Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Surveillance in breeding Herds and Nurseries Using Tongue Tips from Dead Animals

The detection capacity of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSV) in tongues from dead animals in breeding herds (stillborns and piglets dying during the lactating period) and nursery farms (naturally dead animals) for PRRSV surveillance was evaluated. The samples were selected if pairs of serum and tongues were available from 2018 to 2020. Serum (pools of five) and exudate from tongues (one bag) were analyzed by PRRSV RT-PCR. The agreement between the serum sample procedure versus tongues exudate was assessed using a concordance test (Kappa statistic) at batch level. A total of 32 submissions, corresponding to 14 farms, had PRRSV diagnostic information for serum and tongues exudate. The overall agreement of batch classification as positive or negative, based on RT-PCR PRRSV results, between serum and tongue exudate of the 32 pairs was 76.9%. Cohen’s Kappa was 0.55. The main discrepancy came from the presence of positive samples in tongues exudate and not in serum, suggesting that tongue exudate to monitor PRRSV seems to be more sensitive than serum. These results suggest that this sample procedure could be also used for PRRSV surveillance and monitoring.

COVID-19 Pandemic, Economic Loses and Education Sector Management

The outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID) started in December 2020. By far, the COVID-19 has affected over 26,547,419 individuals worldwide, with 874,424 deaths and 18,732,160 recoveries as of August 2020. The research aims at identifying the effects of COVID-19 on education sector management pointing out success stories of countries that have been able to overcome the hindrances that the pandemics have brought on the management of the various sectors of education, which other countries may adopt. From our analysis, we discovered that combating COVID-19; demands syndrome surveillance, immediate isolation of patients, and strict enforcement of all contact-persons, quarantine, and country lockdown/border closure. We further outlined ways in which COVID-19 (coronavirus) epidemics affect the education of emerging economies. Our article then summarizes the evidence of a negative impact that is likely to disrupt the education system and identifies some policy responses to mitigate the effects. We again realized that what could save education (school system) now and in the future is online learning which authorities should make available, accessible, and affordable especially for developing countries.