Zoonotic infectious diseases have been an important concern to humankind for more than 10,000 years. Today, approximately 75% of newly emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are zoonoses that result from various anthropogenic, genetic, ecologic, socioeconomic, and climatic factors. These interrelated driving forces make it difficult to predict and to prevent zoonotic EIDs. Although significant improvements in environmental and medical surveillance, clinical diagnostic methods, and medical practices have been achieved in the recent years, zoonotic EIDs remain a major global concern, and such threats are expanding, especially in less developed regions. The current Ebola epidemic in West Africa is an extreme stark reminder of the role animal reservoirs play in public health and reinforces the urgent need for globally operationalizing a One Health approach. The complex nature of zoonotic diseases and the limited resources in developing countries are a reminder that the need for implementation of Global One Health in low-resource settings is crucial. The Veterinary Public Health and Biotechnology (VPH-Biotec) Global Consortium launched the International Congress on Pathogens at the Human-Animal Interface (ICOPHAI) in order to address important challenges and needs for capacity building. The inaugural ICOPHAI (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2011) and the second congress (Porto de Galinhas, Brazil, 2013) were unique opportunities to share and discuss issues related to zoonotic infectious diseases worldwide. In addition to strong scientific reports in eight thematic areas that necessitate One Health implementation, the congress identified four key capacity-building needs: (1) development of adequate science-based risk management policies, (2) skilled-personnel capacity building, (3) accredited veterinary and public health diagnostic laboratories with a shared database, and (4) improved use of existing natural resources and implementation. The aim of this review is to highlight advances in key zoonotic disease areas and the One Health capacity needs.

The use of antimicrobial agents as feed additives in poultry production is a public health concern due to the overall increase in antimicrobial resistance. Although some alternative products are commercially available, little is known on their potential impact on flock health and productivity. A prospective study involving 1.55 million birds was conducted on eight commercial broiler farms in Québec, Canada, to evaluate the impact of replacing antibiotic growth promoters and anticoccidial drugs by a drug-free program including improved brooding conditions, anticoccidial vaccination, essential oil-based feed additives, and water acidification. Various productivity and health parameters were compared between barns allocated to the conventional and the drug-free program. Zootechnical performances were monitored as productivity criteria. Clinical necrotic enteritis and subclinical enteritis occurrences, litter and fecal moistures content were measured, and microscopic gut health was evaluated. Clostridium perfringens and Campylobacter spp. strains were recovered from fecal samples collected during farm visits. Clostridium perfringens counts were used as poultry health indicators and Campylobacter prevalence was noted as well. The drug-free program was associated with a significant increase in feed conversion ratio and a decrease in mean live weight at slaughter and in daily weight gain. An increased incidence of necrotic enteritis outbreaks and subclinical enteritis cases, as well as an increase in litter moisture content at the end of the rearing period were also observed for this program. Mean microscopic intestinal lesion scores and prevalence of Campylobacter colonization were not statistically different between the two groups but the drug-free program was associated with higher Clostridium perfringens isolation rates. According to the current study design, the results suggest that substitution of antibiotic growth promoters and anticoccidial drugs by a drug-free program impacts various broiler chicken production parameters and Clostridium perfringens carriage levels.

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BackgroundThe aim of this study was to characterize the genomes of 30 Listeria monocytogenes isolates collected at a pig slaughterhouse to determine the molecular basis for their persistence.ResultsComparison of the 30 L. monocytogenes genomes showed that successive isolates (i.e., persistent types) recovered from thew sampling site could be linked on the basis of single nucleotide variants confined to prophage regions. In addition, our study revealed the presence among these strains of the bcrABC cassette which is known to produce efflux pump-mediated benzalkonium chloride resistance, and which may account for the persistence of these isolates in the slaughterhouse environment. The presence of the bcrABC cassette was confirmed by WGS and PCR and the resistance phenotype was determined by measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations. Furthermore, the BC-resistant strains were found to produce lower amounts of biofilm in the presence of sublethal concentrations of BC.ConclusionsHigh resolution SNP-based typing and determination of the bcrABC cassette may provide a means of distinguishing between resident and sporadic L. monocytogenes isolates, and this in turn will support better management of this pathogen in the food industry.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-018-1363-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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ABSTRACT:Cloacal

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Between July 1998 and June 1999, 93 lots of broiler chickens distributed on 57 farms were sampled in two abattoirs of the province of Quebec (Canada). A total of 2,325 samples of cecal material were analyzed to determine the prevalence of campylobacters. Biotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were done on 20% of the Campylobacter isolates to study the distribution within poultry production. Macrorestriction profiles were compared with profiles of 24 Campylobacter strains isolated from sporadic cases of human diarrheic patients in order to evaluate genetic relationships. Approximately 40% of the broiler chickens in 60% of the lots and 67% of the farms were colonized. Biotypes I and II of Campylobacter jejuni were the most prevalent biotypes in poultry and human isolates. The PFGE dendograms revealed a high genetic diversity among poultry isolates, with 49 different genotypes from the 56 positive lots. More than 75% of these lots were colonized by a unique genotype. All positive lots raised simultaneously on the same farm had common genotype(s). Different genotypes were isolated from lots raised at different grow-out periods on a farm. In some cases, identical genotypes were found at different grow-out periods on a farm and also from different farms. Macrorestriction profiles showed that approximately 20% of human Campylobacter isolates were genetically related to genotypes found in poultry. This genetic relationship and the high prevalence of C. jejuni biotypes I and II in poultry indicated that Campylobacter in broiler production of the province of Quebec could be a potential source of hazard for public health.