Aims: To investigate the presence of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in bulk milk and in a selection of raw milk products. Methods and results: Samples of bovine (n = 220) and caprine (n = 213) bulk milk, and raw milk products (n = 82) were analysed for S. aureus. Isolates were tested for staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) production (SEA-SED) by reversed passive latex agglutination and for SE genes (sea–see, seg–sej) by multiplex PCR. Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 165 (75%) bovine and 205 (96·2%) caprine bulk milk samples and in 31 (37·8%) raw milk product samples. Enterotoxin production was observed in 22·1% and 57·3% of S. aureus isolates from bovine and caprine bulk milk, respectively, while SE genes were detected in 52·5% of the bovine and 55·8% of the caprine bulk milk isolates. SEC and sec were most commonly detected. A greater diversity of SE genes were observed in bovine vs caprine isolates. Conclusions: Staphylococcus aureus seems highly prevalent in Norwegian bulk milk and isolates frequently produce SEs and contain SE genes. Enterotoxigenic S. aureus were also found in raw milk products. Significance and Impact of the Study: Staphylococcus aureus in Norwegian bovine and caprine bulk milk may constitute a risk with respect to staphylococcal food poisoning from raw milk products.

Rabies seems to persist throughout most arctic regions, and the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland, is the only part of the Arctic where rabies has not been diagnosed in recent time. The arctic fox is the main host, and the same arctic virus variant seems to infect the arctic fox throughout the range of this species. The epidemiology of rabies seems to have certain common characteristics in arctic regions, but main questions such as the maintenance and spread of the disease remains largely unknown. The virus has spread and initiated new epidemics also in other species such as the red fox and the racoon dog. Large land areas and cold climate complicate the control of the disease, but experimental oral vaccination of arctic foxes has been successful. This article summarises the current knowledge and the typical characteristics of arctic rabies including its distribution and epidemiology.

Arctic foxes, 620 that were trapped and 22 found dead on Svalbard, Norway (1996-2004), as well as 10 foxes trapped in Nenets, North-West Russia (1999), were tested for rabies virus antigen in brain tissue by standard direct fluorescent antibody test. Rabies antigen was found in two foxes from Svalbard and in three from Russia. Blood samples from 515 of the fox carcasses were screened for rabies antibodies with negative result. Our results, together with a previous screening (1980-1989, n=817) indicate that the prevalence of rabies in Svalbard has remained low or that the virus has not been enzootic in the arctic fox population since the first reported outbreak in 1980. Brain tissues from four arctic foxes (one from Svalbard, three from Russia) in which rabies virus antigen was detected were further analyzed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction direct amplicon sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Sequences were compared to corresponding sequences from rabies virus isolates from other arctic regions. The Svalbard isolate and two of the Russian isolates were identical (310 nucleotides), whereas the third Russian isolate differed in six nucleotide positions. However, when translated into amino acid sequences, none of these substitutions produced changes in the amino acid sequence. These findings suggest that the spread of rabies virus to Svalbard was likely due to migration of arctic foxes over sea ice from Russia to Svalbard. Furthermore, when compared to other Arctic rabies virus isolates, a high degree of homology was found, suggesting a high contact rate between arctic fox populations from different arctic regions. The high degree of homology also indicates that other, and more variable, regions of the genome than this part of the nucleoprotein gene should be used to distinguish Arctic rabies virus isolates for epidemiologic purposes.

In a project to determine the causes of winter mortality in reindeer in Finnmark County, northern Norway, the most frequent diagnosis turned out to be complete emaciation, despite several of the reindeer having been given silage for up to 4 weeks before they died. The present paper describes autopsy results and other findings in these animals.

The world is changing, and parasites adapt. The Nordic-Baltic region in northern Europe - including the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and the Baltic States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - is facing new parasitological challenges due to changes in populations of parasites and their hosts and the spread of new parasites to the region due to climate change. Some changes can also be ascribed to increased awareness and detection. In this paper, we review and discuss a convenience selection of ten timely examples of recent observations that exemplify trends and challenges from different fields of parasitology, with particular focus on climate change and potential changes in epidemiology of pathogens in northern Europe. The examples illustrate how addressing parasitological challenges often requires both intersectoral and international collaboration, and how using both historical baseline data and modern methodologies are needed.

Infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) is a transmissible disease in semi-domesticated Eurasian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). It is regarded as multifactorial and a single causative pathogen has not yet been identified. From clinical outbreaks we have previously identified Cervid herpesvirus 2 (CvHV2) and Moraxella bovoculi as candidates for experimental investigations. Eighteen reindeer were inoculated in the right eye with CvHV2 (n = 5), M. bovoculi (n = 5), CvHV2 and M. bovoculi (n = 5) or sterile saline water (n = 3; controls). All animals inoculated with CvHv2, alone or in combination with M. bovoculi, showed raised body temperature, increased lacrimation, conjunctivitis, excretion of pus and periorbital oedema; clinical signs that increased in severity from day 2 post inoculation (p.i.) and throughout the experiment, until euthanasia 5–7 days p.i. Examination after euthanasia revealed corneal oedema, and three animals displayed a corneal ulcer. CvHV2 could be identified in swab samples from both the inoculated eye and the control eye from most animals and time points, indicating a viral spread from the inoculation site. This study showed that CvHV2 alone and in combination with M. bovoculi was able to cause the characteristic clinical signs of IKC in reindeer, whereas inoculation of M. bovoculi alone, originally isolated from a reindeer with IKC, did not produce clinical signs. Previous studies have suggested that herding procedures, animal stress and subsequent reactivation of latent CvHV2 infection in older animals is a plausible mechanism for IKC outbreaks among reindeer calves and young animals in reindeer herds. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the infection biology and epidemiology associated with IKC in reindeer.