Research

Funding: EU Kommission (Horizon 2020), 3.034.581 EUR

Funding: BMBF, 46.843 EUR

Project Details:
The aim of the project is to determine the genetic diversity of "tick-borne encephalitis virus" (TBEV; German:
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus) and the virus-specific T cell response
characterize. The hypothesis applies that TBEV-specific T cell responses with
different phenotypes and different protein specificity for protection or for
Neuropathogenesis of TBEV infections in humans and mice help to substantiate. the
detailed characterization of the T-cell immune response in humans and mice forms the basis for
future research on improved vaccines that more specifically stimulate the immune system and thus
could provide stronger and longer-lasting immunization protection.

Project Details:
Immunhistochemical and molecular Investigations of hormonal receptors in the puerperal uterus in cattle

Project Details:
The preventive effect of a prebiotic feed on the occurrence of tail biting in pigs is investigated. Situations in which tail biting occurs are characterized in terms of clinical signs, colostrum supply in the preceding phase of life, and concentration of inflammatory and stress parameters in blood and saliva in the rearing phase. The aim of the study is to clarify whether improved intestinal health through feeding prebiotics has a preventive effect against tail biting and whether the sum of all negative influencing factors including stress experienced since birth, which may be reflected in laboratory diagnostic parameters (acute phase proteins, stress markers), lead to the occurrence of tail biting after a so far undefined threshold has been exceeded.

Cooperation Partners:

Jakob Aundrup, Schweinegesundheitsdienst der Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen

Project Details:
Comparison of different methods for typing of App

Cooperation Partners:

Henning Lindhaus

Project Details:
The persistence of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) on the tonsils facilitates the spread of the pathogen in pig populations. Microbiological-cultural detection of the pathogen from tonsils has proven to be difficult because the diverse commensal colonization by other bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus suis) often overgrows App during culturing. The use of selective media leads to higher sensitivity of bacteriological diagnostics, but nevertheless, the success rate compared to molecular biological tests (PCR) is not satisfactory.
In most cases, acute outbreaks of porcine pleuropneumonia occur in persistently infected pigs under the influence of trigger factors. In vitro, the influence of stress hormones, such as cortisol and catecholamines on the growth behavior of the pathogen will be investigated. Possibly, catecholamines and cortisol can be used under in vitro conditions to improve the growth behavior of A. pleuropneumoniae.

Funding: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz, 166.732 EUR

Project Details:
The area of responsibility of advisors is determined and recommendations are given on how responsible advice can be implemented in practice. A concept and material for further training courses will be developed which, on the one hand, clarify the responsibility of advisors and, on the other hand, also convey the animal ethical aspects of advice.

Results:

The provision of advice to farms plays an important role in establishing animal welfare measures in livestock farming. One of the aims of the project was to identify the interrelationships of responsibility in advisory services. To this end, the areas of responsibility were first determined, e.g. in the design of the advisory process or in the decision and implementation of the advisory content.

As values can influence the guidance process, it is always important for guidance practitioners to be clear about their values, whereby it is also important to differentiate between their own values and those of the employer. Critical reflection is an important tool for this. Significant values were identified during the project.

A framework was also created with regard to animal welfare/animal protection, which shows the responsibility of advisors. In the course of this, it was possible to outline the approaches that animal welfare advice must pursue in order to meet the requirements for good advice and to be able to provide sustainable approaches for greater animal welfare.

When discussing animal welfare/animal protection, there are always conflicts of objectives.

It is very important for the success of an advisory service that these conflicting goals are identified.A decision-making cascade developed in the project is intended to provide a remedy here, which is intended to encourage reflection throughout the advisory activity.

The project developed a training program that has already been successfully tested in practice. It dealt with the thematic blocks entitled "Consultancy in the knowledge system of agriculture", "Fundamentals of animal ethics", "Responsibility and scope for responsibility in consultancy", "Values and requirements for ethically "good" consultancy", "Animal welfare and animal protection in consultancy" and "Conflicting objectives and the decision-making cascade".

