400-7400 Jahren (Kalenderjahre BP) und für das Gotland Becken auf ein Alter von ca. 7400-6500 Jahren datiert werden. Das erste salinare Maximum der Littorinatransgression ist sowohl im Gotland Becken als auch in der Kieler Bucht zeitgleich vor 6500 Jahre nachweisbar. Ein signifikanter Salinitätsrückgang fand in der Zentralen Ostsee vor 2800 Jahren statt, der in seiner Intensität von Norden nach Süden abnahm. In der Kieler Bucht ist jedoch für diese Zeit eine leicht Erhöhung der Salinität festzustellen

Use of meat juice and blood serum with a miniaturised protein microarray assay to develop a multi-parameter IgG screening test with high sample throughput potential for slaughtering pigs

Background Serological screening of pig herds at the abattoir is considered a potential tool to improve meat inspection procedures and herd health management. Therefore, we previously reported the feasibility of a miniaturised protein microarray as a new serological IgG screening test for zoonotic agents and production diseases in pigs. The present study investigates whether the protein microarray-based assay is applicable for high sample throughput using either blood serum or meat juice. Material and methods Microarrays with 12 different antigens were produced by Abbott (formerly Alere Technologies GmbH) Jena, Germany in a previously offered ‘ArrayTube’ platform and in an ‘ArrayStrip’ platform for large-scale use. A test protocol for the use of meat juice on both microarray platforms was developed. Agreement between serum and meat juice was analysed with 88 paired samples from three German abattoirs. Serum was diluted 1:50 and meat juice 1:2. ELISA results for all tested antigens from a preceding study were used as reference test to perform Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis for both test specimens on both microarray platforms. Results High area under curve values (AUC > 0.7) were calculated for the analysis of T. gondii (0.87), Y. enterocolitica (0.97), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (0.84) and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (0.71) with serum as the test specimen and for T. gondii (0.99), Y. enterocolitica (0.94), PRRSV (0.88), A. pleuropneumoniae (0.78) and Salmonella spp. (0.72) with meat juice as the test specimen on the ArrayStrip platform. Cohens kappa values of 0.92 for T. gondii and 0.82 for Y. enterocolitica were obtained for the comparison between serum and meat juice. When applying the new method in two further laboratories, kappa values between 0.63 and 0.94 were achieved between the laboratories for these two pathogens. Conclusion Further development of a miniaturised pig-specific IgG protein microarray assay showed that meat juice can be used on microarray platforms. Two out of twelve tested antigens (T. gondii, Y. enterocolitica) showed high test accuracy on the ArrayTube and the ArrayStrip platform with both sample materials

Vergleichende Querschnittsuntersuchungen zum Vorkommen von MRSA (Methicillin-resistente Staphylococcus aureus) in ökologisch wirtschaftenden und konventionell wirtschaftenden Schweinebetrieben in Deutschland

Occurrence of MRSA was assessed on 42 organic and 88 conventional pig herds in different regions of Germany by taking dust samples and nasal swabs. The number of nasal swabs was adapted to the herd size so that a MRSA-prevalence of 5 % could be detected. All samples were selectively enriched and cultured on MRSA-selective chromagar. All cultured isolates were confirmed by PCR. In addition, the spa-types were identified. The results of this cross-sectional study showed that 11 of the 42 (26%) examined organic pig herds were identified as MRSA-positive, whereas 92 % of the conventional pig herds were identified as MRSA-positive. In both husbandry systems, similar spa-types (t011, t034) were identified, which are associated with the MRSA ST398. To find out the specific risk factors for the occurrence of MRSA in pig herds questionnaires were used in both husbandry systems and will be evaluated in the second part of this ongoing study

Abattoir-specific ways of implementing risk-based meat inspection methods in Germany

In the European Union serological and/or bacteriological monitoring results on zoonoses are to be taken into account for the risk assessment of slaughter pig herds in the framework of the risk-based meat inspection. Furthermore, the European food safety strategy pursues the additional goal to increase herd health. The new understanding of “One Health” (healthy animals and healthy people) and the new paradigm of assuring safe food (responsibility of food producers, prevention, risk-orientation, process-optimization, and continuous improvement) require new concepts for replacing the traditional meat inspection at the slaughter line with a risk-based meat inspection focusing at the whole food chain, and for modern and proactive veterinary diagnostics

The Herd Health and Welfare Index as a benchmarking tool for antimicrobial resistance

The occurrence of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms in livestock, especially ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (E.coli), is an increasing challenge (WHO, 2001). The aim of this project is to analyse the relationship between herd health and animal welfare on the one hand, evaluated by means of a self-developed Herd Health and Welfare Index (HHWI), and on the other the frequency of the antimicrobial resistant microorganisms. The developed HHWI described in this paper includes animal- oriented and management-based parameters that can be easily assessed at farm level, resulting in an easy-to-use benchmarking tool. Within the FP7-EU research project EFFORT, the health and welfare quality of 180 pig herds in nine participating European countries are evaluated by using the parameters of the HHWI and the occurrence of ESBL-producing E. coli in the study herds by analysing faecal samples

Risk-based meat inspection: Implementation experiences in Germany and integration of animal-oriented welfare criteria

The paper describes the experiences from seven pilot projects in Germany on implementing the risk-based meat inspection: analysing the status quo per slaughter house, defining the specific risks of the region of the supplying herds, creating the preconditions for recording and exchanging a meaningful set of data for the food chain information including animal health and welfare criteria, training of risk-oriented logistic slaughter and adding targeted inspection procedures in case of increased food safety risks indicated for entire herds or slaughter batches