Are people with learning disabilities able to contribute to focus groups on health promotion? Aim. This paper shows the differences between the success of three focus groups in promoting group discussion on health promotion and also the detailed effects of individual members with speech and language difficulties in participating. Background. Conducting focus groups with people with learning disabilities can promote their social inclusion. Conclusions. We conclude that focus groups are an effective method of conducting exploratory research with adults with learning disabilities in the community, however, ability to participate with other members may be a limiting factor. Furthermore, special arrangements may need to be made for groups to be successful, including the use of an interpreter. The preparation of the moderator is also an important factor in group success.

Summary Participatory research is becoming a very popular way of helping to empower people with learning disabilities. All stages of this kind of research are conducted in partnership with non‐disabled researchers. Furthermore, the research agenda in learning disability is moving towards increasing participation in all forms of research. As a group undertaking participatory research, the present authors wish to share their experience of setting up a project over a period of 9 months to examine ‘keeping fit’. The authors include adults with learning disabilities, clinicians and a researcher from a primary care NHS trust, and support workers who work directly with the adults with learning disabilities in various community settings. An understanding of what is involved in participatory research is important as a first stage, and so the present authors invited speakers undertaking a similar project investigating direct payments to a one‐day conference that was set up locally. At the end of the conference, the present authors requested volunteers for the local project to investigate health. This approach enabled well‐informed agreement to participate. The present paper discusses the initial 9 months of the project, including a description of the volunteers and the major issues which all the participants learned during these early stages.

Haematology parameters (N = 24) and serum biochemistry parameters (N = 35) were determined for wild Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber), between 6 months – 12 years old. Of the population tested in this study, N = 18 Eurasian beavers were from Norway and N = 17 originating from Bavaria but now living extensively in a reserve in England. All blood samples were collected from beavers via the ventral tail vein. All beavers were chemically restrained using inhalant isoflurane in 100% oxygen prior to blood sampling. Results were determined for haematological and serum biochemical parameters for the species and were compared between the two different populations with differences in means estimated and significant differences being noted. Standard blood parameters for the Eurasian beaver were determined and their ranges characterised using percentiles. Whilst the majority of blood parameters between the two populations showed no significant variation, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and white blood cell counts showed significantly greater values (p<0.01) in the Bavarian origin population than the Norwegian; neutrophil counts, alpha 2 globulins, cholesterol, sodium: potassium ratios and phosphorus levels showed significantly (p<0.05) greater values in Bavarian versus Norwegian; and potassium, bile acids, gamma globulins, urea, creatinine and total calcium values levels showed significantly (p<0.05) greater values in Norwegian versus Bavarian relict populations. No significant differences were noted between male and female beavers or between sexually immature (<3 years old) and sexually mature (≥3 years old) beavers in the animals sampled. With Eurasian beaver reintroduction encouraged by legislation throughout Europe, knowledge of baseline blood values for the species and any variations therein is essential when assessing their health and welfare and the success or failure of any reintroduction program. This is the first study to produce base-line blood values and their variations for the Eurasian beaver.

Eurasian beavers Castor fiber are potential hosts for a range of infectious diseases and parasites, including those typical of common European rodents. A number of infectious organisms are potentially zoonotic and may be notifiable under animal health legislation. The official trial beaver reintroductions to Scotland, the retrospectively licensed releases in England, and the increasingly obvious presence of large numbers of unlicensed illegally released animals have highlighted potential disease risks. We aimed to conduct a disease risk analysis, based on peer reviewed publications, for selection and health screening of Eurasian beavers prior to release into the wild in Britain. Adapted from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s ‘Guidelines for Disease Risk Analysis’, a four‐step process was used to formulate a disease risk analysis: 1) problem description; 2) hazard identification based on literature review; 3) risk assessment, which resulted in categorisation of pathogens into low, medium, and high risk; and 4) risk management: identification of mitigating measures, followed by risk re‐evaluation in light of the reported effectiveness of the mitigation measures. The highest‐risk pathogens identified in the literature review process included: parasites, specifically Cryptosporidium parvum, Echinococcus multilocularis, Eimeria spp., Fasciola hepatica, Giardia spp., Trichinella britovi; bacteria, specifically Escherichia coli, Franciscella tularensis, Mycobacterium avium, Salmonella spp., Yersinia spp.; a fungus Chrysosporium parvum (Emmonsia parva); and terrestrial rabies virus. Most could be mitigated by sourcing beavers from Britain. The rest could be mitigated by pre‐release testing procedures that are already established. The risk of introducing significant disease to humans, domestic animals, or wildlife by releasing into the wild in Britain a beaver that was captive‐bred in Britain or a wild beaver from Scotland, based on the current evidence of disease incidence, and assuming the use of robust, peer reviewed, pre‐release health screening techniques, can be viewed as low.