The extremely large number of advisors from both official and private advisory services who attended the event showed the great interest in this topic in the run-up to the event and thus also the need to address it among advisors.

The project has thus succeeded in defining the area of responsibility of counselors and providing them with recommendations on how responsible counseling can be implemented. The training program clarifies the responsibility of advisors and highlights the importance of advice for animal welfare and animal protection.

Funding: Pfizer, 54.000 EUR

Project Details:
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is considered as one of the most important viral tick-borne diseases affecting humans. The disease may cause death or permanent disability due to severe neurological damage. TBE thus represents a considerable public health burden. In recent years, a considerable geographic expansion of TBE has been noted in Germany with the consequence the National Institute of Public Health (Robert-Koch-Institut) declared district in the Northern Germ federal state Lower Saxony as official risk area in the beginning of 2019. However, the usually very small areas of TBE virus circulation (so called natural foci) are still mostly unknown in Northern Germany. This study aims to identify the locations of TBE transmission foci (i.e. the presence of TBE-positive ticks) in Lower Saxony, Northern Germany, by following up on the movement patterns and possible sources of tick exposure of TBE patients. Detection of TBE virus occurrence in Northern Germany will help to prevent clinical cases of disease as it can be expected that public awareness about TBE foci will lead to avoidance of known hot spot areas and increase the people´s willingness to vaccinate.

Results:

Topp, A.-K., Springer, A., Dobler, G., Bestehorn-Willmann, M., Monazahian, M., Strube, C. (2022) New and confirmed foci of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TEBV) in Northern Germany determined by TEBV detection in ticks. Pathogens 11, 126

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/2/126

Cooperation Partners:

Dr. M. Monazahian, Niedersächsisches Landesgesundheitsamt, Hannover

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Dobler, Nationales Konsiliarlabor für FSME, München

Funding: QS Fachgesellschaft Geflügel GmbH QS Wissenschaftsfonds, 70.000 EUR

Project Details:
Epidemiological Investigations on outbreaks of Histomonosis in turkey in Germany - these investigattions aim to assess ways of pathogen entrance and conditions fa-vouring disease.

Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 391.868 EUR

Project Details:
Gill diseases seriously affect fish health and have a high negative impact on aquaculture, mainly because of the multifunctional properties of gills in fish physiology. Studies on pathogen related gill diseases are largely hampered by the lack of infection models, which exclusively affect gills. Carp edema virus (CEV), a fish-infecting pox virus, affects predominantly the gills of common carp (Cyprinus carpio). It induces a severe gill disease known as koi sleepy disease (KSD) and is fatal for the majority of infected fish.. Due to its severe effect on gills, the CEV infection causes physiological distress to infected fish and also seems to induce an impairment of the immunity. Interestingly, different strains of common carp show high (Amur carp - AS strain) or low (koi strain) resistance to this virus. Our working hypotheses propose that: (i) differential stress response/stress sensitivity might affect the outcome of KSD in koi and AS strains of carp and (ii) severe impairment of the immune response during KSD may have an impact on the general immunological status of the survivors after CEV infection.
In the present project, we will study the mechanisms underlying the differences in the resistance to CEV between AS and koi carp strains. We will also study how a CEV-induced impairment of immune response influences the susceptibility of carp to other pathogens such as the bacterium Flavobacterium branchiophilum or the viruses cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) and spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV). To study the mechanisms of the immunity diminishing we will use a "salt rescue model" which is based on the supplementation of salt (NaCl) into the tank water, which abolishes the impairment of physiology and immune responses in CEV infected fish.
The results of this project will allow us to identify the interplay of stress and immune responses in fish affected by a viral gill disease and its importance for resistance/susceptibility of fish to clinical disease. Finally, the results will allow us to expand our knowledge on important and phylogenetically conserved mechanisms regulating anti-viral immune response. In future, in-depth knowledge of such interactions will help to develop novel strategies for preventing and combating pathogen-induced gill diseases in aquaculture.

Cooperation Partners:

Krakow University, Poland