SummaryEpidermolysis bullosa (EB) was diagnosed in eight calves from four farms in the United Kingdom on the basis of clinical, histological and ultrastructural findings. In three affected herds, pedigree Simmental bulls had been mated with Simmental-cross cows. In a fourth herd two Holstein-Friesian calves were affected. Lesions included multifocal erosion and ulceration of the hard and soft palates, tongue, nares and gingiva, with onychomadesis (dysungulation). There was alopecia, erosion and crusting of the coronets, pasterns, fetlocks, carpi, hocks, flanks and axillae. Histopathological findings included segmental separation of full thickness epidermis from the dermis, with formation of large clefts containing eosinophilic fluid, extravasated red blood cells and small numbers of neutrophils. Follicular and interfollicular areas of skin were affected, with clefts extending around hair follicles and sometimes involving whole follicles. Ultrastructurally, there was evidence of vacuolar change within basal keratinocytes, corresponding to areas of histological clefting. Preliminary genetic screening of the candidate keratin genes (bKRT5 and bKRT14) has excluded mutations of these as the cause of this condition.Crown

STUDIES in human hospitals have shown that objects such as door handles and computer keyboards can act as sources of contamination with bacteria such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Campylobacter (Bures and others 2000, Kassem and others 2007). The aim of this study was to investigate whether bacteria were present on keyboards used in consulting rooms in veterinary practices in the UK, and to identify whether these keyboards could be a source of pathogenic bacteria that could affect animals or human beings. Fifty-six small animal and mixed veterinary practices in Scotland were randomly selected from the RCVS directory of practices. Twenty practices agreed to take part and were visited in person by the researcher (MAF). Only computer keyboards used within consulting rooms were included in the study. All the practices were visited at the end of a consulting period, and the keyboard was swabbed using a method described by Bures and others (2000). Cotton-tipped swabs soaked in sterile PBS were used to swab the surface of the keys and computer mouse. One swab was taken from each keyboard. The swabs were then placed in transport medium and sent to the laboratory at Glasgow University Veterinary School for culture and identification. A questionnaire was used at each practice to gather information about the methods used to clean the computer keyboards and the frequency with which they were cleaned. In total, 41 keyboards were sampled at the 20 practices: one keyboard was sampled at nine practices, two at six practices, three at four practices and four at two practices. Bacteria were cultured from 38 swabs and fungi from one swab; the other two swabs were negative on culture. Thirty-one species of bacteria were isolated (Table 1). The most commonly isolated bacteria were Acinetobacter lwoffii and Pseudomonas stutzeri. The most commonly detected pathogenic bacteria were Pseudomonas and Enterococcus species. S aureus was not isolated from any of the keyboards sampled. The cleaning methods varied between practices; keyboards at eight of the 20 practices were cleaned either on an occasional basis or not at all (Table 2). Of the 41 keyboards sampled, only three had a cover; two of these covers were removable for cleaning and the other was permanently adhered to the keyboard. A variety of bacteria, including A lwoffii and Enterococcus faecium, were detected on the adhered cover. Bacterial culture was negative for one of the covers that could be removed for

In this study, serum immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) concentrations were examined in atopic and non-atopic dogs receiving different levels of parasite control. Significantly lower serum total IgG1 concentrations were found in non-atopic dogs receiving stringent parasite control than in atopic dogs or non-atopic dogs receiving less stringent parasite control. Examination of serum total IgG1 concentrations of atopic dogs after six months of allergen specific immunotherapy (ASIT) showed a significant increase in serum total IgG1 concentrations. It is proposed that serum total IgG1 concentrations are affected by parasitism, atopic dermatitis and ASIT.

The serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentrations of two groups of atopic dogs and three groups of non-atopic dogs were compared. There was a wide range of concentrations with a high degree of overlap between the groups. The serum total IgE concentrations of a group of 15 non-atopic racing greyhounds were significantly higher than those of all the other groups. Atopic and non-atopic dogs receiving stringent parasite control treatments could not be differentiated on the basis of their serum total IgE concentrations. In the non-atopic dogs there was no correlation between their serum total IgE concentrations and the number of allergen-specific positive results obtained in an ELISA, or between their serum total IgE concentrations and their age.